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Uber's original pitch deck from a decade ago shows just how much the ride-hailing giant has changed over the past decade
Uber's original pitch deck from a decade ago shows just how much the ride-hailing giant has changed over the past decade
Graham RapierJan 3, 2019, 02:20 IST
REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
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Uber, now a decade old, could be worth $120 billion when it goes public this year.
The company has grown significantly since the idea was first pitched by founder Garrett Camp.
Business Insider is publishing the original pitch deck for UberCab to show how much the company has changed in the years since.
Uber is quickly racing towards a massive IPO this year.
Those plans - and a reported confidential filing with the top US' stock market regulator - have spurred wild speculation on Wall Street, with some analysts betting the company could be worth as much as $120 billion.
But Uber, now nearly ten-years-old, wasn't always a network of more than two-million drivers providing rides at the tap of a button in 63 countries around the world. Back in August 2008, the dream of a "next generation car service" was merely a slideshow presentation on founder Garrett Camp's computer.
The very first slide is a time-capsule from 2008. Yes, that's a BlackBerry.
Ten years ago, hailing a cab was a very different affair.
However, a 2018 report by Schaller Consulting found that for-hire vehicles drive an average of 2.1 miles without passengers, between fares.
Also, most New York cabs are now Toyota Camry's which the city estimates to have an environmental rating of 25 miles per gallon.
Uber has decimated the value of taxi medallions.
After the expansion of Uber in New York, the value of taxi medallions — limited amounts of which are sold at auction by the city — has plummeted by nearly 75%. And, of course, street-hailing is vital for those without smartphones or a credit/debit card.
The 'NetJets of car services'
This, in a nutshell, was — and still is — Uber's value proposition. NetJets, a company that allows you to buy fractional ownership in a private jet — has been owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway since 1998.
Uber originally wanted to screen its customers.
Today, anyone with a credit or debit card and a smartphone can be instantly connected with a driver. GPS (and photos) make finding your driver much easier — something that hasn't changed today.
It's not just luxury Mercedes sedans these days, either.
According to the original pitch, Uber cars would be luxury Mercedes sedans. Today the most popular cars are Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, and Toyota Camry.
GPS is obviously still a main tenet of the app. SMS summoning, on the other hand, seems to have gone by the wayside.
Saving destinations with specific labels would have been much more important for text-hailing.
Still, saving addresses into the app for easy selection is a big time saver.
All of Uber's potential use-cases still hold up today.
Cheaper than a limo, but safer than a cab.
Not all of Uber's eco-friendly potential benefits have played out.
The same 2018 consulting report found that an average of only 63% of fore-hire miles driven are with passengers.
The fleet looks very different today than originally planned.
Today, a majority of the Uber fleet consists of Toyota Prius's and Camry's, Honda Accord, and Ford Fusion as well as the luxury models it mentioned in 2008.
After central San Francisco, Uber now operates in 60+ countries around the world.
The origins of surge pricing
Though traditional surge pricing is now largely gone, Uber had long foreseen its ability to use trip data to forecast demand and incentivize drivers in areas of increased trip requests.
Knowing where riders and drivers are — and what areas will be popular in the future— is still one of Uber's most valuable products.
It all comes down to data.
Uber could be worth $120 billion on public markets — a far cry from the $4.2 market estimate it had ten years ago.
Airport trips still make up a large chunk of Uber rides
In many cases, Uber rides have become so popular at airports that some cities have altered their pick-up and drop-off lanes to better facilitate ride-hailing. Cab lines, astonishingly, are still a thing though.
Today, Uber operates in 400 cities worldwide. But its original ambitions were much smaller.
And the company easily hit its best-case scenario.
