Raven Hernandez conceived her idea for a green transportation startup as a student at Pepperdine Law School in Malibu, California.
“Looking at LAX every day from Pepperdine, I thought, ‘What does all this food and clothes even matter if the environment around me is polluted?’” Hernandez said. “That’s where the desire of electrifying rides came about – to make a change that would benefit us all.” In addition to combating climate change, Hernandez, whose family immigrated from Panama, also wants to revolutionize what she calls a patriarchal industry with a troubled labor history. Drivers for Earth, unlike for Uber and Lyft, are employees rather than independent contractors. Women or people of color make up 40% of the driver force and 50% of the leadership team.
We’re looking to disrupt this industry to create better practices across the board that allow for the driver to be put first. There are 16 million Americans who participate in the gig economy. That’s one in three Americans. You got to have fair payouts.south, where EVs are not as common as in places like California. What are some challenges you’ve faced?