5 ms·

masquerading as a "tech" company when you're nothing more than a physical service company is the biggest realization here. This is definitely a wizard of oz mo

by nojito 7y ago

masquerading as a "tech" company when you're nothing more than a physical service company is the biggest realization here. This is definitely a wizard of oz moment for many "tech" companies.

pb7 7y ago
Tech or not, what difference does it make? Lots of tech companies hurting equally due to loss or reduced business. Everything is connected these days.
dbancajas 7y ago
can you explain what a "wizard of oz" moment means?
- ashtonkem 7y ago
  It’s a reference to the man behind the curtain being smaller and less impressive than what their original image made them look like.
- pstuart 7y ago
  I suppose it's the moment when Toto pulls back the curtain to reveal the great wizard is merely a man operating a machine.
- topkai22 7y ago
  In the wizard of oz, the “great and powerful wizard” is actually a tiny old man with no powers who uses stage magic tricks, which is revealed at the climax of the movie by a tiny dog pulling back a curtain. It means that something is revealed to be fundamentally weaker than it appears.
- person5 7y ago
  Spoiler Alert The wizard isn't actually a super powerful wizard. It's literally just a dude behind a curtain talking into a microphone and operating some contraption. [1] If you hear someone use the phrase "man behind the curtain" this is what it's referring to. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyCCJ6B2WE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyCCJ6B2WE
leetcrew 7y ago
I've seen a lot of similar comments regarding various companies over the last week or so. what exactly is a "tech company", and what makes it different from a normal company (eg, a bank) for whom tech is still an integral part of the product?
- Cthulhu_ 7y ago
  In this case, it's probably labeled a tech company because: - Founded by IT people (Garett Camp co-founded StumbleUpon) - HQ in San Fransisco - Uses technology to link drivers and consumers An USP compared to a traditional taxi company is their app, which added convenience to taxi services - don't have to call someone, don't have to worry about handling money, etc.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- rossdavidh 7y ago
  From the point of view of "does it matter if they're profitable", a "tech company" has more of their costs up front (to develop the software), and their costs increase less with volume. So, once you've got the software made, "all you need to do" (still a big deal) is get customers, and you will become profitable (ignoring software maintenance that gets costlier as you scale up, etc). Costs may go up due to server capacity, etc. but not nearly as fast as revenue. But, if your cost structure isn't really like that, then if you're not profitable when you're small, that's a signal that you're not a good investment. A lot of companies with cost structures more like a conventional company, that weren't profitable, tried to claim that they were a tech company and therefore as they scale up they would become profitable. Some investors fell for this, or thought that someone else would when it was time to IPO. Whether this logic was ever valid is, IMHO, debatable. But in this case it's a moot point, because Uber (and Lyft, and Lyme, and WeWork, and etc.) don't have a cost structure that looks like a tech company. They may use software, but most of their costs do absolutely scale up as they get more customers. Uber would have been having layoffs this year regardless, I think, they are just doing it now because they have an external shock to blame it on.
- alphast0rm 7y ago
runT1ME 7y ago
Being able to predict ride demand, optimal routes, and pricing on the fly seems like a complicated enough of a problem that it would both require a lot of engineering and provide enough value over just a 'physical service company'. I certainly enjoy using Uber and Lyft over Taxis, and when I travel for business I never rent a car these days where as I would always rent a car when confronted with the alternative of dealing with Taxis. Do you think i'm overestimating the advantage the software brings to the experience?
- asdff 7y ago
  It seems like a job for a generalized logistics company to source to niche companies. Why keep reinventing the wheel? It's a waste of engineering.

by nojito 7y ago

masquerading as a "tech" company when you're nothing more than a physical service company is the biggest realization here. This is definitely a wizard of oz moment for many "tech" companies.

pb7 7y ago

Tech or not, what difference does it make? Lots of tech companies hurting equally due to loss or reduced business. Everything is connected these days.

dbancajas 7y ago

can you explain what a "wizard of oz" moment means?

ashtonkem 7y ago
It’s a reference to the man behind the curtain being smaller and less impressive than what their original image made them look like.
pstuart 7y ago
I suppose it's the moment when Toto pulls back the curtain to reveal the great wizard is merely a man operating a machine.
topkai22 7y ago
In the wizard of oz, the “great and powerful wizard” is actually a tiny old man with no powers who uses stage magic tricks, which is revealed at the climax of the movie by a tiny dog pulling back a curtain. It means that something is revealed to be fundamentally weaker than it appears.
person5 7y ago
Spoiler Alert The wizard isn't actually a super powerful wizard. It's literally just a dude behind a curtain talking into a microphone and operating some contraption. [1] If you hear someone use the phrase "man behind the curtain" this is what it's referring to. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyCCJ6B2WE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWyCCJ6B2WE

leetcrew 7y ago

I've seen a lot of similar comments regarding various companies over the last week or so. what exactly is a "tech company", and what makes it different from a normal company (eg, a bank) for whom tech is still an integral part of the product?

Cthulhu_ 7y ago
In this case, it's probably labeled a tech company because: - Founded by IT people (Garett Camp co-founded StumbleUpon) - HQ in San Fransisco - Uses technology to link drivers and consumers An USP compared to a traditional taxi company is their app, which added convenience to taxi services - don't have to call someone, don't have to worry about handling money, etc.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
rossdavidh 7y ago
From the point of view of "does it matter if they're profitable", a "tech company" has more of their costs up front (to develop the software), and their costs increase less with volume. So, once you've got the software made, "all you need to do" (still a big deal) is get customers, and you will become profitable (ignoring software maintenance that gets costlier as you scale up, etc). Costs may go up due to server capacity, etc. but not nearly as fast as revenue. But, if your cost structure isn't really like that, then if you're not profitable when you're small, that's a signal that you're not a good investment. A lot of companies with cost structures more like a conventional company, that weren't profitable, tried to claim that they were a tech company and therefore as they scale up they would become profitable. Some investors fell for this, or thought that someone else would when it was time to IPO. Whether this logic was ever valid is, IMHO, debatable. But in this case it's a moot point, because Uber (and Lyft, and Lyme, and WeWork, and etc.) don't have a cost structure that looks like a tech company. They may use software, but most of their costs do absolutely scale up as they get more customers. Uber would have been having layoffs this year regardless, I think, they are just doing it now because they have an external shock to blame it on.
alphast0rm 7y ago

runT1ME 7y ago

Being able to predict ride demand, optimal routes, and pricing on the fly seems like a complicated enough of a problem that it would both require a lot of engineering and provide enough value over just a 'physical service company'. I certainly enjoy using Uber and Lyft over Taxis, and when I travel for business I never rent a car these days where as I would always rent a car when confronted with the alternative of dealing with Taxis. Do you think i'm overestimating the advantage the software brings to the experience?

asdff 7y ago
It seems like a job for a generalized logistics company to source to niche companies. Why keep reinventing the wheel? It's a waste of engineering.