During Superbowl weekend I was wasting time on Facebook when I saw a newsfeed ad about becoming an uberX driver in Los Angeles.

Right then, after watching so many shitty brand ads on TV, I had an idea! This is the story of how that idea became the financial model below which outlines how a person can make ~$60k a year driving a Pruis on uberX…

The story goes something like this —I photoshopped my personal brand logo onto a Prius, published the idea on Facebook and Instagram, and received great feedback. That was enough…

At that moment, I decided to sign up to become an uberX driver. Partially for the stories for my forthcoming book called War&Porn, partly because most uberX drivers I’ve spoken with have said they make good money on nights and weekends, and mostly because I’ve decided that my next business will be built on top of the collaborative consumption economy —I’m talking about platforms like Uber, Airbnb, and other crowd companies — I did the work.

I visited https://partners.uber.com and clicked the button to sign up. After uploading images of my car, my driver’s license, my insurance, my registration documentation, linking a bank account, and passing a background check (I know, I passed! Whew!!) I was in…

Up next was an online training course that took about 1 hour to complete. It covered the basics like; how to get 5 stars, the standard operating procedures, and what not to do…

I was able to pass the test on my first go. I got 75.86% of the questions correct. C’s get degrees as they say — or at least the abilty to make $60k a year driving a Prius. Now I am waiting on my Uber issued phone to arrive in the mail. Look out for me on the streets in the coming weeks…

The whole process took me about 2 weeks as a result of some registration and DMV issues, but other than that, it was super simple. Kudos to Uber for making getting started on their platform so simple.

Fast forward to: last Tuesday morning. I visited a Toyota dealership Los Angeles. I was forcibly introduced to a salesman the moment I stepped out of my car onto the lot. He was in his late 60's, Persian, and wore a pungent blend of cigerettes and cheap cologne. He reached out his hand to grab mine. He shook firmly, looked me directly in the face with his dark bloodshot eyes and said, “Welcome, Mister...”

“Matt, Mr. Matt,” I said.

“Yes, Mr. Matt, I’m Manny. What can I do for you today?”

I told Manny I had a strange request. I needed a fleet of Prii. Ten of them. I told him I would be buying them very soon. Maybe even that day if he gave me the right deal.

Manny turned his tired face into a big smile and shook my hand again. This time with a lot of excitement he said, “I’m your guy Mr. Matt. You came to the right place. I will make a very good deal for you, Mr. Matt. Let’s go this way!”

He directed me towards the pre-owned Prius inventory. He walked me hastily in that direction talking with his hands in comical gestures. As I browsed the inventory, he asked me a series of standard questions. Judging by the look on Manny’s face, I did not give satisfactory answers.

What I you do? I don’t have a job, I guess. Okay, Hmm. Where I do you live? Are you from around here? I move from place to place. Um, what do you plan to do with the fleet of Prii? Oh, you know, utilize the Uber platform to build a profitable cash flow business. Mr. Matt, I must ask…

I told Manny to cut the shit. “Can you just give me a price list,” I asked. He didn’t have one. I asked him to get one. He insisted he didn’t have one. I thought it was silly a dealership did not have an inventory price list handy. Anyway…

I didn’t need to see the cars. I didn’t need to drive the cars. I just needed to do the math.

“You don’t want to test drive one to see if you like it, Mr. Matt?”

“No, Manny, I’ve driven a Prius. I want a price list of your black and white Prii. Non-smoking. With an extended warranty.”

We walked back into Manny’s desk on the sale’s floor of the dealership. He looked at my watch. He asked if it was… “Yes, it’s a gold Rolex, Manny. Here is my driver’s license. Do I need to fill out a credit application or can you get me some numbers?”

Manny asked me to hold on for a second. He walked over to his manager, whispered something in his ear, his manager walked over and introduced himself with a firm handshake and a quizzical look. I can understand why. Here is some kid that popped in unannounced on a Tuesday morning looking to buy ten cars. I was wearing a t-shirt, leather shorts, and sandals. My appearance probably didn’t help. And by now, I am sure the manager had heard I was unemployed. Assuming I was some loon, he asked more questions.

I asked the manager to sit down next to me. I pulled out my MacBook Air, fired up my excel spreadsheet, and showed him my model.

“I just need terms on 3-year financing of your used inventory. $5k down. Black and white. Non-smoking. With an extended warranty. And then I will show you why I want to do this.”

With much hesitation, the manager walked over to his computer, pulled up a list of cars, and presented me with a few 4-square sheets that looked like this. This is a common car sales tactic used to fuck with the oblivious buyer, which apparently I represented to said manager.

I plugged the numbers into the (over simplified) model I built based on driver research. I asked more than 50 drivers about average trips per day, average mileage per trip, average time per trip. I used uberX’s stated rates to calculate revenue based on my driver interviews. I also called my insurance company to discuss rates, factored in mpg, current gas prices, parking, service, and other fixed costs.

“Assuming I do a 50/50 revenue share with a driver that I hire, I can make…” Showed the numbers to Manny and my new manager friend, and their eyes lit up.

I did not end up pulling the trigger on a fleet of Prii just yet. There are a few assumptions in my model that present significant risk including, 1) future supply and demand, 2) future rates, 3) future regulation, and 4) insurance liability. I also don’t know if I want to get into managing a fleet of Prii — as fun as that sounds.

But, for anyone with a clean driving record, a few thousand dollars to put down on a Pruis, and some free time — you can live a very nice lifestyle driving for uberX.

Godspeed and stay safe out there on the road. Welcome to a new world of crowd companies.