Nicolas Brusson

Co-Founder & CEO, Blablacar Sa Comuto Sa

Search every verified Nicolas Brusson interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Nicolas Brusson, co-founder and CEO of BlaBlaCar, has spoken at several conferences between 2013 and 2016 about the company's growth and vision. He described BlaBlaCar as a long-distance ride-sharing platform that allows drivers with empty seats to offer them to passengers traveling the same route, offsetting the cost of driving without making a profit. Brusson emphasized that the company was originally not conceived as part of the sharing economy but later benefited from that framing. He noted that the brand name, derived from users' talking preferences, has helped with word-of-mouth and press coverage. Brusson has discussed the company's approach to funding and expansion, stating that BlaBlaCar never formally pitched to large numbers of venture capitalists but instead built targeted relationships with investors over time. He said the goal is to build global companies to remain competitive against U.S. and Chinese competitors. Brusson highlighted that 80% of intercity passenger traffic is done by car, and that BlaBlaCar aims to improve road efficiency by filling empty seats. He said the company initially focuses on usage in new markets, such as India, before introducing monetization like booking fees. Brusson also predicted that as cars become autonomous, private cars will increasingly become public transport, and that the long-term trend will involve shared, self-driving cars.