How We Did It! Former Uber Employee Reveals Secret Behind Uber’s Meteoric Rise Within Two Years Of Take-off

 

Former Uber early stage employee, Scot Gorlick has revealed how in his opinion, the ride hailing app went from being in just a few cities to now well over a hundred cities across the world.

The ride hailing app which was launched back in 2012 has since gone on to emplyee hundreds of drivers and workers in the various cities in which it operates. What gave it its riding power and innovative conquest of the transportation sector, Scot shares in a series of tweets  via his Twitter account, a very good and incisive read which is here produced for your reading pleasure. Enjoy:

 

In 2 years, Uber went from being in just a few cities to more than 100. How did Uber grow so quickly? We recruited hundreds of thousands of drivers. I get asked a lot about how we did it, so here are some lessons that might be helpful to other startups

2/ Our pitch to drivers was simple

While you may be busy for some of the week, Uber is a great way to fill your downtime and make extra money. There was no downside to giving us a shot.

3/ We removed friction

We made it as easy as possible to get started w Uber so we removed all obstacles to joining. In the earlier years (‘10-‘14), we literally gave out iPhones and accessories to drivers. Later, we onboarded drivers remotely & sent out “Get Started” kits.

4/ We guaranteed driver earnings

Because we didn’t have riders at launch, we’d offer drivers an hourly rate even when Uber wasn’t busy. This allowed riders to see cars on the road 24/7. As Uber got busier, drivers started making more money and we removed the hourly rate.

5/ We went where drivers were

Limo and taxi drivers spent a lot of time waiting in parking lots around the airport. So we spent a lot of time down at the airport. We’d rent conference rooms where drivers could get to know us, have coffee, sign up and get started driving.

6/ Referrals were super effective

We asked drivers, “Do you have any friends who also want to drive?” Drivers referred friends & we paid out incentives once thresholds were met. Power drivers (who did lots of trips) referred people who were likely to become power drivers.

7/ Uber flipped the industry model on its head

Word spread that Uber changed the game for drivers. If you drove for a limo/taxi co, you’d keep only 30% of your fares or have to rent a car for $500/week. Drivers left limo cos, bought cars & started making more money w Uber

8/ We unlocked new supply

Driving UberBlack required a limo license & commercial insurance. So we helped drivers get all the necessary permits. When UberX launched, we unlocked an even wider pool of supply by allowing millions of ppl to drive their own cars & make money.

9/ We went hard on Craigslist

There was a golden era on Craigslist where you could post and get hundreds of signups in a city for free or very little money ($5 per post). This was important as we rolled out UberX in 2013.

10/ And invested in other paid channels

As UberX scaled, other paid channels became important. Because Uber was now reaching out to a much broader range of drivers, FB, Google, Radio and TV all played a major role in the next chapter of growth.

11/ We tried to get ahead of demand

NYE, Halloween, Big Events (Final 4) & concerts (Jay Z) were busiest. For these times, we onboarded more drivers & created incentives to get more cars on the road. With 1000s of ppl looking for rides, you could never have too many cars.

12/ We never stopped optimizing the funnel

Early on, a change that made a 20-30% conversion improvement was common. At scale, a change in the driver sign up flow that made a 3% improvement was incredible. Little things can make a big difference.