How a trip to Snowdonia inspired two UoB medics to create a fuel splitting app (Dan Chivers and Michael Trueman)

'Commute' is a brand new mobile app designed to help you split your fuel costs when car sharing. The business has been created by UoB medical students Dan Chivers and Michael Trueman.

As medical students we were commuting every day in full cars to and from placements, unsure how to split the cost. 

The organised amongst us created excel spreadsheets with each passenger, the number of journeys, and an estimate of how much they owed. This process, however, was laborious and inaccurate...........we were tired of it. 

Michael: Our idea for Commute first came on the way to Snowdonia for a hiking trip back in 2019, when my co-founder Dan made the simple proposition: 'There should be an easier way to work out how much people owe you for fuel money'. For the rest of the journey we exchanged ideas: widgets, gadgets, wallets, scanners. We settled on a unique journey identifier which we eventually incorporated into our app in the form of a QR code.

We are pleased to announce that Dan Chivers from Commute has been entered into the NatWest #GEW10K Pitch Challenge for a chance to win £10,000 investment. (B-Enterprising Start-Up Team)

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Following that trip we began meeting weekly in Sainsbury's, engaging in the process of creative flow over coffee. We started out with a very ambitious project that - we've since realised, would require dramatic changes to the operation of open banking systems internationally and funding far exceeding that of our student loans.

We eventually found a third party developer to build our first product, and were able to release an initial version to fellow Medical students at the University of Birmingham in November 2020.

How does it work?

Commute: Fuel Splitter automatically calculates and tracks how much friends owe each other for fuel when car sharing. We use a unique journey identifier presented as a QR code to allow passengers to join a journey via a simple scan using their smartphone. We track the mileage of all users and aim to roll out a certified carbon offset initiative to keep our users driving carbon neutral.

"We wanted the calculations to be automatic and for keeping tabs to be simple. Asking friends for money for petrol need not be awkward, and drivers shouldn’t worry that they are for too much, or fear that they are losing money for driving."

We received support from the university in two significant ways: We attended several Business Start-up appointments to refine our initial idea into an achievable form, and establishing a minimal viable product. Then we utilised the Start-Up Fund to cover the majority of our initial development costs. This support gave us the confidence to fully explore turning our idea into a reality. 

For Dan and I, the best part is the feeling of building something off our own backs, creating something unique, and solving a problem that we care about. Our autonomy is immense and the process of learning by doing is very satisfying. We're lucky to share the mind-set where we'd rather try something and fail than never try at all. Being at the point of releasing product into the market is extremely exciting, and opens your mind to future innovations that could be possible.

Running your own business can make you feel out of your depth at times. There is so much we don't understand/don't realise is important. The advantage of feeling like this is that we know for certain that we're working outside of our comfort zone, which is always the best place to learn. Considering that a serious business venture is not a short-term activity, we know that these feelings of being overwhelmed, naïve and inexperienced will be short-lived and will help us to deal with more complex issues further down the line. 

 

Although I knew that starting any business is hard, i wasn't entirely prepared for the frustration you will feel when trying to move your business along. We had to return to the drawing board multiple times to create the product that we went on to release, and were delayed for weeks trying to iron out development issues.

Be prepared for disappointments and setbacks, use them as learning material to help you move quicker in the future.

Our experience is ever dynamic, and our situation is constantly evolving, we're finding that there's more to learn every day. Despite this, the most salient point that we've learned during this experience boils down to action. Even though we had slow progress in our first year, taking 412 days to go from nothing to rolling out a product for market, we both feel that it's far better to actively DO something (anything) in life rather than wait for life to happen to you. 

There is something especially fulfilling about throwing out a construct of our imagination into the world and waiting to see what the world throws back.

If you have an idea that you genuinely consider to be a GOOD idea, an idea that you believe will make other people's lives easier/better/more fulfilling/healthier, then you must not be afraid of trying to turn your idea into a reality. The outcome of an attempt at entrepreneurship is always 'net positive'. Even in failure, you are always better prepared for next time. 

As I've already said, if you have an idea that you think could become a great business, give it a go. The educational experience of the journey is far more engaging than anything else I've experienced. Even if it all fails, the lessons are priceless. 

Visit the Commute website here for more information