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Career Resources
This is an awesome post, thank you!
I dont have much to say except that your posts are fucking awesome
Too many of the posts on WSO are basically glorified existential crises that twenty-somethings are having about choosing finance as a career path.
This post is not one of those -- fantastic, actionable information. Solid, thoughtful write-up. Thank you.
This is a great post!! I am actually thinking about building an app with a friend of mine. So I will probably contact you for advice or pointers
This is fantastic, best of luck to Rickshaw
Great post.
I had an idea for an app (game) that I think is unique and could find a lot of demand.
@grosse Regarding (1), you definitely cannot just hand this over to a team. We were originally going to hand over the taxi database creation to a company in the Philippines, but we realized that this was an essential part of the product, and therefore we had to ensure it was done with high quality and we had to do it ourselves. You are the only one who is going to ensure that you are producing a quality product and you cannot delegate that.
Regarding (2), we have actually been very efficient in establishing a great and diverse set of drivers. We have probably received over 700 resumes ranging from 50 Cent's (the rapper's) las vegas fleet manager and private driver, to a senior public school administrator in Washington DC, to a singer/songwriter in Memphis, to a Thai immigrant who is a recent Iraq war veteran in Los Angeles. We now actually have a much higher number of drivers than passengers and we are exploring ways to efficiently bring passengers onto the platform.
Regarding (3) It is difficult to make plans when you don't know what is going to happen next week, but I believe that Rickshaw is a very useful tool with very widespread value. In the past week, we have had discussions with a driver in Waterloo, Ontario who was so keen on the platform that he was asking how he personally could market Rickshaw in Waterloo, and we have seen equally keen interest in London, England and Brisbane, Australia. So, I really want to grow this and see where I can take it.
Great post! It's interesting seeing the tie-ins between tech and IBanking.
Great post. How to you handle ongoing development? So you hire some people with an initial project plan, but eventually that is fulfilled. So do you also negotiate continuing development, bug fixing, tech support?
@mojo12 We have ongoing engagements with our main team of programmers. We have a long and evolving list of desired improvements, so we keep feeding them work. We will send them a list of requests and they will send us back their proposed costs and time frame. We will then agree on these parameters and start the work. Fixing glitches and essential tech support is done without any cost. They have an interest in keeping me happy and not losing the stream of business that I provide to them, so it has generally been ok. Still, we are hoping to eventually move "in house" with our programming as we continue to grow.
@Asia_i_banker kudos to you for your drive to get your idea started, and the creative thinking in controlling the pricing database via Excel.
But having been in the startup space for a few years after banking, I can point out that there are better approaches to test your idea with FAR less time and cost.
Yes, I've done the EXACT same thing, quitting the banking world to do my own startup, with dreams of millions at 26. I've also fell hard and made the SAME mistakes, before I started working at a Google-backed early stage startup, and really saw how things should be done.
So, I will NOT advice anyone here to approach their own startup this way.
--- Scenario analysis ---
We all know most startups fail right?
Let's look at the most likely scenario. A few months or year from now, users adoption is low and it's clear that Rickshaw will not be able to beat Uber or traditional cabs. The total investment loss would be $10,000 in development cost, plus months / years of lost salary, had you stayed in banking. That's VERY hefty.
This is not directed to you. Even if it's Mark Zuckerberg, the odds will still be low.
--- Validate the problem first, THEN built ---
For any startup in the beginning, the focus should be getting some data on validating the customer's pain. So the first thing to do was not to build the Android app, or the database for 3 continents, or the rating feature. You might even be able to get away without an iPhone app at all.
Assuming that you're in London (or any populous city), you can just start and focus there in the beginning. If you have a 100 friends in London who're willing to play taxi and drive others for a fee, then you've validated the supply side.
Then let's say you stand in front of a crowded office building during rush hour, and ask 100 people if they'd be willing to get a ride from the drivers you're showing on your iPhone screen. If lots of them say yes, you have a good idea that this may work on the demand side.
