Story Of Uber “Everyone’s Private Driver”

When two entrepreneurs meet for a conference and don’t get a taxi on time, what do they do? They Invent Uber!

This is the story of how Uber came to be. When two entrepreneurs Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanik met in Paris for the Leweb conference in 2008, they both had no idea that the night was going to gift them with the idea of a lifetime.

Garrett had just sold StumbleUpon to Ebay and Kalanik had just completed his tour with Akamai after selling Red Swoosh to them in 2007.

Over long sessions of Eating and drinking, Garrett and kalanik talked and discussed various ideas and shared their vision for the future with each other. Garrett had a vision for solving the big taxi problem in San Francisco. It was a problem most San Franciscans experienced, Garrett being one of them.

Initially, the idea was establishing a reliable and quickly accessible black car service. But as we all know, they both went on to expand their vision worldwide. Acc. To stats around late-2015, Uber was estimated to be worth $62.5 billion.

The Idea

Uber wanted to provide a platform to link people in need of a ride with available drivers. Uber’s task was figuring out a way to do it in the already existing, heavy mesh of transport.

Uber’s task also included managing this network of drivers and passengers, along with providing a variety of options for the passengers. Also, the service needed to be financially beneficial for the drivers. Convenience and availability was the priority on the customer’s front.

It goes without saying that the recent tech advancements have a major part in the success story of Uber.

Thanks to that, UberCab, which was Uber’s name at the time, was able to perform a beta test in the Bay Area in March 2010 with plans to expand to other large U.S. cities by the end of the year.

Uber had to figure out a way to achieve their vision of connecting the customers and the drivers. They made use of connectedness modern world had to offer. This led to the development of their smartphone application.

Using this app, the Users can check out the available rides in the area and order one just by a simple click, their location automatically available to the driver with the help of GPS, although not their number. The passengers can also see the real-time progress of their ride, thanks to Google maps. The customers can share their cab status and the ride feed is generated once the transaction is complete. Customers don’t need to worry about payment as it is done online with credit cards. In India company also provides the option of cash payment, as the Smartphone penetration in India is only around 18-19%.

Uber has a simple structure. The company doesn’t own any vehicles themselves. They just provide the opportunity to people who can work for themselves, also helping Uber in the process. Drivers can easily sign up online to provide their service. Passengers get to enjoy lower rates, thanks to company’s efficient structuring. The drivers are their own masters as they get to decide how much and when they want to work. It is also an opportunity for anyone who has a vehicle and wants to earn some money part-time.

There is also the concept of surge pricing. Although it has been the point of critique amongst people, but according to Uber’s blog, it is done to uphold Uber’s promise of availability on all occasions.

On occasions when the demand exceeds the availability of Uber cabs, then surge pricing is turned on. In this, a multiplier is turned on and the fare becomes 1x, 2x and so on. The customer can select the suitable multiplier, and the ride will be there as soon as one is available.

Similarly, the increased fare provides incentive for more drivers to come out and hence the demand and supply is balanced.

Did i miss anything? Please let me know!

Haiku for her

Today I just came across this very interesting form of Japanese poetry writing called "Haiku".
And to add to my suprise these poems are of just three lines (with some sort of technicalities involving syllables, I know you don't want to go that deep into the shit !!! So period.)

SHORT and CRISP..

Well, I too had tried my hands on haitu...
Here's one...

Looking through heaven's window

She smiled at me

Rain of her unflinching love

Is it worth it to do an MBA degree?

A comprehensive article discussing the pros and cons of doing MBA

As a student pursuing graduation or a professional stuck in your mundane job, you must have heard a lot about how MBA is a lucrative field and has immense scope. You must also be ‘thinking’ of doing an MBA. Many students opt to pursue management programs post their graduation as it enhances their career opportunities, salary packages and job promotions. But, is the picture as rosy as it appears from far? In this article, I aim to clear the myths related to MBA and to help you make an informed decision if you want to pursue an MBA Degree.

Overview of MBA Degree

MBA is one of the most popular degrees in India. The top colleges for MBA in India are Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs A, B, C, L, I, K) along with other institutes like S.P.Jain, MDI, JBIMS, XLRI, etc. MNCs in India have been spoilt for choice, and they offer managerial designations and hefty pay packages. The average salary offered at the top 10 B-schools last year for Indian postings was Rs. 12-15 Lacs per annum. There are a number of entrance exams that am MBA aspirant should know about and in due course appear for. The most popular among these is CAT, followed by XAT, SNAP, NMAT, etc.

