The Truth About The Sharing Economy
How feel-good marketing hype hides a very dark reality
Once upon a time, a long time ago in a city called San Francisco, a traditional black car limousine company owner had an idea: what if all the annoying costs associated with owning & operating vehicles and employing drivers and paying insurance could be pushed onto poor people while his company took most of the profit?
Not surprisingly, once it was dressed up in the garb of a smartphone app, this idea appealed greatly to venture capitalists who loved the model. It was a pyramid scheme par excellence, with the added appeal of being perfectly legal.
That company is now world-famous: Uber.
Uber has spawned hundreds of imitators worldwide across a range of market segments. Deliveroo and Fooby compete with UberEats while AirBnB provides an alternative to hotels around the globe while Turo offers more options and convenience than Hertz and Avis can ever hope to match. All of these companies, and so many more, rely on one simple financial model: make money by acting as the intermediary between customer and vendor and cream off nearly all the net profits.
At first glance this seems like a good deal for everyone. More choice for the consumer, less marketing hassle for the vendor. What’s not to love…