To do this experiment, you don't even need a WORKING app. It could've just been a mockup screenshot of what you envision.
--- My take on the customer need + use case ---
What is the use case that you're envisioning?
I think the time when a consumer needs a cab ride THE MOST is when:
1) they're out on Sat night, pissed drunk, and 2) they're coming out of the airport and that's the easiest way to get home
In either of these situations, it will be hard to imagine a user using Rickshaw.
For me personally, I would be willing to pay a few more dollars to ride a cab/Uber, just to be sure that I'd get to my destination safely and on time. Yes, you have a rating system, but gathering enough ratings from users who will voluntarily put in the work is extremely challenging. On average, only 10% of users are regular content contributors to a product. The fact that your product is location-based and time-based, makes it even more likely that users will not remember / be too lazy to submit the data.
--- Network Effects ---
As mentioned, you're facing a huge network effects problem with heavy reliance of user-generated data. You can certainly point to the success of Yelp etc. But just remember how many other startups, that you never hear about, attempted the same thing and failed.
Personally, unless a founder has extensive experience in Product Management, and has exceptional technical talent as part of the founding team (who will ride through the bad times with you), the odds of success is exceptionally low.
You'll never hear this in the media, because it's not sexy.
--- Product Iteration ---
Most startup's first idea is usually wrong (e.g. Facebook was Facemash, Airbnb was serving air beds).
In other words, your odds of success is determined by how many times you get to iterate your product, so you can get it to the level where it's loved by your users, and be ready for you to scale it.
Don't take my word for it. Learn from Eric Ries, best selling author of The Lean Startup, founder of IMVU.
--- Platform Choice ---
I'm very impressed that you "hacked" your idea together with what you know in Excel. That's drive and determination right there.
In the long term, however, IF your product do take off, you will need to rebuild it so your UI can accommodate specific user flows (that can improve your engagement metrics), and your database structure will most likely become a nightmare. Taking a few months off the roadmap to develop your product can cause major disruption to you service.
That's why the techies rule this world. They build things quickly, on the right platform to begin with, and can iterate quickly.
Again, it's AWESOME that you just took your idea and ran with it. Most people don't even have that courage to begin with.
Feel free to reach out to me anytime, if you'd like to bounce ideas / hear a 2nd opinion.
Best of luck!
--- To ALL aspiring Banker-to-Startuper ---
Banking doesn't teach you to be an entrepreneur. In fact it makes it worst. Don't drink your own kool aid.
I recommend that any aspiring startupers go work at an early-stage startup first (VC-funded). Build the foundation, network, and find your Cofounder, before you invest too much in an unproven idea.
Sorry for my long-winded post. But I've learned so much about startups and beared so much pain of failure in the past few years, I just want to share with you all so you don't waste precious time and resources like I did.
This is a good post. Very true from the experiences of friends in the start-up space.
@lynnventures
Thanks for adding onto my initial posting. I think your aim was to really educate the general readership, and maybe not directed exactly to Rickshaw, but nevertheless I will respond here as an fyi.
Does my start up have a very very high chance of failure? Absolutely correct. But, I still want to try. I believe most start-ups now recognize they have very bad odds, however: - There is little risk in continuing to do investment banking - I already know that I can perform well and am already quite confident that it is not what I want to do and it is not what will make me happy - There is a chance - a small chance that I might do well starting company - I will probably not do well based on the odds, and it is unclear how this will turn out for me, but there is a chance that I could really enjoy what I am doing
When I originally left Rothschild, I posted this on my Facebook: Today, I submitted my letter of resignation from Rothschild. After two years of investment banking, and three years since my original internship with the firm, I am moving to Hong Kong and moving on to other things. What are those other things that I will be moving on to? I am not sure yet, but I am sure that investment banking is not what makes me happy, so I am cutting myself out of the continuation of this certain dissatisfaction, and moving on to the uncertain possibility of finding something that does make me happy. Today is a good day.
