BlaBlaCar.  Okay.  We know the name is really bad (although meaningful…see below) and the logo for that matter, but stick with us here.   This French company is basically a car pooling sharing service blowing up in other parts of the world…not yet here in the US, but imagine they will be coming soon enough as there are parts of the great US of A that could indeed use this service, especially our young adventurous, traveling millennial generation!

So what is it?  BlaBlaCar is the “world’s largest long-distance ridesharing community”, which now operates in 19 countries with more than 20 million users.  It is a platform that connects passengers with drivers and allows them to book seats in long-distance rides.  A la the AirBnb model, passengers and drivers rate each other and write reviews…and here is where we uncover the nugget behind the name.  It comes from the feature: Bla means you want a quiet ride, while Bla Bla Bla indicates you want to have a conversation.  Got it.  Still, new name and logo please…LOL.

And why should I care?  They just raised $200 million and now have a valuation at $1.6 Billion.  That could mean something, don’t you think? Well done.  And yes we all know, Hip Daddy likes a smart, innovative start-up.  BlaBlaCar has our eye.

From the land of a simply beautiful country, BlaBlacar is making some waves.  Keep an eye out, the French will realize the US needs this service soon enough…and off you go.  Until then, Merci Beaucoup.