Who is Yoshi and what should we know about you?
We provide safe and seamless service by delivering fuel and car care to wherever our customers have their vehicles parked. Our co-founders started the company back in 2015 as a direct-to-consumer refueling business. Since then, we have expanded the service menu on the platform with additional offerings – including light maintenance, car washes, details, oil changes, and more. We’ve also opened up services to fleet and corporate customers as we continue to expand nationally. We encourage our customers to focus on what really matters to them and let us take care of the fuel & maintenance of their vehicles.
What’s the best thing about doing business in Middle Tennessee?
Nashville is growing! People here are really hungry for innovation and proud of all the change that is happening in this city. So it’s an exciting time to be building a consumer-facing company in Nashville. There is also an excellent talent pool right here in Nashville – from software engineers to field technicians – which allows us to scale and build out our team as we grow.
What is unique about your business that makes you stand out?
We are a Nashville-based start-up with Silicon Valley DNA. We’ve raised more than $38 million with support from GM Ventures and ExxonMobil. Other investors include NBA All-Star Kevin Durant, NFL legend Joe Montana, and Y Combinator in Silicon Valley.
What has been the most valuable aspect of your Chamber membership?
Having just moved our HQ here to Nashville, the Chamber has been a great way to plug into the local business community. And we’re hoping to create value as partners with fellow members who are looking for a creative way to show they care about their employees. We are customizing Yoshi corporate programs and pricing to fit any size organization. Additionally, we’re hoping to help fellow Chamber members optimize their current fuel operations, eliminating costly trips to and from the gas station and service shop. This results in substantial labor savings, enhanced controls, and transparent data reporting.
What’s your biggest goal for your company this year?
We’re aiming to ramp up our corporate partnership activity. We’d love to introduce Yoshi as an office perk (we do residential service too!) through more local organizations, small business owners, and large corporations. Another one of our goals is to hire 100 people in Nashville over the next few years from tech software engineers, fuel drivers, technicians, and everything in between like operations, marketing, and sales.
What best business practices have you learned from 2020 and what did you do to be creative to remain in business?
During the pandemic, public interest in no-contact delivery services has increased dramatically. We’ve seen that corporate customers and property managers are looking for innovative ways to show their appreciation for their people as they return to work. Human resource departments have been particularly keen to incorporate Yoshi into their “back-to-work” programs for staff returning to office locations.
How do you stay involved in the community?
We moved Yoshi’s HQ from San Francisco to Nashville in 2021. We’re doubling down on Nashville as our HQ and the cornerstone of what we are building at Yoshi. The city has so much to offer, not the least of which is talent, and we plan to hire local talent over the coming months. Our team is actively getting involved with local organizations for service, recruitment, and partnership purposes.
Learn more about Yoshi at their website here.
