'Ola' means 'hello' in Spanish but, in India, it has gotten a completely
different meaning, a 'Cab'.
What is the story behind this?
An IIT B student, Bhavish Agarwal was stuck in a cab in Bangalore with his cab
driver when he decided to pivot his tourism startup to a 'ride-hailing' company.
He realised that a cab journey has three dimensions; time, cost and the ride
experience.
The pain point that Ola was going to solve for was the difficulty to hire a cab
in a predictable manner, and set to do so with technology.
Olacabs had set its sights on the $6Bn ride-hailing market.
Ride-hailing platforms match demand (customers) with supply (cabs) and take a
fee for doing this. By getting a customer from one place to another predictably,
the matchmaker solves for both demand and supply.
What this market evolves into is classic network effects.
If customers see more cabs, they are more likely to use the platform. As there
are more customers, cab drivers are more likely to be on the platform.
Along the way, the company tried to experiment with bike taxis, grocery
delivery, Ola fleet, shuttle services but most didn't take off.
With Covid, things look grim but Ola has shown resilience before and continues
to brave the odds.
More details here(https://lnkd.in/gt7Pevb)
Posted by Chetan Manda on LinkedIn
link: linkedin.com/in/chetan-manda-248373142
different meaning, a 'Cab'.
What is the story behind this?
An IIT B student, Bhavish Agarwal was stuck in a cab in Bangalore with his cab
driver when he decided to pivot his tourism startup to a 'ride-hailing' company.
He realised that a cab journey has three dimensions; time, cost and the ride
experience.
The pain point that Ola was going to solve for was the difficulty to hire a cab
in a predictable manner, and set to do so with technology.
Olacabs had set its sights on the $6Bn ride-hailing market.
Ride-hailing platforms match demand (customers) with supply (cabs) and take a
fee for doing this. By getting a customer from one place to another predictably,
the matchmaker solves for both demand and supply.
What this market evolves into is classic network effects.
If customers see more cabs, they are more likely to use the platform. As there
are more customers, cab drivers are more likely to be on the platform.
Along the way, the company tried to experiment with bike taxis, grocery
delivery, Ola fleet, shuttle services but most didn't take off.
With Covid, things look grim but Ola has shown resilience before and continues
to brave the odds.
More details here(https://lnkd.in/gt7Pevb)
Posted by Chetan Manda on LinkedIn
link: linkedin.com/in/chetan-manda-248373142
