CEO of Lyft Logan Green speaks at South by Southwest Interactive on Monday, March 16 for a keynote presentation. Credit: SXSW
Logan Green, the CEO of transportation company Lyft, spoke about the company's quick rise as ride-hailing technology has taken off, competitor Uber and what the future might hold in a Monday keynote presentation at Austin Convention Center.
The company, which as recently as last year was illegal to operate in Austin (and which has since become so legal it's now operating out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport), is growing quickly with about $330 million in funding and new cities being announced constantly. But it's still dwarfed by Uber, a competitor with about seven times more funding and many more cities of operation.
Green seemed to minimize Uber’s breadth and businesses, calling them only a “Good car service” and at one point saying he believes they’ve behaved unethically on several fronts including employee poaching. “We have a lawsuit pending” that Logan said he couldn’t detail.
Green said the company’s ultimate goal is to allow people not to own cars, and as such positioned his company as one that does social good. But he was less than convincing when it came to discussing why the company doesn’t have full-time drivers with benefits (“Flexibility is the new stability,” he said) or what will happen if autonomous cars, which he’s very excited about, puts those drivers out of work. In short, he said the economy will shift to accommodate those employees.
Interviewer Doug MacMillan from the Wall Street Journal pressed Green on multiple fronts about the company’s business practices and missions, but Green, who was personable and good-humored, put a positive spin on everything from the company’s transition away from its trademark pink mustaches (they don’t weather well and are being replaced with gold sashes) to its fiercest competitor, refusing to actively talk trash.
Lyft may be in an industry where there’s plenty of room for both, however. Though the room was filled with early adopters, the majority of attendees at the presentation raised their hand when asked if they’d tried Lyft. And even more raised their hand as users of Uber.
Session hashtag: #lyft
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