While it is certainly risky going out into the wilderness, I think it is still better than just continuing on with the thing you know you don' want to do.
In terms of product validation, -1) I talked to basically anyone i met - strangers, friends, strangers of strangers, family, anyone - about this idea. I received almost consistently very positive responses and the weary responses that I received led me to develop early on some of the safety tools that we now have in the system, since that was what people showed concern about. -2) By the time I started Rickshaw, my two closest competitors, SideCar and Lyft, were already decently established in San Francisco, where the reception had been very very good. Because I believed that Rickshaw does an even better job of doing what SideCar and Lyft are doing, I thought that SideCar/Lyft were in some ways a good validation test for my idea. In the past 6 months, these two competitors have replicated the model in several other cities in the US, which provides a bit more validation. This is unfortunate, given that my (venture-backed) competitors are indeed moving fast, but it also provides a bit more confidence in the demand in the community transport space, if I can come up with a better product than they have (which I believe I have) -3) Perhaps because Lyft/SideCar had already got the lead on me (although, actually the user experience is quite different with Rickshaw), this altered the perception of "minimum viable product" - I felt that I could no longer just put together a rough bidding system for rides - I had to put together a version that was - overall - much better than these growing competitors. As mentioned in the post, my "banker's" perception of a minimum viable product might be a hindrance to my perfecting nature, but that also led me to build an initial version which (I believe) is better than the existing competition. I am not clear on if this is really better or worse - there is a lot of literature out there on minimum viable products in different scenarios.
Customer need + use case
Regarding you (2) trip to/from the airport, so far, airport transport has been a strong area for us, particularly because people know in advance where and when they need a ride. For example, we have already connected a passenger and a driver in Houston, Texas on May 24th going from a hotel to the airport, more than two weeks in advance of the ride. The passenger in this instance will be getting a ride from a friendly Texan in his 2011 Toyota Tundra pickup truck.
Regarding your content contributors, Rickshaw is a bit different than WallStreetOasis, where users are really "generating content." However, it is true that we rely on the quality of our local users. From the driver's perspective, we make participating in the Rickshaw platform very effortless. The driver sets up his notifiaction ride so that he can passively find out when relevant new rides are requested, based on location and time of the ride. The driver does actually have to check the phone.
For example, if you are generally available Monday - Friday from 5:30 pm until 6:30 pm, when you normally might leave work (and when a lot of people cannot find any taxi), you can set Rickshaw to notify you when any ride is requested that originates within a decided distance (4 miles, for example) from your work address during that time. You can also, at any time, choose view all of the new ride requests near you on a map or on a detailed list.
As for passengers, when they do want a ride, we try to make it easy for them to request one (ride request will become even more smooth with our update next week). We give them a clear option to call the local taxi right from the app. We also make it easy for them to accept and compare bids received from local drivers.
With that said, of course a minority of our users are the really active portion and the community will become better and better as it grows and as that minority portion grows with it, supplemented by the occasional participation of the majority.
While you personally might not see the use scenario for yourself, you may indeed be one of the passengers are a better suited for one of our competitors. The road transport market is large enough that there are segments and we will not capture all of these segments - some people love Rickshaw and some people love Uber - Rickshaw and Uber offer very different experiences for different kinds of users.
Regarding network effects, I agree that the odds are not in my favor. However we have been quite happy with the reception so far and I believe we will be able to build strong enough networks in different localities. Unlike Yelp, even if there are just a handful of drivers in a city, that is generally enough for one passenger to receive some meaningful bids. Even if there are just a handful of passengers in a city, drivers do not actually have to check the app to keep up with ride requests, as we notify them based on their chosen location and time settings.
