Investors launch mobile tire installation firm

IRVINE, Calif. — Auto industry veteran James Chen and Cie Digital Labs (CDL), a growth accelerator for emerging startups, have launched ASAP Tire, a mobile tire installation company with operations up and running in California and the East Coast.

According to Mr. Chen, president of ASAP Tire, the company provides tire installation wherever the consumer needs the service, be it "at their home, office, golf club — wherever and whenever is most convenient."

A certified technician visits the site with a fully equipped vehicle and completes tire installation less than an hour on average, CDL said.

ASAP Tire is operating in Los Angeles and Orange County in California, as well as in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

Plans are to expand into other high demand markets and business sectors.

ASAP Tire said it can service a variety of vehicles, from a golf cart to a 3.5-ton truck. According to its website, the company will install, balance and rotate tires. It, however, does not offer wheel alignment or flat tire repair.

"Today's consumers are busier than ever with increasingly less patience to wait for anything," Mr. Chen said. "Yet tire installation services haven't changed in decades. You still have to wait hours at a tire store over multiple visits to shop for the right tire and get tires replaced."

Mr. Chen has been involved for the past 20 years with Axis Sport Tuning, supplier of the Axis-brand wheel line.

Irvine-based CDL said it raised $1.8 million for the company via venture capitalist firms Wavemaker Partners and RezVen Partners and other industry veterans.

CDL said it will provide ASAP Tire with shared and dedicated domain experts in Web and mobile development, business development, finance, human resources and IT, with Jim Davis, entrepreneur in working, offering marketing strategy. Mr. Davis is a former eBay and Pepsi executive.

CDL said it is helping to boost ASAP's productivity and capacity in existing markets while looking for opportunities to expand to high-demand major metropolitan cities.

"ASAP Tire is solving a real problem in the tire industry in a way that taps into current consumer trends and busy lives," said Anderee Berengian, CEO at CDL.

"By making tire shopping and installation easier for consumers with convenient on-site services, they're completely upending old school traditions and paving the way for industry-leading innovation."

Eric Manlunas, managing Partner at Wavemaker Partners, said today's "on-demand economy reflects consumers insatiable demand for convenience.... ASAP Tire will completely modernize how the tire industry services its consumers for years to come."

The company is using full-size Ford Transit and Mercedes Sprinter panel vans equipped with Hunter Engineering Co. tire changers and balancers, according to photos posted in the firm's Facebook page. Many of the vans have paint schemes featuring the company's tire supplier partners, such as Continental, Michelin or Pirelli.

See a video about the company at the firm's Facebook page.