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Profitability doesn't mean defensible though. What separates them from their competitors? That is the point I'm making, not that they are unprofitable.

JumpCrisscross 8y ago
> What separates them from their competitors? Scale. One can reliably get an Uber almost anywhere. That makes it attractive to travelling businesspeople and jet setters, two price insensitive customer segments that Uber almost singularly dominates. Network effects. Ubers are almost always among the fastest transportation options in most cities. Breadth. I never use Uber Eats, but apparently it’s doing quite well. (I don’t know if the above gets me to $70bn. It does, however, point to a gargantuan business.)
- Fomite 8y ago
  Ironically, where I live getting a Lyft or an actual taxi is easy. Getting an Uber is far more difficult.
  - JohnFen 8y ago
    Agreed. I use actual taxis because (in my area) they're faster and easier than Uber or Lyft. (Also, Uber is a terrible company that doesn't deserve my money.)
    - Fomite 8y ago
      The latter is how I discovered the former.
- isostatic 8y ago
  > Scale. One can reliably get an Uber almost anywhere. That makes it attractive to travelling businesspeople and jet setters, two price insensitive customer segments that Uber almost singularly dominates. Indeed. I was shocked to not be able to get one in China a couple of months ago When I land in Sydney, or Seoul, or Paris, or New York, I don't want to have to work out what app to get, download it, set it up, set up payments, and then hope it works. On the other hand Uber really let me down in Nairobi last year. with an airport pickup, so I don't rely on it there now, and will pre-book a legacy transfer to/from the airport now. They need to keep the quality up across all those cities otherwise they risk someone else winning.
  - ericd 8y ago
    I was pretty shocked to be able to use them in Tanzania, and at like 1/10 the price of our hotels' car service.

JumpCrisscross 8y ago

> What separates them from their competitors? Scale. One can reliably get an Uber almost anywhere. That makes it attractive to travelling businesspeople and jet setters, two price insensitive customer segments that Uber almost singularly dominates. Network effects. Ubers are almost always among the fastest transportation options in most cities. Breadth. I never use Uber Eats, but apparently it’s doing quite well. (I don’t know if the above gets me to $70bn. It does, however, point to a gargantuan business.)

Fomite 8y ago
Ironically, where I live getting a Lyft or an actual taxi is easy. Getting an Uber is far more difficult.
- JohnFen 8y ago
  Agreed. I use actual taxis because (in my area) they're faster and easier than Uber or Lyft. (Also, Uber is a terrible company that doesn't deserve my money.)
  - Fomite 8y ago
    The latter is how I discovered the former.
isostatic 8y ago
> Scale. One can reliably get an Uber almost anywhere. That makes it attractive to travelling businesspeople and jet setters, two price insensitive customer segments that Uber almost singularly dominates. Indeed. I was shocked to not be able to get one in China a couple of months ago When I land in Sydney, or Seoul, or Paris, or New York, I don't want to have to work out what app to get, download it, set it up, set up payments, and then hope it works. On the other hand Uber really let me down in Nairobi last year. with an airport pickup, so I don't rely on it there now, and will pre-book a legacy transfer to/from the airport now. They need to keep the quality up across all those cities otherwise they risk someone else winning.
- ericd 8y ago
  I was pretty shocked to be able to use them in Tanzania, and at like 1/10 the price of our hotels' car service.