Starting with the update next week, passengers will be able to immediately see how many drivers were notified about their ride so passengers can get an immediate sense of the likelihood that they would receive bids for their ride. Additionally, if there are no drivers around in Pilsen, Czech Republic, we make it very easy for the passenger to call the local taxi company right from the app and they can clearly see an accurate estimate of the cost of that taxi for their particular ride (I think we have around 26 local taxi companies in our database from Czech Republic alone).
Regarding your good point on product iteration, I will have to let you know later about this - I wish I knew where I would end up, but at the moment, we are continuously evolving the product, with new releases every one or two weeks. It is of course unclear at this point whether or not the product will be totally different 6 months or a year from now based on the different unforeseeable things that happen.
Actually, my references to excel were more of a nice bridge for finance readers into programming. None of the coding is actually in excel, but I, as the project manager, started out by putting everything into excel in a logical way. My programming team then properly converted that into real programming database structure. However, we still use spreadsheets as a tool for ourselves, such as when I need an output of user data and user activity, or when I am updating the taxi database, or when I am adjusting some language labels, etc. etc. So, excel is not what is driving our app - we have a proper MySQL driven back-end. However, I still think excel is quite useful when I myself am interacting with the data. We have also set the server to generates excel outputs for specific things like batch payment requests that we upload to Skrill and AliPay.
Regarding having to potentially take a few months off to rework the infrastructure, I don't think this is likely, although every problem is possible of course. When we do major updates (such as the recent major overhaul of languages and currencies), we use a second and totally separate server to put together the new structure, while also still releasing regular updates to the main product on the main server. These major overhauls will be less frequent, and it would be far more common to have a gradual but continuous evolution of both the back end and front end.
Regarding your final points on Banker-to-Startup
I agree that banking does not teach you to become an entrepreneur. Only being an entrepreneur helps you become an entrepreneur, just like only banking helps you become a banker (most finance classes are pretty far from the real thing).
However, there are certainly skills you learn to bridge over, such as (extremely important) project management, as well as the general (also very important) respect for quality, consistency and above all else - extremely hard work. Excel does help as I believe some of the logic does carry over.
It would probably help to get experience in a start-up yourself, but you should be passionate about whatever that start-up is doing. Otherwise, you are just back in the office, but a different office. If you can get involved with a start-up that you actually believe in, then go for it. Rickshaw is now looking for country managers in Europe :-)
So, will I fail? From the third person perspective, based on the odds: Probably
Do I still want to try? Yes, because I believe in what I am doing and I am passionate about it. I guess most musicians will face the same odds but feel similarly driven to continue
In fact, when I was in high school, getting into a good university also had pretty poor odds. When I was at university, getting into a top investment banking firm in Singapore (from a North American background and I am not Asian) also had pretty poor odds.
If I just looked at the odds, I would have been an accountant. If I was looking at the odds of getting into and succeeding with banking, I would have gone to New York or Boston and not focused on Asia.
If I do fail, then I will figure out what is next, but at least I would have tried - I will not be 30 years old looking back on my 20's in a cubical, with a mortgage and a family, continuing on .. continuing on. I would have at least taken the risk to build something myself, to have "grabbed life by the horns." I am myself entrepreneurial enough that I believe I can bounce back from a failure to find what is next. When I do bounce back, I would be doing so with a lot more skills and knowledge than I would have if I just continued on the beaten path, and I would have lived a fuller life in the meantime.
Great reply! Thanks for being so thorough. Any advice for someone in finance looking to switch to a VC backed start-up? Do I need technical skills? Is it all networking?
Quality, good looks on Elance and oDesk.
Does your app face the same regulatory issues that Uber does?
@falconpunch19 Rickshaw faces similar regulatory issues as Uber, but more similar regulatory issues as Lyft and SideCar.
