Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has a blunt message for young founders eyeing the mobility space: “First, don’t try to build another Uber, we’ll kick your ass. Build something we can buy later.” Speaking on Nikhil Kamath’s podcast People by WTF, Khosrowshahi advised aspiring entrepreneurs to resist chasing massive markets from day one. “You’re way overthinking TAMs. The big TAMs are taken. Go after the small TAMs where you can create a network effect without enormous investments,” he said.
Instead of focusing on scale, Khosrowshahi urged founders to prioritise fit. “Don’t build for scale on day one, build for fit. If you get that right, the scale will come,” he said.
India is ‘an absolute must-win’
Calling India Uber’s third-largest market, Khosrowshahi underlined its strategic role in the company’s growth and electrification plans. “We’ve got over 1.4 million drivers—autos, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers—in India. The growth there is spectacular… India is an absolute must-win for Uber, not just tomorrow, but 10 years from now,” he said.
Khosrowshahi acknowledged that Uber’s toughest competition in India is no longer Ola but Rapido. “Rapido built a really simple subscription model. Once you pay, the driver’s pay is higher than with commission models. That was a smart way to break in,” he said.
Uber has since adapted its two- and three-wheeler services to a similar structure. But Khosrowshahi questioned Rapido’s long-term viability. “The real test of the business isn’t how fast you can grow if you’re spending. It’s how fast you can grow while profitable. And I think Rapido is a long way away from that,” he said.
AI and the future of ads
On how AI could reshape advertising, Khosrowshahi predicted that traditional ads will need to transform into “invisible utilities.” “If the agent is going to be your operating system, it has to feel like it’s on your side. The moment you lose that trust, you lose the user,” he said.