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Sidecar is an excellent illustration of the first mover disadvantage. When Sidecar started, they looked carefully at the existing laws and crafted their product
by shalmanese 11y ago
Sidecar is an excellent illustration of the first mover disadvantage. When Sidecar started, they looked carefully at the existing laws and crafted their product to stay, to their best judgement, on the exact right side of the law. That's why, in early Sidecar, for example, drivers negotiated directly with passengers for the fare and why sidecar cars carried no visible exterior markings.
Lyft and Uber decided to play the much higher risk/higher reward game of antagonizing regulators in exchange for better product. In the early days of the rideshare war, the Lyft pink mustaches were everywhere and everyone was made aware that Lyft existed due to them.
It's an excellent example of how "playing clean" is not always in an entrepreneur's best interest and how luck and a willingness to take risk can alter fortunes on a profound scale.
- gojomo 11y agoAccording to Wikipedia, Uber was founded almost 3 years before Sidecar (March 2009 versus January 2012)... so Sidecar may have suffered a "timid-mover disadvantage", but not really a "first-mover disadvantage".
- rebelidealist 11y agoUber was only black car back then. It is akin to a professional limo service. Sidecar was the first service that use regular cars. Lyft came afterwards.
- dylanjermiah 11y agoUber Black was 2010 - 2012. Than after Lyft properly launched their service Uber followed with the now more popular UberX.
- viscanti 11y agoUberX launched in early 2012, before Lyft. But Lyft, Sidecar and Uber were all likely developing their 'low cost uber' versions at around the same time. After how much success Uber had already had with just Black cars, the idea for a lower cost alternative was obvious enough that lots of companies jumped in.
- dylanjermiah 11y agoSure? IIRC Uber was hesitant to launch a 'ride sharing' product until Lyft did in SF. Any links to guide me?
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