Hello to one and all! Welcome to this week’s newsletter.
Today we are going to see the beginnings of a company that has revolutionized the taxi industry, but would not admit as a taxi company.
Uber is a “ride-hailing” company with 110 million users and operates across 700 cities around the world. Founded in 2009 as UberCab, it is now a $62 billion company with product offerings in multiple segments from ride-hailing to food delivery to self driving cars. Let’s go have a sneak peek from the days they were just getting started.
The year is 2010
UberCab Takes The Hassle Out Of Booking A Car Service
July, 2010
Finding a cab, especially during peak travel times or in less-traveled areas, can be an incredibly frustrating task. But car services are often much more expensive than the average cab ride. Enter UberCab, a new service that offers an on-demand car service via an iPhone app or SMS.
The initial PR announcement of the budding cab hailing service that promises to provide convenience and low fares.
UberCab Simplifies Urban Transit, But Will It Lead To Anarchy?
October, 2010
UberCab allows users to call for a car service in just a matter of seconds by cracking open an app on their iPhone or by sending a text message. Users can specify their location or let the iPhone's built-in GPS find it for them on a map. Even better is the fact that UberCab is totally cashless (except for the tip, of course): when users set up a UberCab account, they provide billing info. Then, when they use the service, the fare is automatically charged to their credit card -- no muss, no fuss.
UberCab Ordered to Cease And Desist
October, 2010
Did Ubercab just crash and burn? Taxi and limo industry insiders in California today informed TechCrunch that the San Francisco Metro Transit Authority & the Public Utilities Commission of California have ordered the startup to cease and desist.
For those who follow, Uber and controversies have always been inseparable things. This is one of the first.
Uber I.P.O. Values Ride-Hailing Giant at $82.4 Billion
May, 2019
Uber priced its public offering on Thursday at $45 a share, near the bottom of its expected price range, valuing the ride-hailing company at about $82.4 billion. It raised $8.1 billion from the I.P.O.
Almost 10 years after launching, after billions of dollars in funding Uber finally IPOed in May 2019.
Ubercab started as an alternative to the Taxicab industry and intended to democratize the otherwise closed jobs of taxi drivers. It went beyond that and gave birth to a new “sharing” economy, and challenged laws to change all around the world, and as a by product paved ways for several new companies and even earned itself a tagline for the “sharing” economy startups. “Uber for X”.
That concludes our issue. Please share with me any feedback you have. mail@avinoth.com. I’d love to hear your opinions / suggestions.