Former Uber employee shares how company solved 'chicken and egg problem': 'Word spread fast'
Former Uber employee shares how company solved ‘chicken and egg problem’: ‘Word spread fast’
Any startup faces challenges at the beginning that can be wide-ranging and can take months to solve before nearing a solution. Rider app Uber was no different during the initial days and a former employee of the company recently shared how Uber solved the “chicken and egg problem”.
Sharing the details over a three-point thread on X (formerly Twitter), the former employee said Uber did not receive requests in bulk on the first day but as they wanted riders to see cars on the road all the time, they paid drivers $30 every hour to be online even if they weren’t busy.
Secondly, he said that Uber would put cars close to bars and restaurants where there would be large crowds of people, which would make it easy for drivers to reach the location when a cab is booked.
Thirdly, the former employee also shared the strategy which Uber used to spread the word and gain more cab requests.
The post saw a lot of responses from users, who thanked the former employee for revealing how the company became the profitable firm that it is today.
“You’ve no idea how valuable this information is. Thank you so much for sharing. I’m a solo founder building a real estate marketplace for my country and like all young marketplaces, its going through the chicken and the egg problem,” one user wrote.
“This is how you solve the marketplace problem. You oversupply the supply side, so the demand side has a great experience,” another user wrote.