It entirely depends on literally each local (often even town-level) jurisdiction. It is unclear how many town governments well really step in and try to stop a safe, voluntary and efficient market place for transportation that (1) provides convenient and pleasant self-employment to their local people, (2) provides more efficient transportation options for their local people, and (3) facilitates their local people connecting for a greater sense of community. The current taxi regimes in many cities (as repeatedly stated by the FTC) is terribly monopolistic and harms both drivers (who themselves as individuals end up earning less than half of their fares) and the passengers (who end up paying much higher prices, and who receive much lower quality service and are limited to far fewer options).
Furthermore, in the state of California, this type of transport system that Rickshaw facilitates is actually formally legal at the current time. Many other local level governments have chosen to remain silent as they take the "sit-and-observe" approach to this new system of getting around.
On the pure safety side, which is related to some of the regulatory ideology, you can take a look at our website which has more detailed information, but a short overview would be (1) the passenger can always call the local taxi company right from the app and there is a database of nearly 1,000 local taxi companies all over N America, Europe and Asia Pacific with quite accurate pricing information, (2) Before accepting a ride, both driver and passenger can view the entire ratings history of the other party, just like you might view the ratings history of an Amazon seller or ebay seller, (3) the passenger can see clearly which drivers are "Certified" and therefore have gone through more thorough background checks and interviews, (4) the passenger can also view photos of the driver's car, as well as the car's make, model, year, and license plate, (5) if any problem shall arise, there is an entire formal complaint interface built into the app; admin will be notified immediately when a complaint is made and the users can choose to even come to an agreed settlement to the dispute all within the app, (6) if there is a more serious problem, there is a much better chance that the perpetrator can be found as there is just so much more data and transparency in the Rickshaw system as compared to the normal taxi system, where you have never seen your taxi driver before and will never see your taxi driver again and probably would have a hard time even tracking down your forgotten luggage. It would be difficult for someone to evade the data trail after providing dangerous or even unsatisfactory or unfriendly service.
This was great.
Best post i've seen on this site - hopefully it encourages others to do the same. The concept is also very intriguing and seems like it could have unlimited potential
1) I downloaded the app, filled the form out as a passenger, and arrived at the payment information interface, which is usually a turn off for me if I'm just attempting to test the app out and learn how it functions. I was going to ask you what your revenue model was since the download was free but i take it it's integrated into the app - can you elaborate on how it works?
2) Is there any way to bypass the form section (long forms are also a turn off for a lot of people) either by signing in through your Google or Facebook account?
3) What are your actual methods of marketing the product beyond word of mouth and app store placement?
4) I get the name and know what a Rickshaw is - did you every consider branding it differently or any other names? I personally feel like Rickshaw's may not be as widely recognized in certain markets initially, or the word not immediately identified with a transportation app.
5) lastly, is this your first foray into the world of entrepreneurship?
I congratulate you on joining the ranks of those who decide to stop being hopeful entrepreneurs and taking the leap. I myself have always yearned to be my own boss despite the fact that i do enjoy my job and what i do. If most of us on this site actually applied the same amount of time and effort we do at our jobs, into something that you can claim ownership of, I think success would be inevitable for the most part. You've also reconfirmed the difficulty of juggling a full-time job and a side venture - something i've been attempting to maintain for a long time.
Really insightful post Jonathan. Particularly when you broke down the difficulties associated with outsourcing the programming aspect.
You mentioned that you also check through the coding on a line by line basis. What sort of language are you using? How long did it take for you to feel confident enough to check through code (assuming you were learning from scratch)? In my last internship I was trying to teach myself VBA and I found it very intimidating to try and read other people's codes. But as I put more time in (100s of hours) it slowly became easier, however, by no means would I feel like I was able to validate the programming of a team of developers or to potentially spot any potential errors.
Another question is relating to work experience. I understand you feel like IBD gave you a good skillset that was transferable to this venture. In hindsight, do you think that if you had previously worked in a techy start-up company, that experience would have been even more impactful or helpful today? Alternatively, what are some of the experiences or skills you wish you had before you started out?
I am also very interested in the questions raised by Nelobynature and eagerly await your response.
