4 ms·
Lyft is a good example for startups that are 2nd or 3rd place (or worse) behind a competing market leader. Perseverance can pay off tremendously. You never know
by aviv 9y ago
Lyft is a good example for startups that are 2nd or 3rd place (or worse) behind a competing market leader. Perseverance can pay off tremendously. You never know what the market forces will dictate, when your competitor will be tied in some massive scandal, when the #1 market leader will get bought out and have their primary product shut down a short while later, etc.
- tyingq 9y agoAvis rent a car used to embrace that attitude: https://visual.ly/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/avis-1.jpg https://visual.ly/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/avis-1.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QjhMFKRvyqo/SODNmsNEHCI/AAAAAAAAAks/v4Awy6s_vjQ/s400/AvisNeedsYou64.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QjhMFKRvyqo/SODNmsNEHCI/AAAAAAAAAk...
- faitswulff 9y agoDid it work out for them?
- tyingq 9y agoThey're number 3 now. Enterprise was the surprise, taking the number one spot
- rokhayakebe 9y agoThey could scratch everything save "The Line at Our Counter is Shorter." That sounds powerful enough.
- TulliusCicero 9y agoI'm surprised there aren't rental car counters that are just a bunch of automated kiosks, like they have for flight check-ins. It seems like there's rarely anything that actually requires a human at the desk when I've already booked the car rental a while ago.
- wj 9y agoEnterprise at LAX has kiosks but every time I try to use one I end up having to go to the counter anyway. Possibly due to using a business travel agent but I'm not sure. I think Hertz has a VIP feature for frequent renters where they can just walk right to the car.
- kabes 9y agoIsn't the human there to try to sell you insurances you don't need?
- xkcd-sucks 9y agoTheir job is to say "uh the computer isn't working" if you show up looking like a lowlife
- jen20 9y agoThat is exactly what I had at Hertz at Newark Airport the other day (when I booked via Expedia instead of Hertz direct which would have led to the more convenient “just get in a car and go” experience). I’d rather deal with a human though.
- amyjess 9y agoSnapple did that too. I remember their commercials in the '90s celebrating that they were #3 and that made them awesome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLv__8u7KJQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLv__8u7KJQ http://adage.com/article/news/snapple-shoots-3/18175/ http://adage.com/article/news/snapple-shoots-3/18175/
- pfarnsworth 9y agoLyft was the first company to do ridesharing. Uber was actually second or third to the market, also behind Sidecar if I remember correctly. Uber's biggest problems were the problems it caused itself through stupidity, but the new CEO appears to be making a difference in terms of changing the perception of Uber.
- shalmanese 9y agoLyft was second, Sidecar was first.
- fullshark 9y agoDidn’t they desperately try to get acquired when things looked dire?
- cx1000 9y agoVery true. Who would have predicted Apple overtaking Microsoft?