False economy What’s in it for me? Understand what makes the

Upstarts should strive to stay true to their 
early idealistic visions.
It’s easy to be idealistic when you start a 
company because you have nothing to lose. The 
real challenge is to stay idealistic once you’ve 
attained fame, fortune and success.
So can Airbnb and Uber stay human and not 
turn into heartless money-making machines?
In their early days, Airbnb was targeted by the 
notorious Samwer brothers, who made a living 
by cloning apps and cannibalizing the original 
companies’ market, thus forcing them to buy the 
clone.

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But Airbnb didn’t take the bait and instead 
reasoned that the best way to beat the 
competition was to make the best app. And it 
worked – eventually, the Samwers’ clone, 
Wimdu, went under.
Airbnb also works hard to maintain their unique 
working atmosphere, which originally arose from 
principles like always carefully discussing 
decisions and the idea that everyone counts. But 
the company should still keep in mind their 
encounter with the Samwer brothers so that it 
never becomes as ruthless as them.
Meanwhile, Uber’s reluctance to let its workers 
unionize or enjoy proper working conditions is 
disturbing. It shows that the company has 
become disconnected from its origins and earlier 
community advocates. It owes its drivers fair 
treatment.
As the saying goes, with great power, comes 
great responsibility.
These two companies now essentially represent 
the future of business. Kalanick and Chesky 
have the opportunity to shape a new 
generation’s way of thinking, and their wealth 
allows them to influence future decision making.
The risk is, of course, that they, like old-school 
corporations, may succumb to greed or a desire 
for more power through conformity.
We don’t yet know what the lasting global effects 
of Airbnb, Uber and the other upstarts will be. 
But we can hope that they will stay true to their 
original ethos.