Still, despite JetSmarter's aggressive legal bullying, a number of former members have joined a class action lawsuit against the company. Sergey Petrossov: Founder, Chairman & CEO of JetSmarter Before launching JetSmarter, Petrossov, who was named as one of Forbes 30-under-30 and one of South Floridas Top Working Professionals, co-founded two IT projects: an online chat system for website customer service and a distance-learning platform for Russian-speaking educational institutions. He has a clear vision for what flying private should be, and he wont stop there. JetSmarter - Wikipedia I dont know. Members are able to book private jets in a matter of minutes, right from the palm of their hand. Sergey Petrossov serves as the Chief Executive Officer of JetSmarter. If you have a real, deep drive, no matter how much youre knocked down, you can always get your head up, he says of his career. Empty-leg flight deals, or repositioning flights. Lots 81-82 Street C Serge y Petrossov is the founder and CEO of JetSmarter Instead, his focus is on creating a world-class, hospitality-driven experience. Whats your marketing strategy? So JetSmarter makes empty seats available via its app to anyone looking to jet quickly to their next destination for a price. That was my first experience working with engineers and I learned with technology how much value you can bring in a short amount of time. Meet the CEO of JetSmarter, the Uber of Private Jets | Money Petrossov knows this, which is why he takes his time to build his professional relationships and the JetSmarter brand. With businesses like Uber becoming the norm, how do you see the private aviation industry changing in the near future? Where and how did you raise capital for the company? When they asked for refunds, JetSmarter told them to read the legal disclosures in their membership agreements that said the company could "change, suspend, or terminate any of the services or benefits at any time." Our average user visits JetSmarter 12 times daily. Like Uber, Lyft, and AirBnb, who don't own the cars or properties they peddle, JetSmarter does not own the planes. Sergey and Lolita lived in a $2 million house in a gated community in tony Boca Raton, Florida. The problem is, he was the key person dealing with the company's investors. The aircraft would be managed and operated by JetEdge, a Part 135 operator. The membership agreements customers signed barred them from making any negative comments about the company or its executives in any way something that is very unusual in the aviation industry. JetSmarter has reinvented private air travel by making it affordable and straightforward, doing away with what is considered an antiquated booking system in favor of a streamlined, technological alternative. And so JetSmarter came to be, though not easily. Today the company -- which bills itself as the Uber for private jets -- has 14,000 paid members paying up to $15,000 a year for perks that include the ability to schedule flights and share seats on jets scheduled by others. Our average user visits JetSmarter 12 times daily. . There are also concerns over security. We have raised funding from private sources including the royal family in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, A-league executives, music moguls, and more. A membership model would give the company both regular revenue and enough customers to set it on the road to going public one day. Petrossov has not responded to my request for an interview. Sergey Brin Cofounder and board member, Alphabet $88.5B Real Time Net Worth as of 4/29/23 #12 in the world today Photo by Kelly Sullivan/Getty Images for Breakthrough Prize About Sergey. Peoples lifestyles are continuously enhanced by technology, so Petrossov never stops thinking about how to make the most of all of the gadgets and devices that people have at their fingertips. Rick Scott joined JetSmarter CEO Sergey Petrossov to cut the ribbon on the company's new multimillion-dollar headquarters office in downtown Fort Lauderdale. How Much Would You Pay To Have Unlimited Flights Around The World Forever. However, if the person behind the product, and the product itself, has a relatable story and shows potential customers that it offers value, the likelihood of success is higher. According to Petrossov, JetSmarter has been downloaded more than 300,000 times since its launch in March 2013, and while he wasn't willing to share very many figures relating to the business, he. Mark Zuckerberg. JetSmarter was losing money hand over fist so it went through three investment rounds to raise. Opinions expressed on this site are the author's alone, not those of a third-party entity, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed. JetSmarter went on to raise more than a million dollars in funding, grew to a company with 260 employees and reportedly hit a unicorn valuation of $1.6 billion about two years ago, with backers like rapper Jay-Z and the Saudi royals. I was born in Moscow, I moved to the U.S. when I was four, and Ive lived between California and Colorado and South Florida. In the beginning, JetSmarter bought seats on flights that were empty because they were being moved to another location for a flight originating elsewhere. The company was headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. [27] In January 2016, Chicago Tribune reported that JetSmarter had launched app-based private charter service in Chicago, using Midway International Airport as its access point.