????下面就是Zipcar的運(yùn)作理念,。客戶可以在線或通過(guò)電話預(yù)定在某個(gè)時(shí)段使用某輛車(chē),。預(yù)定信息通過(guò)無(wú)線網(wǎng)絡(luò)發(fā)送到汽車(chē)上,。Zipcar會(huì)員可通過(guò)會(huì)員卡打開(kāi)預(yù)定的汽車(chē),。用完之后，用戶將汽車(chē)返還公司,，在將其鎖好后,，計(jì)費(fèi)便會(huì)停止。辦理租車(chē)僅需要30秒鐘便可完成,，而且只有承租人可以使用汽車(chē),。所以，Zipcar的服務(wù)完全是一種自助且自主的服務(wù),，瞬間便可完成,。

????有了這個(gè)想法之后，我們便決定成立一家公司,。安特耶的工作是負(fù)責(zé)汽車(chē)技術(shù)和聯(lián)系租車(chē)公司,。我則負(fù)責(zé)融資、建設(shè)網(wǎng)站,、營(yíng)銷(xiāo),、設(shè)計(jì)支付系統(tǒng)和其他事務(wù)。

????首先,，我起草了一份商業(yè)計(jì)劃書(shū),。1999年12月，我們便去拜訪MIT斯隆管理學(xué)院（Sloan School）院長(zhǎng)格蘭?厄本,。他曾在汽車(chē)制造業(yè)從事過(guò)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)工作,。他認(rèn)為Zipcar是個(gè)好主意，但他說(shuō)我們需要籌措兩倍的資金,，將發(fā)展速度加快一倍,，而且要立即行動(dòng)。

????接下來(lái)三天,，我一直在家里思考一個(gè)問(wèn)題：我真的想干這件事嗎,？我12歲的女兒?jiǎn)栁遥骸鞍l(fā)生什么事了？”她曾經(jīng)跟我聊過(guò)聯(lián)合國(guó)兒童基金會(huì)（Unicef）,，我告訴她,，我在猶豫是否應(yīng)該把大把時(shí)間花在這家公司，因?yàn)檫@意味著我將不得不減少與家人在一起的時(shí)間,。她問(wèn)：“那這是不是意味著,，你會(huì)很有錢(qián)，可以給聯(lián)合國(guó)兒童基金會(huì)捐更多錢(qián),，拯救更多兒童,？”我說(shuō)沒(méi)錯(cuò)。她說(shuō)：“那就干吧,?！?/p>

????于是,，在2000年1月，我們注冊(cè)成立了公司,。到2000年6月,，開(kāi)業(yè)當(dāng)天，我籌得75,000美元,，并購(gòu)買(mǎi)了四輛汽車(chē),。其中第一批50,000美元投資來(lái)自我在斯隆管理學(xué)院的同學(xué)珍?哈蒙德（信息技術(shù)公司Quarry Technologies與IT服務(wù)公司AXON Networks創(chuàng)始人），她是我同學(xué)中的首位百萬(wàn)富翁,。

????我一直努力說(shuō)服的一位天使投資人在最后一刻提供了剩下的25,000美元資金,。離公司開(kāi)業(yè)還有三天的時(shí)候，我們的銀行賬戶只剩下67美元,，只有一輛用作β測(cè)試的汽車(chē),，而購(gòu)車(chē)首付款則以我的房子作為抵押。然而,，租車(chē)公司突然通知我們,，剩下三輛車(chē)每一輛必須支付7,000美元首付款。我當(dāng)時(shí)正在公司開(kāi)業(yè)典禮上,，胡安?安立奎斯（目前為投資公司Excel Medical Ventures執(zhí)行董事）走到我面前對(duì)我說(shuō)：“我能為你做些什么,？”我說(shuō)：“明天上午之前，我需要搞到25,000美元,?！彼f(shuō)：“沒(méi)問(wèn)題?！?/p>

????我每周在備用臥室里工作100個(gè)小時(shí),，但卻樂(lè)在其中。2000年9月,，我丈夫從語(yǔ)音及語(yǔ)言解決方案供應(yīng)商Lernout & Hauspie辭掉了軟件開(kāi)發(fā)總監(jiān)的工作,，成為Zipcar的首席技術(shù)官。但他在Zipcar只領(lǐng)半薪,，而且我們完全互換了角色。他成了照看孩子的主力,，而且,，雖然他在Zipcar做的是全職工作，但我卻只能給他半薪,。Zipcar成立的第一年,，我自己沒(méi)有工資。那年秋天,，安特耶又有了一個(gè)孩子,。2001年1月,，回來(lái)工作后不久，她便決定離開(kāi),。我們?cè)诘谝荒瓯銓?shí)現(xiàn)了收支平衡,。從公司成立伊始，Zipcar每月都以7%至12%的幅度增長(zhǎng),。首輪融資,，我們獲得了130萬(wàn)美元投資。于是,，我們產(chǎn)生了向其他城市擴(kuò)張的想法,。當(dāng)時(shí)投資者們認(rèn)為，Zipcar在波士頓能大獲成功,，并不代表其理念一定會(huì)成功,。

????Here's how Zipcar works. You make a car reservation online or by phone for a specific car at a specific time. That information gets sent to the car wirelessly. The Zipcar member uses his card to open the car. After driving it, he returns it and locks it, and the billing is done. The rental transaction takes 30 seconds, and the car opens only to the renter. So it's self-service, autonomous, and takes only a few seconds.

????With that idea, we decided to form a company. Antje's job was to deal with vehicle technology and get hold of the car leases. I did the fundraising, building the website, marketing, designing a payment system, and everything else.

????After I wrote a business plan, we went to see Glen Urban, who was the dean at MIT's Sloan School in December 1999. He had worked in marketing with car manufacturers and said Zipcar was a brilliant idea. He told us we'd need to raise twice as much money, move twice as fast, and get right on it.

????I wandered around the house for the next three days thinking, Do I really want to do this? My 12-year-old daughter asked, "What's going on?" She and I had been talking about Unicef, and I said I needed to decide whether I want to devote time to this company on a big scale, which would mean less time with the family. She asked, "So does this mean you could become rich and could give more money to Unicef and save lots of children's lives?" I said yes. She said, "Do it."

????So in January 2000 we incorporated. I had raised $75,000 by the day we launched with four cars in June 2000. The first $50,000 came from Jean Hammond, a Sloan classmate (founder of Quarry Technologies and AXON Networks), who was the first millionaire among us.

????The remaining $25,000 came at the last minute from an angel investor I'd been working on. Three days before launch, we had $67 in the bank and one car we had bought -- with my house as a down payment -- to use as a beta-test car. Out of the blue, the leasing company wanted a $7,000 down payment for each of the three other cars in the fleet. I was at a startup launch party, and Juan Enriquez (now managing director of Excel Medical Ventures) came up to me and said, "What can I do for you?" I said, "I need $25,000 by tomorrow morning," and he said, "Done."

????I was working out of our spare bedroom doing 100-hour workweeks, but it was a joy. In September 2000, my husband quit his job as director of software development for Lernout & Hauspie, and became the company's CTO. He was on Zipcar's payroll only half-time, and we reversed roles. He became the primary child caretaker, and while I paid him half-time, he actually worked full-time. For the first year of Zipcar, I didn't pay myself. Antje had a child that fall, and after coming back to work, she decided to leave in January 2001.