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Every taxi company on earth would buy this immediately.

by ProAm 9y ago

jdmichal 9y ago
That is... Overly optimistic at best. You're assuming every taxi company on Earth: * Thinks they have a logistics problem in the first place. * Thinks that software can solve that problem. * Are in the market for software to solve that problem. * Think that Uber's software is the software that would solve that problem the best. That's a hell of a lot of assumptions, each of which is fairly easy to pick apart.
- ProAm 9y ago
  I politely disagree. Taxi companies hate ride sharing companies. As an industry that refused change for decades saw a software company come in and eat away market share quickly. If Uber were to 'go away' and allow the taxi company to use the ride hailing software they would be all over it. [1][2][3][4] And this is just the taxi industry, there are plenty of industries that would love to use a logistics software to help their business. The only real magic Uber has is this software, the rest is easily replaceable or overhead. [1] https://daymondjohnssuccessformula.com/launch-pad/cab-companies-hate-uber-means/ https://daymondjohnssuccessformula.com/launch-pad/cab-compan... [2]https://www.watchdog.org/california/the-uber-effect-why-cab-companies-hate-ridesharing/article_93880bef-beb1-52d6-8a4a-c4b2269f95c5.html https://www.watchdog.org/california/the-uber-effect-why-cab-... [3] https://www.quora.com/Why-do-taxi-drivers-hate-Uber-if-its-competitive-business https://www.quora.com/Why-do-taxi-drivers-hate-Uber-if-its-c... [4] https://therideshareguy.com/what-taxis-need-to-do-to-survive-uber-and-lyft/ https://therideshareguy.com/what-taxis-need-to-do-to-survive...
  - watwut 9y ago
    Ubers big magic is subsidising rides. You can do ride hailing app without uber.
    - ProAm 9y ago
      Of course you can but most taxi companies do not want to be in the app development business. And most other ride hailing apps are not very good. They'd rather focus on their main line of work which is transportation. People know Uber, that app works, people would use it if it was available. The subsidizing is what made them a household name, along with the ease of use.
      - madeofpalk 9y ago
        I understand that there are taxi companies worldwide and I'm sure they operate different by different types of people, but I still think you're overestimating these taxi companies and what they want. I worked for a very big "Old Media" company in Australia when we rebuilt one of their key properties. Their "definition of success" was to _not accelerate the rate of decline_ of page views. Since then I've realised that these types of businesses are ran by people who are motivated differently than 'us'.
        ProAm 9y ago
        For sure, I agree with that. My original point was Uber has a pivot that they can use to make money. Layoff most the people, license the software, profit. It might not work for everyone, but it will definitely work for some.
      - watwut 9y ago
        They could be food if they would be willing to invest money and refine refine refine. They are not. So, even if they would buy from Uber it would be for cheap. Plus any other startup or company can build such app to compete.
        ProAm 9y ago
        Im not sure what you mean by 'They could be food'? Any start up could build this, but most companies don't want to deal with an MVP and the bugs that come with it, or a startup that may or may not exist in 6 months, etc... Companies will over pay for enterprise grade software if it has a history of just working. This is why Uber has an advantage, software that has a track record of doing what it says it does.
maxxxxx 9y ago
What exactly? Most taxi companies probably can run on a spreadsheet or s simple database. What does Uber have for them?
- ProAm 9y ago
  For ride hailing?
  - maxxxxx 9y ago
    And that would justify a 50 billion dollar valuation? They would need to create multi-billion dollar market to make it worthwhile. And also learn selling to businesses.
    - ProAm 9y ago
      Oh the valuation doesn't mean anything except to new potential investors. It's essentially a made up number that means nothings especially since they are not earning a profit and don't look to any time soon. But that aside, yes a pivot would require them to do things differently, just as in your example learn selling to businesses However every taxi company in the world would jump at this opportunity immediately. The same industry that refused change for decades and had their parade rained on when Uber came around would greet this change with open arms. Especially if Uber were to 'go away' as a result. There are going to be down rounds for Uber in the future no matter what, valuation means nothing if your business won't survive.
gaius 9y ago
Every taxi company on earth would buy this immediately. Every taxi company on Earth (well, at least in the UK) has an app of their own now, even if it's just a white-label with their branding applied. They all let you book a journey and tell you the name of the driver and the reg plate of the car, and have a nice animated map of how far away the car is. No-one will buy it.
- ProAm 9y ago
  They are trying in the US as well but most the apps are garbage and no one uses them. Uber (and Lyft) are ubiquitous now and I think there would be a much higher adoption rate if they licensed it. Most companies also do not want to be in app development, if you could just buy software that works and focus on the core of your business companies would be much happier. This happens in giant enterprise-y businesses today. They consistently overpay on software that just works and lets them get along with their actual work. But as I mentioned above the taxi industry is only the first immediate one I'd tackle, there are plenty others.

