We announced the New York launch of Moveline in our pitch yesterday at TechStars Demo Day. In our 6 minutes on stage at Webster Hall, we told the audience about our mission to improve the moving experience through technology, and showed off our product.
What we presented struck a chord; everyone hates moving, and the current process in the moving industry is outdated and inefficient, and stresses people out. Moveline is simple, fresh, and something people clearly want. TechCrunch and Mashable broke the news about us first, and since then, we’ve been picked up by other press outlets and the word has spread. This morning, we were featured in Lifehacker, and accounts exploded, with hundreds more people now signing up to use Moveline.
We’re thrilled; Moveline has been in development for a few years, and we’ve always hoped for this kind of response when we went public in our first hub. We’ll do our best to meet the demand of everyone who has expressed interest in the last 24 hours, but for the sake of managing expectations, we’d like to clarify the state of our launch:
Moveline is currently live serving local and New York City outbound moves.
If you’re a New Yorker and are moving in town, or out of state, we’re excited to help.
We’re selectively accepting New York moves inbound from other major metro areas.
If you’re moving to New York from another major city, please apply for our beta, and we’ll bring you in as we have capacity. Be sure to specify the date of your move when you apply, and we’ll let you know as soon as possible whether we expect to be able to help you in time for your move.
Our pilot program in other cities is currently closed.
At this time, if you’re not moving to, from, or within New York City, our beta is now closed. Trust us, we’d really love to help, but we’d rather wait until your next move, when we’re fully prepared to do a really good job in your city, than disappoint you now. The moving business is inherently local, and the nuances from one city to the next make a difference. If you have questions about moving in your city, feel free to tweet us your questions, or send us an email, and we’ll answer what we can. We will not be able to perform your inventory or gather quotes just yet.
The mobile app is in testing.
We’ve just finished a prototype of our new iPhone app, and it’s currently in alpha testing. We plan to release it later in the summer. In the mean time, video uploads are performed through the web, using Moveline’s secure servers. You can still use your mobile device to film the videos.
Requesting a Demo.
If you’re not moving, but are a potential partner, press, or generally interested in seeing a demo of Moveline, please contact the founders directly. We’ll set something up.
Thanks for all the kind words and for bearing with us. We’re here to change the industry & one move at a time.
20 years ago, to purchase a plane ticket, you would have to call an agent at every airline, collect a set of prices, decide which one had the right combination of price, time, and amenities you wanted, and call them back to book a ticket. Crazy, right?
Today, to collect a set of professional moving quotes, you call several moving companies, schedule a time for each salesperson to come out to your house to perform an inventory, and they contact their dispatcher to get a price. You’re stuck with a stack of paper inventories, deciding which company seemed most trustworthy. If you’re moving long-distance, you also want to compare quotes for other moving methods, such as renting a truck and driving, portable container companies, or even freight companies.
For some of these companies, you can go to their website for prices – for others, you still have to call and talk to a pushy salesperson. Now, there are websites – lots of them – that claim to be able to get you a set of price quotes for your move. But inevitably, they ask you for your phone number and your email address, and you get spammed with calls and messages from salespeople and brokers.
Moveline is changing all of this.
With Moveline, you simply make a video of your stuff you’ll be moving. No salespeople in your home, ever. The video is securely transmitted to Moveline, where we turn it into an inventory of your stuff. From there, you take control, and use our platform to decide what you’ll be taking with you, and what you won’t.
When you’re ready, you submit your inventory for quotes from Moveline’s network of providers. Several reputable moving companies submit quotes for your move. Not estimates, hourly rates, or ridiculous weight tables – you get actual, binding, guaranteed quotes, that won’t change, as long as your list of stuff doesn’t change. For each provider, you see reviews from past customers, and stats from past jobs.
But Moveline doesn’t just show you quotes from full-service companies – we gather quotes for local labor, and combine them with truck rental, portable container, and freight shippers, to unlock an array of possible ways to move. Best of all, when you work with Moveline, we’re never trying to sell you anything – our product and customer service culture are all designed to be on your side as you navigate this expensive, tumultuous time in your life. It’s not quite as simple as booking a flight, but it’s a lot closer.
At Moveline, we’re building simple web tools to do all the things today’s van lines and salespeople do by hand. We’re bringing transparency to a market that has none, and we’re putting customers in control.
We’re starting with New York City. Join us.
Ready to get moving? Learn more about how Moveline is creating a radically easier way to move.