If you’re feeling lazy to read today, I’ll give it to you straight away. Startups are not bogged down by a million policies, processes, and red tape. Generally speaking, entrepreneurs are your early adopters and are much more likely to incorporate changes such as digital transformation (think A.I) into their businesses. The case study I’m using is UBER and why it is failing hard in South Africa right now.
Why Startups are in SUCH a good position to succeed RIGHT NOW
If you stick around, I’ll dive a bit deeper with the use of a case study. Because we always want to know how others fail so we learn from them and don’t repeat their mistakes, right? (Unless of course it’s Facebook and you just want to see if your predictions about Richard and Jessica being losers in high school were spot on).
But the case study I’m on about is not how Kodak failed to get onboard with digitisation of photography – we all know about it in some or other way. Read HERE if you want to know more about this story.
But the situation they were in is pretty similar to the one we are in today. The problem that big companies are facing is not whether their products are successful or how fast they are growing. All of that can change in a heartbeat. The problem they face is their ability to innovate and stay relevant.
And in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, startups are often seen as pioneers of innovation and agility. Their ability to pivot quickly in response to market changes and emerging trends sets them apart from your traditional corporates. As A.I continues to reshape industries and redefine business operations, startups are uniquely positioned to leverage AI to boost operations and tap into exponential growth.
Startups are the absolute champions of agility
At the heart of every successful startup lies a culture of agility and adaptability. Unlike large businesses burdened by institutional processes and legacy systems, startups operate with far fewer boundaries and red tape. They have the freedom to experiment, adapt, and pivot when needed. This agility enables startups to jump onto emerging opportunities, respond quickly to customer feedback, and stay ahead of the curve.
Introducing the failing business operations of Uber in South Africa (SA)
If you’re not from SA, I’d be really interested to know how Uber is doing in your local setting though.
But as for their operations in SA, if you haven’t been stuck for at least 45 minutes calling and waiting on an Uber recently, are you even in South Africa? Except perhaps in Cape Town city bowl, or larger cities. The further away you move from hustling urban areas, the more likely you are to be stranded.
Just Google “is Uber failing in South Africa” and you will have your answer right there, here is an article to kick you off.
But the main reasons for the ongoing failure of this well-known startup and success story can be summarised as follows:
From the media:
From my personal interaction with Uber drivers recently:
I can continue with the list, but let’s dive into why Uber does not seem to get out of this downward spiral.
Innovating and staying relevant
If we go back for a moment to the mention of Kodak above – I mentioned they failed to innovate and stay relevant. Is this the case for Uber? They are constantly updating features and perhaps one of the neatest offerings is the package pickups. They are slowly becoming more of an on-demand courier service in that sense than a reliable ride for passengers needing to go somewhere.
But in this instance, Uber is failing to stay relevant. If we stick to these over-arching aspects, we can bundle many factors under ‘staying relevant’:
I can carry on, but you get my point? You can innovate but if it is not relevant to your customer’s needs in their specific context, you will eventually fail to either get their loyalty in the first place, or maintain it in the long run.
With A.I now, it represents a transformative force that has the potential to revolutionise how startups operate and compete. Startups can unlock new possibilities across every facet of their business because they are so agile. From automating repetitive tasks to uncovering actionable insights from big data, AI empowers startups to streamline operations, enhance decision-making, and drive innovation at scale.
Why Startups can excel with AI
Uber is no longer a startup and their lack to adapt and stay agile is showing, especially with competitors eating up one slice at a time of market share in different contexts. But they are also gaining traction in other areas where competitors are not doing well so it is also contextual.
Startups thrive on experimentation and iteration. With AI-powered tools and algorithms, startups can rapidly adapt to changing market conditions, consumer preferences, and competitive landscapes.
While Uber is losing traction in South Africa, this is the perfect time for startups to innovate and address the growing gap in the market that Uber is leaving. And A.I is increasing the possibilities tenfold because it is so readily available right now.
Whether it’s optimising operations in real-time or personalising user experiences based on behavioral data, AI enables startups to pivot with agility and precision.
I am interested to see how the Uber situation will unfold in SA and even more keen to see what solutions will be brought forward with the use of A.I.
Thanks for listening to my thoughts. I had a lot of time on my hands recently while I was waiting for an Uber ride for over 45 minutes… which never showed up. I was ready to innovate right there and then and quite frustrated that teleportation is NOT YET possible!
Happy week to you all, and let me know if you have interesting case studies to check out, and stay tuned for more discussions on startups and digital transformation!
Reach out to me at lizfuzy@gmail.com to chat 🙂
