
“We are Uber for X” - jeffmorrisjr
https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/66c0d0547cb4
======
zach
The current leader on angel.co for blended metaphors may still be "Mint for
X". It seems like "Uber for X" is destined to replace it, but its popularity
is still staggering.

AngelList has startups which are primarily described as Mint.com for "stocks"
(Vuru), "financial institutions" (MoneyDesktop), "banks" (MyJibe), "student
loans" (Tuition.io), "education" (Always Prepped), "cloud content" (AnyCloud),
"your digital data" (voyurl), "your time" (Meexo Labs), "your career" (Mighty
Spring), "your belongings" (Itemology), "relationships" (EvenBetterHalf),
"maternal and pediatric health" (HealthyUs), "fitness" (Curl), "health and
fitness" (Total Health Card), "medical records" (ExtrinsicCare), "diabetes"
(HealthEngage), "legal services" (AttorneyFee), "sales software" (Stride),
"enterprise marketing departments" (Allocadia), "small business marketing"
(BringShare), "business relationships" (Mosec), "business" (Cheqbook),
"consumer utilities" (dropcountr), "energy" (MyEnergy), "energy usage and
expenses" (Power2Switch), "mobile payments" (Wallet), "cars" (Price My Ride),
"insurance" (PolicyOwl), and "travel" (Superfly).

Whew. And I didn't even include the ones that are something else plus Mint.com
for X.

Honestly, after going through this list I'm not sure what "Mint for X" even
means anymore! Cynically, I suspect it means the technology they're hoping to
apply is pie charts and snappy web design.

~~~
jaredsohn
>Honestly, after going through this list I'm not sure what "Mint for X" even
means anymore

I am thinking it is supposed to mean:

* Gather personal data on a topic from multiple other sites so that you can manage/view it in one place instead of on each individual site.

although you are probably right that a lot of people just interpet it as pie
charts / snappy web design.

~~~
mesozoic
It's like they forgot that mint was invented to sell people new credit cards
and bank accounts. Probably half of these other concepts have no ultimate
purpose that produces revenues.

------
bsaul
recently launched a mobile app for selling clothes, super hype interface,
spend months tuning it, only to realize some time after the release that a
simple wordpress e commerce site made in 2 weeks makes ten times more revenue
in a tenth of the time ( with the exact same products beeing sold ). Some
things really aren't meant to be purchased on a phone, period.

~~~
jeffmorrisjr
That's really interesting to hear - and seems very similar to the Etsy
experience to me.

I've never purchased from their mobile application, though it has been on my
phone for over a year.

The Etsy web experience is better for browsing and social discovery is much
more intuitive.

That said, Fab recently announced that 30% of their sales are mobile.

<http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/30/fab-mobile-apps/>

~~~
bsaul
I suppose some very cheap, very easily understandable gadgets (such as pink
usb cable) could be purchased via mobile. But in my opinion every "serious"
purchases are not something you would buy via a phone. Also, my app was sold
in Europe, so maybe the US market is more mature...

------
arbuge
The "mobile first" attitude in the Valley these days always struck me as
somewhat misguided. As the article points out, it makes perfect sense in
select niches, like Uber's. In many others, the non-mobile web offers a
superior browsing experience and if your users prefer it, that's probably
where your focus should be. As in all things, know your customer better than
anybody else and you'll do well.

That, and the interesting fact that "mobile" is a broad term which seems to
encompass tablets in most interpretations. Modern tablets often do a pretty
good job of displaying sites which haven't been particularly optimized for
mobile anyway.

~~~
kevingibbon
One of the huge benefits people who dismiss mobile first is the ability to
control the entire experience. If you launch an iPhone app, you have pixel
perfect accuracy, fast speed and can make sure your app works perfectly on all
5 of the devices out there.

~~~
marknutter
So you mean iPhone first, which narrows your market even further.

~~~
kevingibbon
It's not always about reaching everyone as fast as possible. Going wide
initially is usually a first time entrepreneurs mistake. Build something,
figure out that your value proposition is compelling for your target users. As
soon as you have hit "product market fit" go wide.

There is a reason companies are going iPhone first.

~~~
monkeyspaw
There are many potential narratives that explain why companies are going
iPhone first.

An alternate explanation to yours is that companies are going iPhone first
because it's trendy. We all know about the SV echo chamber. Following trends
seems to fit the data just as well as your hypothesis.

