When Larry Perkins slid behind the wheel of his Toyota Camry for another long day of Uber driving in 2017, he couldn’t have imagined it would lead to a business generating $500,000 in monthly revenue just six years later. The former taxi driver’s journey from gig worker to successful entrepreneur offers a masterclass in spotting opportunity within daily frustration—and the persistence required to capitalize on it.
Perkins’ story begins where many American entrepreneurial journeys do: with financial necessity. After losing his job at a logistics company during corporate downsizing, the Chicago native turned to driving to support his family. “I was putting in 60-hour weeks, sometimes starting at 4 AM to catch the airport crowd,” Perkins told me during our interview at his downtown office. “The money was decent, but the lack of benefits and job security kept me up at night.”
The pivotal moment came during a routine airport pickup. While waiting in the designated rideshare lot, Perkins noticed dozens of drivers simultaneously scrolling through their phones between rides. A casual conversation with fellow drivers revealed a common pain point: no reliable system existed for drivers to find restrooms, safe parking spots, or places to rest between fares.
“These weren’t luxury problems,” Perkins explains. “They were basic needs that affected our earnings, safety, and health. When you’re in an unfamiliar neighborhood at 2 AM needing a bathroom, that’s not just inconvenient—it’s potentially dangerous.”
Financial data supports the significance of this problem. According to a 2022 MIT study, rideshare drivers spend approximately 30% of their working hours unproductive—either waiting for rides or handling logistics like finding restrooms or places to eat. This translates to roughly $6,000 in annual lost income for full-time drivers.
With no technical background but a clear vision, Perkins invested $15,000 of his savings—accumulated through grueling 12-hour shifts—to hire a freelance developer for a basic app prototype. DriverSpot, as he named it, would map driver-verified locations for restrooms, safe parking, and affordable meals across major metropolitan areas.
“The early version was embarrassingly simple,” Perkins admits with a laugh. “But it solved a real problem drivers faced every day.”
The app’s growth came through what Perkins calls “parking lot marketing”—conversations with fellow drivers during downtime, with each new user asked to contribute location data to improve the system. This grassroots approach kept customer acquisition costs near zero during the critical first year.
When DriverSpot reached 5,000 users, Perkins approached local businesses with a proposition: pay a small monthly fee to be featured as “driver-friendly” locations on the app. This revenue stream provided enough capital to hire two full-time developers and expand functionality.
The business model evolution reveals Perkins’ adaptability. What began as a free tool for drivers has transformed into a three-tiered revenue engine: a freemium subscription model for drivers, advertising fees from driver-friendly businesses, and—most significantly—data licensing to transportation companies.
“The data we’ve gathered about driver behavior, urban movement patterns, and service gaps has become incredibly valuable,” explains Perkins. “Fleet managers and transportation planners pay premium rates for insights that help optimize their operations.”
The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s 2023 report on gig economy innovations cites DriverSpot as exemplary of “problem-to-profit transformation,” noting how the company identified and monetized an overlooked inefficiency in urban transportation.
Perkins’ trajectory wasn’t without setbacks. A 2019 attempt to secure venture capital funding failed when investors questioned the market size and growth potential. “Being told your idea isn’t worthy of investment after you’ve already seen it helping thousands of people is gut-wrenching,” Perkins recalls. “But it forced us to focus on sustainable growth rather than the raise-and-burn model.”
This bootstrap mentality kept the company profitable from its second year, with revenue reaching $6 million in 2023. DriverSpot now employs 28 people, many former drivers themselves, and operates in 17 major U.S. cities.
Harvard Business School professor Ethan Bernstein, who featured the company in a case study on gig economy entrepreneurship, notes that Perkins’ success contradicts common startup mythology. “We often celebrate technical founders solving abstract problems,” Bernstein writes. “DriverSpot reminds us that intimate knowledge of an industry’s practical challenges, combined with determination, can be equally powerful.”
For aspiring entrepreneurs, Perkins emphasizes three principles that guided his journey: “First, the problem you’re solving must be deeply felt, not just intellectually interesting. Second, start with the simplest possible solution that delivers real value. And third, bootstrap as long as possible—external funding often pushes premature growth.”
The former taxi driver’s office now overlooks the same streets he once navigated as a driver. When I ask if he misses anything about his driving days, Perkins points to a framed photo of his old Toyota. “I keep this as a reminder that my best business education came from behind that wheel, not from any fancy degree or startup accelerator.”
As our economy increasingly fractures into specialized gig work, Perkins’ story illustrates how firsthand experience with system inefficiencies can be the foundation for meaningful innovation. Sometimes the most valuable business insights come not from boardrooms but from the daily struggles of work most investors will never experience.
Perkins remains hands-on with product development, regularly conducting ride-alongs with drivers to identify new pain points. “Success hasn’t changed my fundamental approach,” he says. “I’m still just a driver trying to solve problems—I just have more resources now.”