An MBA program introduces students to the various areas of business such as accounting, finance, marketing, human resources, operations management, etc. Most of the core MBA courses teach general management in the first year, and the students can select the specialisation in the second year, though many institutes also offer specialised courses like MBA HR or MBA IB along with General MBA programs

There are some subjects like Marketing Management, Statistics, Economics, Organizational Behavior, Law,etc. that are thought to MBA students, that too through real-life situations 'or case studies. MBA is a pretty rigorous program. Say goodbye to 10 hours of sleep, and say hello to all-nighters where you have to slog to meet deadlines. It is also an investment as the average cost of a two-year residential program in a premier institute will be 12-15 Lacs. Therefore, ROI becomes an important consideration before joining an MBA Program.

Let's look at both sides of the MBA debate through the following points:

When is it worth it?

The benefits of pursuing MBA are manifold, such as:
• It provides you core knowledge of the field of business and helps in developing skills relevant to business.
• An MBA in an opportunity multiplier, it opens so many avenues for you and expands your pool of opportunities.
• The network one gains during the management degree is irreplaceable. Alumni, Classmates, juniors, Faculty all become a part of your network.
• An MBA degree from a top institute adds credibility and prestige to your profile.
• It provides a platform through which you can intact with like-minded people from different walks of life and also showcase your skills.
• An MBA is essentially relevant for working professionals making a career change, or who are on a career path that requires an MBA to be promoted.

When is it not worth it?

It is essential to know when MBA is not worth it; the following points will clarify this:
• When you aren't sure what you want from the experience
• When you want to do an MBA just for the sake of doing an MBA, just because your best friend, elder brother or third cousin did it
• When you start looking at B- schools as job placement agencies (they provide much more than just placements).
• When you settle for a mediocre B-School with mediocre classmates
• When the premium you are paying for the B-School brand doesn't justify the value you get from it
• When you target institutes that have little or no credibility.
• If your aim is to an Entrepreneur and you have a mature business idea with you, then theopportunity cost is too high, you can launch your startupinstead of spending two crucial years in doing MBA.

The bottom line

Well, the bottom line depends on you, your goals, aims, skills and basically what you want from life. An MBA degree is useful if it’s from a top B-School and you have beaten competition in entrance exams to get in it. Also, it’s a good option if, you have the basic aptitude and personality to become a manager. MBA requires investment in terms of money, time and effort. If you can get a good ROI on this investment, then go for it. However, an MBA from a weaker school would be far less valuable. The education might be very similar, but you can also get this education other ways. The prestige/credibility and the alumni network at a lower ranked school would be much less.

Regards,

Vikas Joshi,

C.E.O. Sagacious Infotech Pvt. Ltd.

Answer Choices to Avoid in CAT RCs

In terms of CAT, it is easy to identify answers for the Quantitative Ability section; after all every question can only have one correct answer. But as soon as we start to consider Verbal Ability, things go haywire. We are not sure which option to select and which option to reject. The problem gets even worse for CAT reading comprehensions, where the options seem to be too close to discern differences among them, and this makes your job very tough.

Keeping this in mind, we list down the types of answer choices that you should generally avoid or be very wary of in the CAT reading comprehension passage. Most incorrect answer options can be divided into these categories; and follow this classification.

Types of Incorrect answer Choices in CAT Reading Comprehensions:

Extreme Words: Answer choices that use extreme words such as "only," "all," "always," "never" and "exclusively" are generally incorrect, and you should avoid them.

Scope trap: Some answer choices sound very good but are not actually related to the topic of the passage. They are outside the 'scope of the passage', that is they are not related to the actual topic of the passage.

Single Fact Focus: An answer choice might place focus on a single fact of the passage only whereas the question requires a more holistic answer. Avoid these types of choices which actually don't answer the given question (even though they present partially correct information).

Mish-Mash: Some answer choices might present partly correct information but might also contain incorrect information. Be careful of these answer choices; these are pretty inviting ones.

Opinion Answers: In some answer choices, the question setter might use words such as "more successful," "more effective" or "more efficient" and convert a factual piece of information into an opinion. Be careful of this trap.

Irrelevant Answers: Some answer choices are simply irrelevant. Make sure you are able to identify these pesky options.

The above given points provides you information with regards to the different kinds of answer choices built in CAT reading comprehension questions. Whenever you sit to solve a RC passage, try to classify the incorrect choices into these categories, and this should greatly enhance your learning.