Taxi flagging app Hailo pulls out of North America
British taxi app Hailo is abandoning efforts to muscle in on the North American market after balking at the ‘astronomical’ marketing spend required to compete with already established players across the pond.
The abrupt downscale in ambition will see 40 people depart the firm, including founder Jay Bregman, leaving behind a core team to focus on organic growth across Europe and Asia.
Hailo was launched at the tail end of 2011 and has since grown to include 20 cities in its portfolio, driven by its model of keeping taxi drivers on side – in stark contrast to US rival Uber which has been at loggerheads with the industry for much of its existence.
Most recently Uber found itself banned in Germany after authorities found it did not comply with local laws governing the carriage of passengers.