# Ezra Goldman

> Ezra Goldman is the co-founder and CEO of Upshift, a San Francisco-based company reinventing how city dwellers access cars. Rather than owning or leasing a vehicle full-time, Upshift members subscribe to a car that appears at their door when needed and vanishes when they don't - a fractional model that eliminates insurance headaches, maintenance costs, and the guilt of a depreciating asset sitting idle 95% of the time. Goldman brings 25+ years of shared-transportation obsession to the role, starting with a communist-themed campus bikeshare in 1999, through an MIT master's in urban planning, a PhD stint in Copenhagen studying why Danes ride bikes, and stints at City CarShare and ReachNow before building Upshift into a platform backed by MINI (BMW), Ford, and thousands of crowdfunding investors.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Upshift
- **Organizations:** Upshift, City CarShare, ReachNow, Stanford University (mentor), Jump Associates
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in Anthropology, Reed College, Master's in Urban Planning, Design, and Mobile Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), PhD (ABD) in Transportation, University of Copenhagen
- **Known for:** Built a fractional car subscription platform backed by MINI (BMW), Ford, 3rd Sphere, and Climate Capital, Raised from over 3,500 individual crowdfunding investors via Republic and WeFunder, Eliminated over 1,110,014 lbs of CO2 emissions through Upshift's fleet operations

## Career timeline

- **1999** — Co-founded a dockless bikeshare on his college campus with a communist-themed design - kids' bikes spray-painted with red hammer and sickle logos, put out for free
- **2003** — Earned LEED AP certification
- **2005-2007** — MIT Master's in Urban Planning and Mobile Technology; helped design a shared folding electric scooter with Piaggio at the MIT Media Lab (2006)
- **2007+** — Roles at Jump Associates (design strategy consultancy) and City CarShare
- **2007-2012** — Worked as a human-centered design strategist for 5 years; consulted on innovation for HP
- **2010-2011** — PhD (ABD) at University of Copenhagen, studying why Danes ride bikes; lived in Copenhagen for 3 years
- **~2011-2013** — Managing director of a software startup in Copenhagen for 2 years
- **2012** — Co-founded Upshift (initially as a car co-ownership business) with Ayako Hiwasa
- **2017** — Spent 4 months driving for Lyft to understand the gig economy firsthand; resolved to never use gig workers at Upshift
- **2018** — Pivoted Upshift's model from car co-ownership to fractional car subscriptions following vandalism issues and stagnating revenue
- **2020-2022** — Ran multiple equity crowdfunding rounds on Republic and WeFunder, raising from 3,500+ individual investors
- **2022** — Upshift valuation rose from $8M to $15M; raised from MINI (BMW), Ford, 3rd Sphere, and Climate Capital
- **2023** — Featured in Forbes; appeared on Brad Templeton's robocars podcast
- **2024** — Partnered with Estonian company Elmo to pilot remote-controlled (teledriven) car delivery in California; reported 30% month-over-month growth
- **2024** — Latest funding seed round of $150K; total funding approximately $1.48M-$2.7M

## Achievements

- Built a fractional car subscription platform backed by MINI (BMW), Ford, 3rd Sphere, and Climate Capital
- Raised from over 3,500 individual crowdfunding investors via Republic and WeFunder
- Eliminated over 1,110,014 lbs of CO2 emissions through Upshift's fleet operations
- Pioneered 'fractional auto leasing' as a concept in urban mobility
- Partnered with Elmo to bring remote-controlled (teledriven) vehicle delivery to California - a first for the US market
- Featured in Forbes (March 2023) for Upshift's innovative subscription model
- Grew Upshift to 30% month-over-month growth as of 2024
- Helped design a shared folding electric scooter at MIT Media Lab with Piaggio (2006) - an early prototype of urban EV sharing
- First co-founded a bikeshare in 1999, predating major bike-sharing companies by years
- Achieved 5.0 rating on Yelp and Google for Upshift's service quality

## Latest updates

- **2024-07** — Upshift reported 30% month-over-month growth with VCs reportedly reaching out proactively
- **2024-03** — Latest seed funding round closed
- **2024-01** — Partnership with Estonian teledriving company Elmo launched to bring remote-controlled car delivery to California
- **2023-03** — Featured in Forbes by autonomous vehicle expert Brad Templeton on the robocars.com podcast

## Links

- Website: https://upshiftcars.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ezrajgoldman
- Twitter/X: http://twitter.com/upshiftcars
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upshiftcars/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upshiftcars

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ezra-goldman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-03