------
philwelch
> Plow Me - Uber for Snow Plows

Surely this one could have had a better name! (I guess they could pivot into
an Uber for...never mind.)

~~~
Yeh
Surely, you must be talking about "Uber for farming." I just don't think it'll
have legs.

------
Yeh
I’m the PlowMe* founder (the Uber for snowplows).

At first I didn’t care much for the Uber metaphor, because it's not accurate
(it turns out, less than 20% accurate), but I’ve warmed to it, to convey the
gist to the listener.

We had a mobile-first product, and while getting ad hoc snow plowing is useful
the day of a storm (and from the supply-side, mobile solves a problem), most
of our business is from repeat customers. That is, snow plowing is a route
business, and mobile is a companion (e.g. for one-timers, to get info. on your
plowguy’s eta/location etc).

Like others, I find the Uber metaphor useful for telling people what we do in
3 seconds, though interestingly, it’s hardly ever to customers. Most of our
customers have never heard of Uber in fact, probably not a surprise given
their age (many 55+) and where they live (suburbs). I imagine this is
different than other Uber for X companies.

By the same token, I find it helpful to invert the Uber metaphor to further
explain what you’re doing. For example, Uber would be like PlowMe if it had
the option of picking you up at the same place and time automatically.

*PlowMe is now part of ServiceRoute.

------
selamin
This isn't directly related to the article's point, but I really don't
understand this trend of describing companies using analogies like "Uber for
X". I imagine people do this because they think it's a simple way to
communicate the purpose of their company, but it usually just confuses me. The
"Uber for tennis" company referenced in the article is the perfect example.
Here's what goes through my head when I read that - "Well I use Uber to book I
car so I guess this company books cars for tennis? Hmm, that doesn't make
sense......Oh, I guess they help you book a tennis match? Maybe they help you
find a nearby tennis partner?". I honestly still have no idea what Uber for
tennis is supposed to be. Seems like they would be better served by just
saying "We do X"

~~~
smacktoward
That would require thinking through your business plan, which is, like,
haaaaaard and stuff. Much easier to just point at something and say "US LIKE
THAT."

------
wellboy
Hey, I started Tennis Buddy, thought I'd chip in what we had in mind.
Everything we built upon is what what Matt Cohler said last year at TC disrupt
to the question that the next big thing in mobile is gonna be that you just
"push a button and something amazing happens in the user’s world.".
[http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/21/great-mobile-apps-are-
remot...](http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/21/great-mobile-apps-are-remote-
controls-for-real-life/)

That's what the Uber for X is, it doesn't matter if it is cars, services or in
our case - people. If you need something, just let everyone know in your area
by simply pressing one button and they'll come to you.

So for now, you can find someone nearby to play tennis with you, whenever,
wherever you want to :)

~~~
jeffmorrisjr
Thanks for commenting.

When you guys launch in San Francisco, I will try Tennis Buddy. I think it's
an interesting concept if you guys broadened it to more general athletic
activities (as opposed to just tennis).

I can imagine this being particularly useful for pickup basketball and running
buddies.

~~~
wellboy
Hey, thank you. :) We actually have 300 tennis players in SF looking to play
already, if you have an Android (nobody has Android in SF...^^)
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tbuddy.and...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tbuddy.android)

------
prlambert
"Describe your product in 3-5 words. Consider comparing your product with
something that people are already familiar with. For example:

-> Better comparison shopping (Shopobot)

-> Flickr for video (YouTube)

-> Group video chat (Tinychat)"

\- AngelList hover suggestion for writing your high-concept pitch.

Here's how I see it:

1) There are many, many thousands of startups on AngelList.

2) AL explicitly prescribes this exact "X for Y" formula for writing your
1-liner, where X is a well-known success.

3) Uber is a well-know success.

4) Author points out that "30+" companies chose Uber as their X.

This doesn't really seem like a fair characterization. People are following
suggested wisdom and 30+ is hardly considerable. Probably about what would be
statistically expected, distributing good candidates for X (well-known
successes) across AL startups.

~~~
vampirechicken
4chan for Soccer Mom's

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rootedbox
At the end of the day.. probably what most people need to know, and few do.
Uber is a logistics company. A wide open market with high growth. Just look at
Coyote, or any other logistics company that has blown up size in the past few
years.

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joshdance
"The “Uber for X” recipe is pretty simple.

1\. Identify a service-based industry that feels archaic. 2\. Recruit
suppliers in your given vertical. 3\. Create a mobile application with a big
green request button."

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jeffmorrisjr
@arbuge 100% agree that the non-mobile web has advantages over mobile - and
that many people have become blinded to that fact. Thanks for the comments!

