James Eberhard

Jan 11, 2022

Fluid Truck founder James Eberhard shares his company's unusual origin story. Courtesy company In 2015, James Eberhard needed a bow tie. He had a wedding to attend in Brooklyn, and nobody, not even the "super hipstery" hotel he was staying at, had one. "I thought there'd be some type of com­mu­nity sharing," he says--a Zipcar for bow ties, if you will. There was not. So he launched an app--Fluid Share (which quickly changed its name to Fluid Market)--that allowed users to rent anything from tools to recreational gear. On day one, someone rented a truck. Eberhard, finding the truck-rental business especially dysfunctional, leaned into that early signal and in 2018 rebranded his Denver-based company to Fluid Truck, which now offers 24/7 access to hundreds of vehicles with an hourly, daily or weekly pricing model. The company closed a Series A round of $63 million in 2019, and announced a last-mile delivery partnership with Ikea in 2021. Inc. helps entrepreneurs change the world. Get the advice you need to start, grow, and lead your business today. Subscribe here for unlimited access. From the Winter 2021/2022 issue of Inc. Magazine Sponsored Business Content