Where is the Fixed Parking Ticket App Now?

If you’re an avid follower of the TV series, Shark Tank, you might have watched an episode where Fixed was pitched to the sharks. In this article, we will look back to Fixed’s startup journey and find what has happened to the app since then. We will also differentiate it from DoNotPay – the World's First AI Consumer Champion!

What is Fixed Parking Ticket App?

Fixed is a mobile app that fights parking tickets by searching for inaccurate information in the ticket. It was founded by David Hegarty and DJ Burdick in December 2013. It was a for-profit company that has received seed funding. Some of its investors are as follows:

• Y Combinator
• Nasir Jones of QueensBridge Venture Partners
• Structure Capital
• Slow Ventures
• Paul Buchheit
• Matt Humphrey
• Eric Wu
• Scott Banister
• Merus Capital

The startup was eventually acquired by Oliver Technology Corporation in June 2016.

Fixed And Its Shark Tank Journey

David Hegarty appeared on Shark Tank during episode 707 in January 2016. He pitched in front of Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Chris Sacca, and Lori Greiner. David asked the investors for $700,000 for 5% of his company, valued at $14M. His pitch was centered around vehicle owners’ frustration at citations. The Fixed app can help them fight injustice and provide them peace of mind. Here’s what the sharks think:

1. Chris understood how lucrative the business could be but he was concerned about the cost of acquisition. He compared the app to ambulance-chasing lawyers. He also did not see the possibility of getting many users in the midst of the era of Uber and autonomous cars — parking tickets could soon become obsolete. So he backed out.
2. Kevin is an owner of mutual fund companies and he is too familiar with regulatory compliance. He wanted to avoid going against the government and audits. So he backed out too.
3. Robert thought the app’s projected run rate was too hopeful so he backed out as well.
4. Lori thought it was a risky investment as there could be potential issues so she backed out too.
5. Mark loved the idea of going against the government and disagreed about car ownership becoming obsolete. He offered $700,000 for 7% of the company, valued at $10M.

What Happened to Fixed, The Parking App?

Fast forward to 2016, a large firm with tech expertise bought the business. Apparently, the deal with Mark did not close and the app had problems with San Francisco, Oakland, and LA. As to what happened to lead to the buyout, here are some of the things that we know :

• The app had problems with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). The latter requested that Fixed stop faxing contest letters en masse. When Fixed failed to do so, the SFMTA turned off its fax machine. Eventually, Xerox — who SFMTA outsources their website back-ends to — employed third parties to block Fixed through IP blocking and CAPTCHA measures.
• Fixed found an email that implicated Xerox in cohort with the SFMTA in blocking the app.
• Since its revenue was affected by the actions of San Francisco, Oakland, and LA, the company pivoted to focus on traffic and moving violations. It changed its business model and an agent reviews each user’s submission. It is far from the model that was pitched on Shark Tank.
• The app bumped against the Bar Association and existing attorneys. It was another stumbling block for the business.

Eventually, Foxed’s technology was bought by Lawgix, a part-law firm, part-tech company. Eric Sonnier, the person in charge of Lawgix’s tech department, was in the same Y Combinator cohort as Fixed.

Fixed Parking Ticket App vs. DoNotPay

Another app that provides a similar justice-as-a-service capability is DoNotPay. While there are many similarities, some basic differences also exist. The table below outlines the major differences:

Contest Parking Tickets in Any City in Less Than 120 Seconds

One of DoNotPay’s most popular services is disputing parking citations in any city. Our AI Consumer Champion has a track record of beating more than 160,000 parking tickets. All you need to do is:

1. Go to DoNotPay's website or app.
2. Answer a few questions.
3. The app will generate an automatic letter written specifically for any city in the US.
4. In most cities, just hit ‘send’ and DoNotPay will send the letter on your behalf.

That’s it. No need for expensive attorney fees. All you have to do is wait for a few days to receive a letter and find out if you won!