RoadsideOtto Launch the app
Seed round 2026 · Houston, TX + Tampa, FL

The rescue network,
built like a marketplace.

Roadside assistance still runs on dispatch centers, 90-minute waits, and memberships people forget they pay for. RoadsideOtto is the two-sided answer: verified providers already nearby, upfront line-item pricing, and a take rate that keeps both sides loyal.

TAM · US ROADSIDE
$5.9B

Annual US roadside assistance spend across memberships, insurers, and out-of-pocket rescues.

SAM · ON-DEMAND
$2.95B

The addressable on-demand segment: urban and suburban drivers who expect Uber-grade service.

SOM · 5-YEAR TARGET
$295M

Initial obtainable share via metro-by-metro launches, starting where waits hurt most.

Why now

The category is stuck. Literally.

Incumbents sell memberships and outsource the actual rescue to the cheapest dispatch network available. The result is the last consumer category where a 90-minute wait is considered normal. Marketplaces fixed taxis, food, and freight. Roadside is next, and it is oddly untouched.

1Supply already exists

Tow operators, mobile mechanics, and capable neighbors with cables and a jump box. They are already driving around your city. Nobody has aggregated them with real pay: 85% of every job, 100% of tips, instant reimbursements.

2Demand hates the incumbents

Nobody loves their roadside membership. People love not being stranded. Upfront line-item pricing and a ~15-minute rescue beat a laminated card and a 90-to-180-minute wait every single time. We are not naming the incumbent. It knows what it did.

3The wedge is emotional

Ride to Safety: side-of-road passenger pickups that rideshares refuse to do. Solve someone's scariest hour and they never download a competitor.

4Marketplace margins, no fleet

No trucks, no depots, no inventory. We are the pricing engine, trust layer, and dispatch brain. $6.99 + 15% of every job, plus a shared $19.99 rush fee, at software margins.

Business model

Simple enough to say out loud.

We charge a flat $6.99 per completed request plus 15% of the service subtotal, and an optional $19.99 rush fee that is split with the hero who answers it. Providers keep the rest, all tips, and full parts and fuel reimbursement. High provider retention is the moat: supply density drives ETA, and ETA wins the market.

$6.99 +15%

Otto's take per completed job. Predictable for riders, painless for providers.

85% + tips

Provider economics designed to beat every gig platform they have ever tried.

$56.98

Sample jump-start ticket. Provider keeps $42.49, Otto keeps $14.49. Everyone can do the math at the curb.

Traction

Not a deck-stage idea. It runs.

The product exists today: live marketplace, realtime dispatch, and the brand. Built lean, launched in beta. Try it yourself at ottoroadside.com/app.

Working two-sided product

  • Rider + provider apps live on web, iOS beta on TestFlight
  • Realtime matching, live tracking, in-app chat, ratings
  • Dynamic quote engine: qualifying questions reprice every job exactly
  • Vehicle garage back to 1980, insurance and registration checks

Trust infrastructure

  • Provider background checks and OttoUniversity certification gating
  • Per-service equipment confirmation before any job is accepted
  • Live trip sharing and SOS on every active rescue
  • Ops console: GMV, take, payouts, live network view

The brand

  • Otto: a GEICO-grade character, fully produced, stills and motion
  • A voice riders actually quote back to us
  • ottoroadside.com and roadsideotto.com secured

Use of funds

  • Houston + Tampa launches: provider acquisition and certification
  • Payments (Stripe Connect) and background checks (Checkr) at scale
  • Native push dispatch and market #2
Data room

Read everything.

The full package, no email gate. If it raises questions, good. Call the number at the bottom.

The ask

Ready when you are.

Seed round is open. Speak directly with the founder, no SDR, no calendar-link ping-pong.

(202) 725-9090 Ryan Burch · Founder, RoadsideOtto