And what we can learn from Uber’s Growth Hacking

In 2008, two friends Travis & Garrett met at an annual tech conference.

The conference was the LeWeb, which The Economist describes as “where revolutionaries gather to plot the future”

Both the friends were successful entrepreneurs by then who had sold separate startups they co-founded for hefty sums. Travis had sold Red Swoosh & Garrett did StumbleUpon.

On a winter night during the conference, when the friends weren’t able to get a cab, they came up with a single idea — “What if we could request a ride from the phone?”.

Garrett became fixated on the idea. When he went back to San Fransisco, he bought the domain UberCab.com. By that summer, he persuaded Travis to join as “Chief Incubator”.

And then Uber was launched in 2010, with only three cars.

From that humble beginning, the company is now valued at over $68 billion.

How Uber’s Growth Hacking made them a giant

Uber’s early growth hacking had two distinct characteristics and one process improvement.

• Understand and solve pain points
• Find & encourage early adopters to use your product
• Identify the key drivers for supply-side (Process Improvement)

Understand the pain points

Like Travis & Garrett, many people have found themselves stranded in the middle of the street — trying to find a cab.

I was once on a bus stand at 2 AM — just to realize the bus service had ended. My phone was out of charge but I had my laptop with me. I charged my phone a bit with the laptop in ten minutes, called a Uber, and went back home.

During those 20 minutes, I didn’t feel tense as I knew the car was a click away.

Uber team understood that — People have the option to have their own cars which come with added cost, maintenance & parking-related pain points. They can take public transport and miss out on the comfort & speed of a car.

Uber firstly handled the pain point on consumers’ side by giving them the comfort of a car without owning it, the wait time of a cab, or the uncertainty of whether a cab would be available.

Secondly, post-recession, people were losing their jobs and getting their incomes curtailed. Uber popularized the idea of a gig economy that allowed people to earn a side income.

The combination of answers to pain points on both sides made the product a very appealing one.

But the question remained — how to get users?

Get the early adopters to try

Uber quickly realized that the tech community in San Fransisco is always looking for innovative solutions to make their lives more efficient.

To capitalize on that understanding, Uber started sponsoring tech events and offering free rides for the participants. The participants loved the product and it became a hit.

That led to media coverage, blog posts, and an increase in demand that allowed Uber to become what it is today.

Their early success was the foundation for this growth. Within six months of launch, they had 5,000 users and had completed over 15,000 rides.

Identify what needs to be done to get drivers on board

Ed Baker, former head of Uber’s growth team, and his team identified that the first ride (as a driver) with Uber was crucial.

Those who had a positive experience were significantly more likely to continue.

To make the process smoother, Baker tried the process himself and kept on experimenting to make it smooth and pleasant for drivers.

Growth is a continuous journey as Uber’s Growth Hacking tells us

Despite Uber’s growth hacking techniques, the company also kept on growing due to its continuous geographic expansion.

Given the idea was unique and other companies could adopt it, geographic expansion was key for Uber. They needed to enter new markets fast before other players become prominent. They, unfortunately, couldn’t get prominence in China and South East Asia as there were large players already in the market.

Read more on Growth Hacking