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But... They're losing money. They can't do that indefinitely.
by untog 7y ago
But... They're losing money. They can't do that indefinitely.
- muzani 7y agoThey don't have to. They just have to do it longer than the competition. Remember, Facebook and YouTube made big losses for a while, especially after the 'exit'. YouTube outlived Vine and started putting in more intrusive ads. Facebook IPO seemed like a flop, but it went very well and they acquired all their competitors instead of outwaiting them.
- untog 7y agoUber isn't Facebook or Google, though. Plenty of Uber drivers work for more than one company, and there's nothing to stop a new arrival from poaching a ton of Uber drivers, as long as they give the right incentives. Facebook was protected by network effects, YouTube by the large video library. From the end user's point of view Uber has no such protection.
- dougabug 7y agoLyft doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon in the US. If anything, Lyft is much larger than it was a few years ago. In China and a number of markets where Uber invested heavily, the competition won the war of attrition.
- Marazan 7y agoReally a reply to muzani Facebook lost money for 2 years, right at the start. That's it.