@Heijira I do not check the code, I thoroughly check again and and again and again the interface, testing all possible scenarios and actions. I basically try to break the app, try to find errors.
I would love to learn to program and I feel like programming is an important language just like English or Chinese, however practically speaking, even if I learn programming, I will not be the best person to actually sit down and write the code for Rickshaw.
There are a lot of other things to do besides coding, so it is best for me to manage the coders to make sure that the product is a great product, while also managing all of the other things that are going on.
Regarding the benefit of working in a tech company prior to starting your own, I assume that would certainly help. If you find a company that you are actually passionate to work for, then go work there, as it will be more relevant to a startup than you doing M&A transaction comparables.
I really wish I knew how to program. But that requires time, and in the end if you need programming done, it might be better to find someone who is really focused on that.
@nelobynature
(1) We agree - we are going to take the credit card input area out of the passenger registration, and the passengers will simply be able to choose to pay by card or cash when they actually request a ride. In the Ride Request instance, you will not even see any credit card info fields until you actually choose the button to pay by credit card (as compared to the default, paying by cash). If you have actually previously saved credit card details, it will then also look more streamlined than it currently does.
The first portion of this (1) update will probably be available over the weekend (for Android) or sometime the week after (for iPhone), with the next portion available a week later.
Please note that with my major competitors (Lyft, SideCar, Uber), I believe you actually have to enter your credit card details before you request a ride and paying with cash is not an option (unless you are using the UberTaxi function, I believe). In the "ridesharing" (or community transport) space, I have not yet seen anyone else that has developed a system that allows passengers to actually pay cash for their rides, where as that characterizes virtually all of the rides requested on Rickshaw
We enable this by charging drivers a 15% fee on the bid value for successfully completed rides. If the passenger is paying by card for a $10 ride, we charge their card $10 upon successful completion of the ride (there is a "Complete" button) and then send $8.50 to the driver via Skrill. If the passenger is paying with cash for a $10 ride, the passenger will pay the cash directly to the driver upon completion of the ride and will then charge the driver's credit card $1.50. From the perspective of the driver and passenger, there is no price difference in paying by card or cash.
(2) We are planning to integrate Facebook or Google sign-ins in the next month or two. We would like to do it sooner, but practically speaking, I think there are other more pressing interface changes that we need to focus on and we don't have the resources to make all desired changes immediately. We will do this though.
(3) In order to recruit drivers onto the platform, we post job ads in target markets. This is actually extremely efficient. We are currently exploring different alternatives of getting passengers onto the system (Facebook ads, Google AdWords, we are looking now at TapJoy, etc.), but we are measuring cost effectiveness of these different tools. We also encourage drivers to do a bit of social marketing themselves, which some of them have clearly done. A lot of drivers are themselves keen on increasing the activity in the system, since that means more activity for them. One driver was even asking if he could put stickers on his car. We will also be reaching out to different technology blogs, websites etc. beginning in the next several days.
Already, an environmental blog has published a story on how Rickshaw offers a more sustainable mode of transport (as compared to taxis, which drive a lot of the day without passengers, looking for fares).
Also, we were featured recently by USAToday as the #3 way to make extra cash while in college, which gave us a boost.
(4) Actually, we have received a very positive response to the name "Rickshaw" from most Westerners. A lot of people think that it sounds fun and quaint, while also relates clearly to transport.
In the East, however, we have had to rename it in Chinese "立刻到" or "Li Ke Dao" meaning "Immediately Arrive" since Chinese associate Rickshaw with a very hard labor life, and the idea of "immediately arriving" matches better with the major value proposition in some Asian markets, where taxis are actually very cheap, but often very difficult to find. One time, I spent two hours in Shenzhen trying to get a taxi.
(5) This is my first attempt at entrepreneurship. If I try to start another business, I will certainly face less challenges, since I am now really figuring out the solutions to a lot problems that I have never seen before, but that more seasoned entrepreneurs could probably easily figure out.
