Why YourMechanic Won’t Be The Next Uber
And Why This Is A Good Thing
It’s been about three years since Uber became galvanized in tech circles and about a year since ubered entered the mainstream vernacular. Particularly in urban environments, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t familiar with the ride hailing product. Add in the (bad) press attention over the last few quarters, and only a bonafide hermit crab wouldn’t be able to pick out the modern-chic U from a logo lineup.
It’s probably one of the reasons that early stage startups today are insistent on finding a way to attach themselves to Uber’s massive success. The phrase “We’re the Uber for pool cleaning” or “It’s like Uber, but for cheese delivery” is no doubt circulating a pool of potential investors as I write this. Seems logical, after all. With a market cap of $40 billion, an earnest founder isn’t off base when massaging his or her product offering to fit the Uber formula.
Media model Uber may not be, but the company is an investor’s dream. For those who got in early, returns are going to be of unfathomable multiples rarely afforded by an other company. Ever.
Uber’s hyper-growth model will surely be deconstructed and analyzed for years to come. If we still etched select words on stone, Uber’s mind blogging expansion would be worthy of inscription.
It’s at some point during the last couple of years then, that the term “Uber for x” becomes widely popularized. Many a startup assumes that if they can showcase their similarity to the juggernaut tech company, checks from savvy investors will come pouring in. There’s just one problem with that.
There ambitions are misdirected.
While few can argue with the success of the ridesharing company, it’s not challenging to poke holes in it’s moralities, values, and general demeanor. The company has found in itself in a predicament time and time again when ambitions trump ethics by one-hundred fold.
Google’s been famous for adopting and purporting “don’t be evil” as there guiding paradigm. One may not be inaccurate when assuming that Uber’s unofficially accepted motto is “it’s Ok to to do evil, just try not to get caught.”
Plan attacks on journalists. Deflect the blame for criminal acts of drivers on the platform. Attract drivers with hyperbolic tales of the money they can make. It’s all good, just seriously, don’t get caught.
As one dives deeper and deeper into the spider web of Uber, the question becomes, “Why would a budding startup founder have aspirations to become this company?”
Art Agrawal isn’t one of those founders.
His company is three year old YourMechanic, and his fleet of wrench wielding professionals will come to you to prepare routine maintenance and repairs on your car. If anyone deserves the “Uber-for-x” cliche, these guys and gals do.
However, Art doesn’t once claim that the startup he cofounded is the Uber for anything in our thirty minute interview. It’s not explicitly stated, but his intentions are clear.
He doesn’t want it to be.
Art’s empathy for others is evident in our chat. He understands that a more convenient and cost effective service is what his users want, and what they shall get. But he also acknowledges how hard mechanics work, and that they should earn a higher share of the exorbitant fees and costs dealerships and auto repair facilities charge vehicle owners. Satisfying both the provider and consumer are integral parts to his modus operandi.
He’s covering all of the players in his master plan, and the term win-win is palpable in our conversations. I’m under the impression that Art doesn’t play in a zero sum game, and that he genuinely believes that everyone can benefit as his company grows. For Art to win, someone else doesn’t have to lose. “That’s what technology is supposed to do,” says Art.
Of course, a company with a disruptive model like this doesn’t rustle the feathers of a few folks. Notably, traditional dealerships and auto repair facilities won’t be pleased for too long. But as Art has shown me with his customers, his employees, and his mechanics, he doesn’t intend to start a battle. It’s not good business.
There are inferences that his team can even figure out ways to work with these incumbent companies. They aren’t dead to him nor consumers, at least just yet.
Art comes across as the type of guy who delivers on what he says. Already a serial founder, he doesn’t have the luxury of failing due to naivety. He’s been around the block to know better. And he knows that to create a long lasting company, the entire supply chain needs to be taken care of.
It’s an elusive balance that few founders and CEOs will ever manage to find. If he can execute on his vision, he’ll join the greats like Jim Sinegal (Costco), Howard Schultz (Starbucks), and Richard Branson (Virgin Group).
If he really does his job right, late author and ultra capitalist Ayn Rand would be disgusted. If getting to know Art like I think I am, I’m confident I can get him to drop a sound bite along the lines of “Treat everyone exceptionally, and you’ll have an exceptional company.”
Have no doubt that Art’s empathy does not come at the cost of his ambition. His track record tells me that he can’t afford to compromise. At its infancy , YourMechanic went through the prestigious YCombinator accelerator in 2012. They won the TechCrunch Disrupt just a few short months later. Art’s got too much momentum and too much support to stop anything short of creating a nationally recognized brand.
So when has Art succeeded?
After “We’re like the YourMechanic of…” hits the pitch decks for the next batch of startups.
Written by Greg Muender, cofounder of fatberry.
fatberry on Medium | fatberry on Twitter
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