by Turo
posted on January 25, 2021
Full list of Turo Seed Hosts
The Turo Seed Initiative, launched last November in partnership with Kiva, is designed to uphold cornerstone values of the Turo community — diversity, collaboration, and belonging — and expand access to the economic opportunities of the Turo marketplace. The initiative leverages those values and our wonderful community to help address wealth inequality in America, by empowering aspiring entrepreneurs, especially in traditionally underserved Black communities, to jumpstart their entrepreneurial engines and start building a small car sharing business on the Turo marketplace.*
Successful Seed Hosts crowdfund a loan on Kiva (with a dollar-for-dollar match from Turo up to $7,500 per host) to buy a car to share on Turo, cultivating, growing, and scaling their small business over time.
Because this process moves quickly and there are constantly new hosts entering the initiative at different intervals, we’ve compiled this list of Seed Hosts for easy visibility. We’ve included Seed Hosts who’ve already successfully crowdfunded the full loan and have purchased their cars, and listed them on Turo, as well as the Seed Hosts currently in the Kiva fundraising stage. Click the links to see their stories on their Kiva profiles, and if you’re able, please consider investing as they work to build their own car sharing businesses — Turo will match your loan dollar-for-dollar and all Seed Hosts will repay their loans as they start building booming businesses!
How it works
Applicants who meet all the initiative prerequisites and Kiva’s qualifications are paired with a Turo Account Executive to help ensure they’re set up for success, before crowdfunding an interest-free loan on Kiva. Seed Hosts then enter a short period of “private” fundraising with the goal of reaching a certain number of lenders. After reaching that goal, they then have 30 days of “public” fundraising to raise the full $15,000 loan.
Explore the Turo Seed Initiative
Currently fundraising
Completed fundraising
Lamonte S.
Atlanta, GA
A Navy veteran turned entrepreneur, Lamonte will use his loan to build on the great success he’s already had as a Turo host and expand his services in Atlanta.
Michael L.
Atlanta, GA
Born and raised in Atlanta, Mike normally drives across the country for his job, but first listed his car when the pandemic put a pause on travel.
Dennis B.
Hollywood, FL
A Miami native, Dennis plans to dramatically expand his Turo portfolio while leveraging his connections with local businesses.
Robbie G.
Buckeye, AZ
Robbie is a mother of three who moved from Detroit to Arizona not long ago, where she now works at Turo!
Summer P.
Castle Rock, CO
Summer is a Denver-area host working in finance, and she plans on acquiring more vehicles to share in addition to her personal car.
Vernon B.
Mableton, GA
When he was a New York City cab driver, Vernon heard all about people’s transportation headaches. He now plans to start an affordable car sharing business to serve his community in the Atlanta area.
Michael C.
Randolph, MA
Already a seasoned entrepreneur and five-star Turo host, Boston-area host Michael aims to grow his portfolio and strengthen the returns on his business.
Santoiga A.
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Santo moved from Sudan to the US when he was 10, and will use his Turo Seed loan, marketing degree, and keen eye for opportunity to start his business in South Florida.
Lukman S.
Chicago, IL
Lukman immigrated to Chicago from Nigeria when he was young, and already has over 27 trips sharing his cars in the Houston area.
Travis S.
Glendale, CA
Travis has been a Turo host for four years (100% five-star reviews!), with a focus on offering hybrid and electric vehicles in Southern California.
Alex W.
Atlanta, GA
Alex is an Atlantan and licensed realtor who recently bought a car to become a rideshare driver, but he’s now successfully switched to car sharing.
Jon B.
Fort Worth, TX
Jon is a Fort Worth All-Star Host and freelance cinematographer who’s increasingly relied on his car sharing business after the pandemic impacted the local film industry.
Jon-Pierre B.
Los Angeles, CA
Jon-Pierre is a photographer and Howard University alumnus. The income from car sharing will leave him more freedom to focus on his family and media production business.
Nick V.
South San Francisco, CA
Nick is studying marketing at San Francisco State University, and is a seasoned All-Star Host who’s hosted over 500 trips!
Daisha A.
Atlanta, GA
Daisha is a stay-at-home-mom-turned-entrepreneur who started sharing her car during the pandemic, and will use her loan to expand her business with a second car!
Riean N.
Douglasville, GA
Riean is an energy industry professional from Atlanta who’s working on helping the world transition to renewable resources, and plans to build a portfolio of EVs on Turo.
Bobby B.
Los Angeles, CA
Khalid, who goes by Bobby, is an ER nurse at an LA-area trauma hospital who already shares his Tesla on Turo, and plans on acquiring another EV with this loan.
Jairus M.
Atlanta, GA
Jairus first discovered Turo as a guest before listing his own car. He now plans to add multiple vehicles to his portfolio!
Latoya B.
Dallas, GA
As a professional in the beauty industry, Latoya’s financial freedom took a hit during the pandemic. But she knows customer service inside and out and will make that a hallmark of her new car sharing business.
Jerome T.
Fairburn, GA
Jerome comes from a family full of small business owners. With the income from his growing portfolio on Turo, he’ll have more flexibility to spend time with his kids and reinvest in his own community.
Lameque B.
Orlando, FL
Lameque is originally from Brazil and already shares a handful of cars together with his family. He’s looking to add to his portfolio to serve the busy Orlando market.
Blake N.
Atlanta, GA
Blake comes from a family of car people and is a self-described serial entrepreneur who started out washing neighbors’ cars when he was eight. He’ll use this loan to start his latest venture here on Turo!
Anny O.
Brandon, FL
Anny came to the US from Brazil as a teen, and after watching her husband find success as a Turo host, she’s launching her own venture with a focus on EVs.
Chinedu O.
Arlington, TX
Originally from Nigeria, Chinedu is a Dallas-area All-Star Host who also runs a car dealership, so he knows cars, and has a detailed plan for expanding his Turo business.
Apply to become a Turo Seed Host
Interested in starting your own car sharing business on Turo? Apply now for an interest-free loan through Kiva and take control of your financial future.
* Anyone, regardless of race or gender, is eligible to participate. The goal of this initiative is to empower underserved communities, and to provide access to loan and business-building opportunities that systemic racism has historically stifled, so we strongly encourage minority entrepreneurs to apply, but anyone can and is eligible to apply.
