You mean I get to tell my fellow Austinites about a new app that will solve their commuting woes, be a part of a more environmentally-conscious world, and drive a bright orange Tesla Model S around town?!
This is the marketing dream job that I have been working towards.
My name is Russ, and joining Carma in Austin makes me as excited as Ralphie from “A Christmas Story” opening his new Red Ryder B.B. gun on Christmas morning.
I have long been passionate about tech’s ability to connect people as a means to share resources, especially as it can apply to solving the world’s transportation and energy problems. Austin, TX has seen a significant increase in the need for alternative transportation to solve our growing traffic troubles. A recent report projects that I-35 will be completely swamped by 2035, and travel across Austin during rush hour will take more than three hours, with heavy traffic continuing as late as 10pm some places – unless we can do something about this, of course.
Enter Carma 🙂
The growth of the Sharing Economy is one that makes me particularly excited. We, as tech-forward Americans, often have more resources than we really need. In the case of traffic, we have too much of the car resource and not enough of the sharing resource. Every day there are 900,000 empty seats filling the highways that lead to bottlenecks and traffic accidents. It is my pleasure to be able to connect these lone drivers with each other to make their lives easier, less stressful, and their wallets fuller.
Through various projects and a one-year stint in South America, I have drank the proverbial Kool-Aid when it comes to the Sharing Economy. While backpacking through Chile and Argentina, I became an avid believer in Couchsurfing, and the larger ability of the internet to connect people and share resources. My passion is to tell people about the beauty of sharing; whether it is a shared adventure, a spare couch to sleep on, or an open car seat for a new friend going to work.
Working with Carma in Austin will allow me to combine all the things of which I am most passionate: technology, environmentalism, sharing, and marketing. I am excited to begin sharing our Carma story with Austin through the wonders of stellar Youtube videos, community events, surprise carpool pickups in our Tesla, and whatever other crazy ideas we come up with.
Look forward to seeing you lovely Austin Carmapoolers around town,
Russ Garcia