Part of the reason for this posting was to (1) Encourage all of the would-be entrepreneurs to seriously give it a shot (2) Provide you with some potentially valuable insight into what you will face, so that you can learn a bit from my own efforts
very interesting post!
Awesome post. Gave a SB.
How are you coping with different local regulations on taxes and fees? As a lot of municipalities levy taxes on Taxi fares or require licensing with local or state authorities?
I just briefly took a look at your listed competitors and your site. It seems like Lyft is the only provider that provides insurance coverage out of the three. But Lyft's policy does not provide any accurate information on how and what that 1M policy covers.
I can't speak for other countries, but in the US (where I am originally from) personal auto insurance policy have exclusion clauses that will deny claims if the driver was performing business/commercial related activities at the time of loss. This is speaking from experience, as I used to work for insurance companies. If one of your drivers got into an accident while chauffeuring, he is shit out of luck along with the passenger if the driver is found to be at fault. There are also states in the US that have "no-fault" liability laws, meaning the drivers' own insurance policy will cover their own damages.
I have seen claims being denied because the kid was delivering pizzas when he got into a wreck. It will only take one of these events to tarnish this ride sharing idea if it goes viral. Remember what happened to Airbnb with homeowners getting their houses destroyed or shit stolen?
It would be a game changer if you are able to negotiate an insurance policy that will cover collision and liability damages for the driver and passenger. This would be a huge selling point and will bring out all the part-timers and under employed people to sign up for side incomes on a more professional level.
By the way, I really admire what you wrote here, especially this quote:
"If I do fail, then I will figure out what is next, but at least I would have tried - I will not be 30 years old looking back on my 20's in a cubical, with a mortgage and a family, continuing on .. continuing on."
Wish I had the courage to pull through with my start up years ago, but I chose to chase markets instead after 6 months.
@ST Monkey Most car insurance plans cover carpooling, and I believe it is not against policy to be compensated for gas and general car costs during this carpool.
I believe that AirBnB as well as Lyft are offering extra layers of insurance because this is not exactly a clean-cut situation. In the medium term, potentially if we are able tor raise any VC funding, we would like to provide an extra layer of insurance during the ride for Rickshaw users as well. As a young star-tup, however, this is impossible, so it is the responsibility of each driver in the system to carry proper insurance to cover carpooling situations such as the ones found on Rickshaw.
Regardng your point "It will only take one of these events to tarnish this ride sharing idea if it goes viral. Remember what happened to Airbnb with homeowners getting their houses destroyed or shit stolen?" Actually, AirBnB is growing extremely fast, probably faster than ever and continues to be extremely popular. Did you know that an Uber driver was suspected of raping a female passenger on her driveway after driving her home from a bar last month? Meanwhile, Uber has continued to grow. Even though many people know about the situation you are describing, and many more people already have natural fears about the situation, the vast majority of AirBnB users love the system.
In fact, if anyone is traveling in Hong Kong, you can even stay in my apartment in the extra bedroom which we have listed on AirBnB. We know that this is not risk-free for us, however we are glad to participate in AirBnB nevertheless.
I believe these extremely rare occurrences only reflect what it means to live in society in general. That one in a million chance may happen outside of the "neighborhood economy" or in may happen within it. I believe that it is even less likely to happen within these platforms because they have so many safety features, but even if such occurrences are less likely than their likelihood if you were commonly just going about your normal life, that does not mean 0% chance. You just have to put things into proportion and realize that these platforms are actually safer than alternative.
How often do you even fasten your seat belt when you are in a taxi? How often is your taxi driver driving very aggressively while you do not have your seat belt fastened? If you even wanted to track down your lost bag, how difficult would it be to actually find it? Imagine if a taxi driver had raped a passenger just like the Uber driver was suspected of doing? The taxi driver could never be caught, but the Uber driver could not hide himself because it was all arranged and tracked through the platform. It would be very difficult for Rickshaw drivers to even get away with unfriendly service without consequences, and if they intend to actually commit a serious offense, then they would be likely to avoid such a platform as Rickshaw, Lyft or Uber, where their identity and actions are tracked.
