The Leader • Saturday, August 3, 2019 • Page 1B
VanGo offers ride sharing for schoolchildren By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com
Kingwood native Claudia Pinto found out about VanGo, a ride-sharing company for kids that recently expanded to Houston, on care.com. Mother to a teen and young adult, Pinto was looking for a flexible schedule and a way to bring in some extra income. So she became one of the first 10 VanGo drivers in Houston. “I started work this July and it’s been great,” Pinto said. “I’ve had a lot of theater-camp kids (as riders) and now it’s cheer camps and band camps. Most of my clients are in the West University area, but as more people know about it, I’ll pick up more rides in my area.” Getting the word out is Marta Jamrozik, a Brooklyn, New York resident with a technology background who made Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30” list. Jamrozik founded VanGo in June 2018 “to tackle the working mom’s second shift.” The business kicked off by offering a ride-share program in Fairfield, Connecticut, and now has expanded to Phoenix and Houston. Jamrozik said those two cities were top picks of parents who downloaded the app and responded to a
query about preferred locations for ride booking. Jamrozik said her mother worked full-time and also did the majority of the child care and housekeeping. “VanGo was built entirely to support working moms and to facilitate relationships in a community,” Jamrozik said. As Pinto put it, her clients are old enough to ride with a stranger but too young to drive. Jamrozik said kids 8 years old and up can ride on VanGo. The app requires 48 hours of advance notice, and parents can mark preferred drivers as favorites and have first access to them. There are options for one-time rides or repeated trips. The cost of a ride is 15 to 20 percent more than Uber or Lyft, but Jamrozik said the vetting process for VanGo drivers is much more rigorous. She said drivers must have more than three years of childcare experience. Background checks, finger printing, vehicle inspection and referrals are also musts. Drivers get paid on a per-ride basis and can make $100-$200 per week. Jamrozik said VanGo’s Houston drivers are coming from all over the city. “We’re actively adding drivers,” Jamrozik said. “We’re
Contributed photo VanGo, which recently expanded to Houston, is a ride-sharing company that caters to mothers and children. The service offers parents the chance to schedule rides from vetted drivers for children ages 8-17 for after-school events or house pickups.
gearing up for August, September and October. Over 85 percent of drivers are moms themselves.” Next up for Jamrozik is finding ways she can assist working parents with household
tasks, meal prep and homework help. VanGo can be downloaded on the Apple App store or Google Play. For more information, visit https://www.ridevango.com/.
Office Depot providing hub for small business owners
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Area business owners without a dedicated office space now have a place to call their own. In early July, Office Depot, Inc. opened five new “Workonomy Hub” co-working spaces in the United States. One of them located at the Office Depot at 1401 North Loop West. The shared workspaces are integrated into existing Office Depot retail locations and offer products and services to help small business owners, entrepreneurs, freelancers and remote workers. “The Houston metropolitan area is one of the largest in the nation with a vibrant and thriving business community,” Office Depot spokesperson Shera Bishop said. “We believe Office Depot’s current suite of products and services paired with a physical co-working space will create a comprehensive offering for Houston small business owners to run and grow their businesses in one convenient location.” Dominick Wagner is the coworking manager at the Workonomy Hub on the North Loop. With a background in retail management, Wagner said he
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Photo by Larry Plasek Representatives from the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce welcome Office Depot’s “Workonomy Hub” at 1401 N. Loop West. It is one of eight such hubs now open across the country.
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In the neighborhood
Wild Honey, located at 625 W. 19th St. in the Heights, is a new women’s and children’s boutique with accessories and giftable items. “One thing we are proud of is our plus-size selection,” coowner Kristina Owens said. “It’s equal to our classic sizes. So we can cater to every customer.”
The store’s soft launch was Friday, Aug. 2. It will be open to the public starting Saturday, Aug. 3 at 10 a.m.
tags, stickers and more are available. For more information, visit https://myinvitology. com/.
2020, the #FFLArmy Running Team will raise funds for the organization. All are welcome to join.
Paper studio opens on Yale Invitology, a paper studio at 1430 Yale St., is owned by Gigi Noguera, an architect with more than 10 years of experience designing paper. Invitations, stationary, identification
Party Boy on Studemont for Sale On the heels of the announcement by Gulf Coast Commercial Group that a 24-acre project called Lower Heights District is in the works at Interstate 10 and Studemont Street, Party Boy at 1515 Studemont St. is being offered for sale with an asking price of $10.5 million. The listing on LoopNet from Endurance Properties advertises 1.71 acres of land with a 27,000-square foot retail building and more than 500 feet of frontage space on I-10.
Wahoo Wave opens at Splashtown Wahoo Wave, which debuted
Photo by Betsy Denson The 1.7-acre, 27,000 square-foot Party Boy store on Studemont Street is now up for sale for $10.5 million.
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Wild Honey boutique opens on 19th By Betsy Denson
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