But coming from Sub-Saharan Africa, Santo was never a huge fan of the Minnesota weather. \u201cI didn\u2019t like the cold, I was definitely not used to it,\u201d he said. During the pandemic, Santo saw an opportunity to move south. Like many of us, he started working remotely last spring, and luckily his company allowed him to relocate! So last year Santo was able to escape to sunny South Florida while keeping his job in banking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh man, I\u2019m loving the weather and I\u2019m right by the ocean now, which is so nice.\u201d Santo\u2019s soaking up more of the Miami scene than just sunshine though. \u201cI\u2019m into cars and I\u2019m seeing a lot of sports cars every day, which is not what you see in Minnesota. It\u2019s so cool!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For one of his first trips as a guest on Turo, Santo booked a Mustang while visiting Miami last year before he moved. \u201cI thought, \u2018I gotta figure out how to get into this game,\u2019\u201d he said. Then while browsing the site looking at cars, he discovered the Turo Seed Initiative<\/a>, a program designed to empower historically disenfranchised entrepreneurs with access to wealth-building opportunities on Turo. \u201cIt kinda sounded too good to be true at the beginning. After looking around I decided it was too good of an opportunity to not try out,\u201d he said. \u201cI was already in Miami and had a flexible schedule because I\u2019m working remote. It was a perfect way to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step of the program is raising a loan on Kiva. For Santo, it went swimmingly. \u201cIt was magical. I didn\u2019t know if I could pull this off\u2026 my friends and family were so supportive when I told them, which was amazing because I didn\u2019t have any product, just an idea,\u201d he said. In all, 242 lenders invested in Santo and he raised the $15,000 loan well before his deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the loan in hand, the next step for Seed Hosts is finding a car to share. \u201cI knew from experience, coming from Minnesota, that visitors in Miami want to be able to take the top down. So I was always planning on getting a convertible Mustang.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since he knew exactly what he wanted, Santo shopped around and found a great deal on a red 2020 Mustang convertible, with the most efficient engine option, Ford\u2019s 4-cylinder EcoBoost. Though it\u2019s one-year used, \u201cit looks pretty much new.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understandably, the Mustang is a popular choice among tourists just about everywhere in the US, but Santo didn\u2019t know his selection would pay off so quickly. \u201cI got my first booking literally two hours after I listed the car,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd those guests even told me they were specifically looking for a convertible Mustang.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was back in mid-March, and now Santo\u2019s Mustang is booked almost solid through the next two months. He doesn\u2019t have a personal car, so with so many bookings on his calendar, he\u2019s now looking into getting a second car for himself. But he has even bigger plans for this new car sharing business. \u201cI\u2019m hoping to eventually get up to 10 cars and quit my day job!\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s working so well right now and I\u2019m learning fast, so it\u2019s only up from here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.turo.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/DSC_5411-1024x1024.jpg\")
<\/a>Hitting the ground running<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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