Strategy & Development at UC Berkeley ITS | Advancing transportation research for sustainable mobility
Most people view the competition as a battle to be won at all costs. But my experience in the bike share industry, particularly from 2012 to 2019, was very much the opposite. There was a time when the term “bike share” was unfamiliar to most. Now, mention "bike share," and everyone knows what it is. This transformation was the result of an entire industry working together to innovate and grow. Pitching to cities often meant being in the same rooms with competitors, all vying for the same contract. Through these travels and meetings around the world, I befriended many of our competitors. Some folks that immediately come to mind include Lee Jones from Bcycle, Lauren Isaac from her time at Motivate, Sebastian Schlebusch from his time at NextBike, and Kyle Rowe from his time at Spin (see comments for the full list!). Together, we tackled a shared problem from slightly different angles, benefiting cities, communities, and the environment in the process. Competition, in this light, wasn't a hindrance, but a catalyst for collective progress. The bike share boom brought a wave of competitors, each pushing the industry forward, solidifying the category, and amplifying our impact. This competition spurred innovation, forced us to rethink our business models, and approach problems creatively. This is a testament to how competition can be a force for good, fostering better outcomes for everyone involved. It made me a better operator and, more importantly, showed me the value of viewing competitors as collaborators in a shared mission. I'm curious to hear from others. Is this sense of camaraderie in the face of competition unique to the bike share industry, or have you experienced something similar in your field? Are you friends with your competitors, or is that just me? :)
Justin Wiley
9mo
Justin Ginsburgh, Kansas Waugh, Emily Gates, Dorothy Mitchell, Tim Ericson, Jason Meinzer, Tanya Castle to name a few more...
Elliott McFadden
9mo
I came from carshare before bikeshare, so I can give a little more perspective. Carshare started a lot like bikeshare in this regard, local companies, co-ops, and non-profits happily sharing information and not viewing each other as competitors. This changed when Flexcar and Zipcar went national (and then merged) and carshare started getting the attention of traditional car rental companies. When you scale to a size where you are competing for business against each other that could impact the survival of your company, the industry become a lot less collaborative. This is what happened when VC invested in dockless bikes and scooters, and because of their nature, VC forced these companies to go national or global and compete against one another. The change in mood at the NABSA conference when this happened was palatable. To expect otherwise was not realistic. There is still room for public sector and local and regional players not competing against each other to work collaboratively, especially as the VC-backed companies recede in importance and we get back to local solutions and players.
Hey buddy, I love your post and thanks for your appreciation, it means a lot to me. There were 2 things which made me think of my bike share competitors as brothers-in-arms: 1. the shared vision of car-light cities and the transformational power of our services 2. the resistance from traditional sectors and the common challenges for everyone to overcome Not so sure whether working in more traditional sectors or for consumer products where you are just working on the 19th different toothpaste can create a similar sense of friendship. WDYT?
Brodie Hylton
9mo
Enjoyed working with you Justin. Always viewed this industry, which struggles to profit without government support, as a collaborative one. Competitor one day, partner the next. Our collective goal should be to grow the pie -- help cities and transit agencies understand the public value of successful shared mobility programs, which cannot be profitable in most geographies, and certainly not if we are seeking network effects, a la transit, optimizing for access and impact.
Sami Angsthelm
9mo
We see the same thing happening in the development of operators of goods for the sharing economy. We are exactly where bike sharing was 20 years ago, and we collaboratively work with sharing stations providers and operators in the way you described it through the Digital Kiosks Network (https://digitalkiosks.org/) - I'd be curious to hear your insights through private messaging on how your collaborations started, there's a lot of inspiration we could get.
Justin Ginsburgh
9mo
I think this is true in highly regulated industries where collaboration among competitors is key to inform public policy. When we were in bike share, we all had aligned interests for enlightened regulation and realized that working together was the only way to get there. I am in commercial aviation and see a similar dynamic to bike share.
Marketer Tips
9mo
Breaking the mold: the bike share industry exemplifies how rivals can become allies for a greater cause.
Dominick Namis
9mo
Healthy competition is what drives innovation. I always think back to Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates with the PC. We probably won’t have the amazing MacBooks we do today without them competing like they did back then.
Lauren Isaac
9mo
I love that you flagged this! I'll always look back fondly on our time as competitors when we really did look out for each other and truly be friends! I must admit that I've not experienced anything like this in most of my other jobs, so I wonder if it was unique to bike share? or our amazing personalities?! :)
Strategy & Development at UC Berkeley ITS | Advancing transportation research for sustainable mobility
9moAnd competitors that eventually turned into teammates ;) Brodie Hylton, Alex V., Demi Allen, Tarani Duncan