7 ms·
> Wouldn't the capital they need be pretty minimal? Hard to say. Uber seems to employ large numbers of extremely expensive silicon valley engineers doing god-k
by ForHackernews 7y ago
> Wouldn't the capital they need be pretty minimal?
Hard to say. Uber seems to employ large numbers of extremely expensive silicon valley engineers doing god-knows-what. Maybe those are necessary to run a successful ride dispatching app?
On the other hand, groups like Lyft, Ride Austin, and Curb seem to have cloned Uber's main app.
- mft_ 7y agoInteresting, isn't it. I get that huge scale is very hard, and I'm sure the iterative small optimisations become increasingly difficult... but the MVP of an Uber-like app wouldn't seem to be hugely complex?
- jjwhitaker 7y agoIf other firms are started like a co-op with an app clone like Ride Austin, it could lead to drivers wearing a dozen hats or "employers" and flipping between platforms depending on pricing which may benefit Uber/Lyft who can subsidize costs to undercut competition. Investors may then choose to go with an established firm like Uber as they already are in this cycle and may projects in the works that become the real money maker like self driving technology.
- ForHackernews 7y agoAFAIK, many (most?) drivers already do this. They carry two or more phones for Uber + Lyft + Curb...
- malandrew 7y agoObligatory every time someone makes the same comment: https://danluu.com/sounds-easy/ https://danluu.com/sounds-easy/