Uber vs Lyft | Race to the Bottom | 3

Business Wars

Wondery

History, Business, David Brown, Management

4.6 • 13.2K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2020

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It's 2013, and Lyft's CEO John Zimmer is hosting a little celebration for drivers when some very unwelcome interlopers turn up to crash the party. Uber’s Travis Kalanick wants to destroy Lyft at any cost, and he's willing to do what it takes to outmaneuver his competitor and steal its riders and drivers — even if it means playing dirty.

Lyft decides to stick to its environmentalist roots and focus on a new ridesharing feature it hopes will woo customers away. Until Uber beats them to the punch, and drives its rival to the brink of collapse.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to business wars, add free on Amazon music.
0:04.8	Download the app today.
0:15.3	Summer 2013, early evening Los Angeles.
0:19.3	A group of lift drivers and riders, Mingle and a garden, lined by giant cacti and palm
0:23.8	trees.
0:25.3	People wearing name tags gather around the bar or wander over to a table lined with cupcakes.
0:30.3	All decorated with paint mustaches.
0:33.4	Overseeing all of this is lift founder John Zimmer.
0:36.8	He's proud.
0:38.0	This is exactly what he wanted, a community event that brings people together.
0:43.5	A videographer wanders around getting sound bikes from happy passengers and drivers.
0:48.8	Then he pulls Zimmer aside.
0:50.6	Lifts trying to build a more affordable, social, sustainable transportation system, trying
0:56.2	to make cities feel smaller and more connected.
0:59.9	But in the middle of the feel good festivities, an uninvited group of people walk in.
1:05.8	They're carrying plates of cookies with something written in icing.
1:11.0	Cookie?
1:12.0	Huh?
1:13.0	Why do they say Uber?
1:15.1	Uber founder Travis Kalanick has sent his minions to wreak havoc on lift's little love
1:20.4	fest.
1:21.4	But they have another more important mission, too, to poach lift drivers.
	...

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