Cheekily choosing a very common enemy, one Oakland startup is gaining tons of press and good will — and fast.
How fast? 5 minutes flat — or, rather, that's how long AirPaper says it can make the usually onerous task of unsubscribing from Comcast.
So many of us are caught in the clutches of cable, an industry many a technology company considers a legacy and whose customer service most agree is ripe for disruption. So, for just $5, AirPaper claims it can save you the grief of dealing with one of Comcast's dreaded "retention specialists" and hours of their wheedling.
"Billions of hours of beautiful human life are lost each year to terrible but required processes." writes AirPaper of the unsubscription process. The startup duo of Earl St Sauver and Eli Pollak met while working at Climate.com and have now received coverage everywhere from TechCrunch to CBS.
"We're dedicated to helping people spend as much time as possible doing the things they love," the company continues, "We love turning bureaucratic processes into surprisingly pleasant processes we call 'AirPapers.'"
You get the hint. Things don't stop with Comcast. Up next is a streamlined, outsourced process for getting a San Francisco parking permit, or for registering for SF Business tax. AirPaper says it won't sell your information, and that it only requires details necessary for the bureaucratic processes in which it engages on your behalf. Let's hope they really do subscribe to those ideals of privacy.