1. Operate in legal grey areas to get a product infront of consumers. Build a large enough network of riders and drivers to prove the product market fit.
2. By the time, politicians and the connected taxi cartels realize the magnitude of the change and seek to outlaw it, rally their own voters to back Uber.
3. Under pressure, have politicians clear the path for legalization. This has played out in more cities than I can remember.
Step #1 before #2 is what made TK and Uber different. The level of ruthlessness it requires, I’d have a hard time substituting others in his position.
Your description left out buying off politicians and breaking the law.
> taxi cartels
The picture of taxi owners as powerful doesn't at all match what I know. It's a shibboleth promoted by Uber.
You should read this then - https://priceonomics.com/post/47636506327/the-tyranny-of-the....
You may be confusing taxi drivers with taxi companies owning and selling medallions for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Taxi drivers have traditionally been thoroughly exploited from having to either put all their wealth at risk from buying an overpriced medallion, or through having to work the first x hours a day simply to break even from mandatory fees. Ask a former yellow cab driver in NYC who converted to Uber to understand which company treats them better.
No, I'm not. In cities I know, they are politically weak. Also, when I talk to drivers, they all would rather drive taxis where they make more money, but have little choice when Uber is taking all the business. They almost universally say Uber pays less, treats them poorly (e.g., they have to supply their own car), and leaves them powerless (Uber can change rates and increase the supply of drivers any time it wants).
> for hundreds of thousands of dollars
Is this big number supposed to be impressive? Let's not forget Uber's 40 billion dollars and lobbyists who used to advise Presidents, if we want to talk about political power. It's laughable to compare taxi companies with Uber.
That’s actually a bad example. Airbnb has tons of legal troubles just as Uber. In many cities it operates illegally. I have traveled around world and used Airbnb a lot and in about half the places I was told it is a grey area or straight out illegal.
Hotel lobby has been busy pushing governments to legislate against Airbnb. It’s just that sharing economy company like that is hard to fight as there is not a bunch of hotel buildings you can go and close down / inspect. It’s hundreds or thousands of either normal folk trying to make extra buck from their unused rooms or speculators buying flats just to rent them via Airbnb.
A very good parallel can be made between Uber vs entrenched taxi industry & Airbnb vs hotel industry. Both companies disrupting old industries using any gray area or straight illegality if it’s hard to enforce.
the city where i live (a 12 million people city) taxi cartels are so powerful, the leader of one of those has dinner with the governor. he has meetings with senators. there is recording of him calling for taxi drivers within his "association" to violently attack uber drivers and nothing was done.
also, taxi medallions are so damn expensive (with some coming to the price of a house) that the owners become powerful.
Do you think Uber's leaders might do the same?