This would not fall under carpooling. Carpooling is applicable to friends and family and not for the purpose of monetary gains. AirBnB offered insurance coverage after that publicized incident and their PR definitely know how to turn that negative piece into a huge positive.
This is the kind of crap that can put a black eye on a startup, so my 2 cents is to be aware of it and have a contingency plan.
Moral of the story: If you want something to do something meaningful after banking, make sure you start at Rothschild.
Signed, Patrick Curtis Asia_i_Banker
Excellent, excellent post OP.
Quick questions: 1) Did you ever fear that the programmers/developers would steal your idea? Since you're telling them so much about it. I have this paranoia of having my idea stolen (even if they're worthless ideas lol). 2) Are you aiming to grow it into a really big company long term or more as something you'd sell in the medium term?
Hi Asia_i_Banker, thanks a lot for answering my pm. Gave another SB.
Thanks Jonathan! Great post.
Not to come off as a naysayer, but I would advise you to tread carefully with these insurance issues. In the unlikely event that a passenger is seriously injured / dies during a shared ride that your company arranged, you could find yourself in serious trouble.
Good job Jon! You do have some uphill battles with regards to legal issues. Maybe one way is to position Rickshaw as a information provider connecting commuters and drivers.
I'll be going to HK in June and would like to meet up. Can't send pm yet, but if you are interested could you send me a pm?
We have now accumulated a good base of drivers and passengers, but are currently experiencing the issue of thin or imbalanced user numbers in individual local areas. Because of this, we are amid a pivot of how we are approaching business development and are now recruiting local partners to be responsible and incentivized for developing and managing local Rickshaw communities. Ideally, but not necessarily, these local managers would be current university students. Please let us know if you are interested in discussing this role. You may send us an e-mail at [email protected]
Brilliant thread. Have you received any funds from VC, your app is not that different from Uber and they're about receive to go through another fund.
While we are in the same on-demand transport space as Uber, we approach the problem in a very different way. Our closer competitors would be SideCar or Lyft, although, again, Rickshaw is quite different from these two. In some previous replies to comments in these two WSO postings, I had touched on some of the main differences.
We have had some very preliminary and casual talks with a couple of VCs but are now entirely focusing our time on the product and business development and I think that going on a VC pitch spree is probably not a good use our time. I used to be in PE, so I know the routine from the other side of the table, and I know the kind of chances any investment (even a good investment) faces and the kind of diversion the whole process can create. If a VC would like to speak to us about what we are doing and where we are going, then it would be great to talk, but the app and the roll out is really what we are focusing on.
Recently we have been lining up local partnerships with some very good people in cities in US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Finland. If anyone else on this site would be interested in talking to us about managing a local market, please send us an e-mail at [email protected]
WSO tends to attract ambitious young people, which are the kind of people we would like to speak to.
Thanks for the inspirational post. I literally stayed up the night (I'm in Asia) reading your posts and other related web articles. I do have some questions that are BUGGING me if you don't mind taking the time to answer them:
1) How did you figure out their pricing models/convince the local taxi companies to give them up? I would think that if I was the taxi company owner, I would not want to hand over information that people can use just to offer lower prices than my drivers...Unless you framed it as an advertising proposition (what's in it for them?)
2) I read that you screen all potential drivers with their information (drivers license, plates, etc) in addition to increasing transparency thru user ratings. How do you verify this data to make sure they're valid? (ie, fake ids or stolen cars) Do you use a government based verification system?
3) Although it may be unlikely (or likely) that drivers generate significant revenue thru your app, are you responsible if they fail to mention it on their tax returns or engage in money laundering?
Again, thank you for taking the time to write about your experiences.
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