Every taxi company on earth would buy this immediately.

by ProAm 9y ago

Every taxi company on earth would buy this immediately.

That is... Overly optimistic at best. You're assuming every taxi company on Earth: * Thinks they have a logistics problem in the first place. * Thinks that software can solve that problem. * Are in the market for software to solve that problem. * Think that Uber's software is the software that would solve that problem the best. That's a hell of a lot of assumptions, each of which is fairly easy to pick apart.

ProAm 9y ago
I politely disagree. Taxi companies hate ride sharing companies. As an industry that refused change for decades saw a software company come in and eat away market share quickly. If Uber were to 'go away' and allow the taxi company to use the ride hailing software they would be all over it. [1][2][3][4] And this is just the taxi industry, there are plenty of industries that would love to use a logistics software to help their business. The only real magic Uber has is this software, the rest is easily replaceable or overhead. [1] https://daymondjohnssuccessformula.com/launch-pad/cab-companies-hate-uber-means/ https://daymondjohnssuccessformula.com/launch-pad/cab-compan... [2]https://www.watchdog.org/california/the-uber-effect-why-cab-companies-hate-ridesharing/article_93880bef-beb1-52d6-8a4a-c4b2269f95c5.html https://www.watchdog.org/california/the-uber-effect-why-cab-... [3] https://www.quora.com/Why-do-taxi-drivers-hate-Uber-if-its-competitive-business https://www.quora.com/Why-do-taxi-drivers-hate-Uber-if-its-c... [4] https://therideshareguy.com/what-taxis-need-to-do-to-survive-uber-and-lyft/ https://therideshareguy.com/what-taxis-need-to-do-to-survive...
- watwut 9y ago
  Ubers big magic is subsidising rides. You can do ride hailing app without uber.
  - ProAm 9y ago
    Of course you can but most taxi companies do not want to be in the app development business. And most other ride hailing apps are not very good. They'd rather focus on their main line of work which is transportation. People know Uber, that app works, people would use it if it was available. The subsidizing is what made them a household name, along with the ease of use.
    - madeofpalk 9y ago
      I understand that there are taxi companies worldwide and I'm sure they operate different by different types of people, but I still think you're overestimating these taxi companies and what they want. I worked for a very big "Old Media" company in Australia when we rebuilt one of their key properties. Their "definition of success" was to _not accelerate the rate of decline_ of page views. Since then I've realised that these types of businesses are ran by people who are motivated differently than 'us'.
      - ProAm 9y ago
        For sure, I agree with that. My original point was Uber has a pivot that they can use to make money. Layoff most the people, license the software, profit. It might not work for everyone, but it will definitely work for some.
    - watwut 9y ago
      They could be food if they would be willing to invest money and refine refine refine. They are not. So, even if they would buy from Uber it would be for cheap. Plus any other startup or company can build such app to compete.
      - ProAm 9y ago
        Im not sure what you mean by 'They could be food'? Any start up could build this, but most companies don't want to deal with an MVP and the bugs that come with it, or a startup that may or may not exist in 6 months, etc... Companies will over pay for enterprise grade software if it has a history of just working. This is why Uber has an advantage, software that has a track record of doing what it says it does.

maxxxxx 9y ago

What exactly? Most taxi companies probably can run on a spreadsheet or s simple database. What does Uber have for them?

ProAm 9y ago
For ride hailing?
- maxxxxx 9y ago
  And that would justify a 50 billion dollar valuation? They would need to create multi-billion dollar market to make it worthwhile. And also learn selling to businesses.
  - ProAm 9y ago
    Oh the valuation doesn't mean anything except to new potential investors. It's essentially a made up number that means nothings especially since they are not earning a profit and don't look to any time soon. But that aside, yes a pivot would require them to do things differently, just as in your example learn selling to businesses However every taxi company in the world would jump at this opportunity immediately. The same industry that refused change for decades and had their parade rained on when Uber came around would greet this change with open arms. Especially if Uber were to 'go away' as a result. There are going to be down rounds for Uber in the future no matter what, valuation means nothing if your business won't survive.

gaius 9y ago

Every taxi company on earth would buy this immediately. Every taxi company on Earth (well, at least in the UK) has an app of their own now, even if it's just a white-label with their branding applied. They all let you book a journey and tell you the name of the driver and the reg plate of the car, and have a nice animated map of how far away the car is. No-one will buy it.

ProAm 9y ago
They are trying in the US as well but most the apps are garbage and no one uses them. Uber (and Lyft) are ubiquitous now and I think there would be a much higher adoption rate if they licensed it. Most companies also do not want to be in app development, if you could just buy software that works and focus on the core of your business companies would be much happier. This happens in giant enterprise-y businesses today. They consistently overpay on software that just works and lets them get along with their actual work. But as I mentioned above the taxi industry is only the first immediate one I'd tackle, there are plenty others.