Great turnaround. Lot of the criticism against @BirdRide ignores the fact they've come up with a brand new product & business model, are building a whole new market from scratch, and are not even two years old! Assuming economics wouldn't improve w better tech and ops is bizarre https://t.co/EDjeToHNAq
— Martin Mignot (@martinmignot) July 12, 2019
?Bird?, which has ~$100M left in ? after losing almost $100M in Q1, says newer ? last ~600 rides ($1.17 depreciation/ride). That is...optimistic, say execs in scooter industry.
— Amir Efrati (@amir) July 11, 2019
In-depth look at all of @BirdRide's unit economics here: https://t.co/qLNxAgUOgQ w/@coryweinberg
4/ In fact, our unit economics are already better than ride-sharing and we’ve only been operating a little over 1.5 years. pic.twitter.com/zziRj0mq2O
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) July 12, 2019
I often see founders wrestling with how to respond to an unfair press story. All too often they make the mistake of not responding, “taking the high road”. The problem is that people will assume the story is true. You’ve got to aggressively get out the facts as Travis does here. https://t.co/frbZU38mS6
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) July 12, 2019
Hey @travisv when you have news like this, just call into the podcast and I’ll play your voicemail/statement. No joke. https://t.co/f7brSwQk33 @BirdRide
— Brian McCullough (@brianmcc) July 12, 2019
1/ I’m on a flight back from a Paris business trip and catching up on some (fake) news about Bird’s financials. Here are some facts so you can decide how Bird’s business is doing for yourself.
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) July 12, 2019
We now know the full extent of Bird's bleak winter. It lost ~$100M in Q1 on just $15M in revenue.
— Cory Weinberg (@coryweinberg) July 11, 2019
Will it be able to prove a turn-around story?
Bird has been showing investors dramatic improvements in its ability to make money. We go into details:https://t.co/iVgrlXKO1o
2/ Bird’s revenue run rate is up over 4x from this time last year. pic.twitter.com/8hSXlDYrcO
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) July 12, 2019
Ah great, the founder of Bird is calling out "fake news" https://t.co/K06be9GLfv
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) July 12, 2019
If by "fake news" you mean "accurate news" then yes, Travis, you have us dead to rights. https://t.co/LKL7qwm0XU
— Amir Efrati (@amir) July 12, 2019
Bird must have pivoted to become an R&D stage biotech. https://t.co/Bif5AHJXwx
— Adam Singer (@AdamSinger) July 11, 2019
so two or three more quarters
— darth™ (@darth) July 11, 2019
or is that how this works https://t.co/KXHlOxIu9w
Comms person 1: don’t do it
— Ryan Mac ? (@RMac18) July 12, 2019
Comms person 2: please don’t do it
Comms person 3: sir please don’t do it
Comms person 4: god damnithttps://t.co/eHsA0XDvx9
Am I wrong in thinking the underlying business model for scooter co's is perfectly reasonable and this is entirely due to underpricing + trying to hit Uber-like growth rates? https://t.co/Kmwymkppb5
— Tyler Tringas (@tylertringas) July 11, 2019
3/ Bird is now making $1.27 on every ride on the Bird Zero scooters, which is over 75% of our fleet. Yes, this includes charging, repair, all other local ops, and the cost of the vehicle (depreciation). pic.twitter.com/hTN6LkaBeG
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) July 12, 2019
Thread + My Take:
— Mark Suster (@msuster) July 12, 2019
- Very positive contribution margin (better than Uber, Lyft)
- Very strong revenue growth
- Stable cash position
- Regulatory approvals globally
- Clear barriers to entry
- This is not theoretical: @upfrontvc continues to write big $$$.
? = ? https://t.co/aL3JzLO1RA
Where’d they last see it https://t.co/XlggIDZIDF
— Ed Zitron (@edzitron) July 11, 2019
Fascinating data on the much discussed scooter industry from one of the leaders. I know there are many nuances in this data, but it’s clear that the seasonality and operational complexity make this a hard business to replicate even though the local network effects are quite weak. https://t.co/WtClBcsJkx
— Pete Flint (@peteflint) July 13, 2019
I have no dog in this fight but it’s ? that tech execs are borrowing Trump’s playbook to respond to stories they don’t like. https://t.co/17kVYFvAWN
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) July 12, 2019
5/ We sent this data to the reporter (DisInformation) that triggered this “news” cycle, but he chose to use old data from last winter. The $100M he ref was a one-time accounting write-off from old retail scooters b/c our original depreciation window was too long. Facts matter.
— Travis VanderZanden (@travisv) July 12, 2019
Bird Scooter reportedly lost $100m in three months, needs more capital to stay afloathttps://t.co/lP3V2JgrP6 pic.twitter.com/QfaxP3b5WI
— Masque of the Red Death (@doctorow) July 13, 2019
A news outlet said Bird was seeking more VC money after losing nearly $100 million.
— Ethan May (@EthanMayJ) July 12, 2019
Bird's CEO tweeted that they make $1.27 on every ride on one of their newest types of scooters. But that number leaves out context:https://t.co/UzqTBAqL0i
I've never seen a company or space where the external perception is more at odds with reality. Here's my post on myths & realities in the e-scooter business -- the other electric vehicle revolution.https://t.co/dmYZQqpHwH
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) July 12, 2019
"We haven’t yet seen a limit to how big this market can get. What we do know is that half of all trips in cities are short-range and that scooters are frequently the fastest and most convenient option to get around congested cities."https://t.co/BQtNGX7YRr
— Turner Novak (@TurnerNovak) July 13, 2019
The Other Electric Vehicle Revolution: Myths and Realities in the E-Scooter Business#scooters @asymco https://t.co/h2cwu0fvBc
— Sherkhan (@sherkhantx) July 13, 2019
The Other Electric Vehicle Revolution: Myths and Realities in the E-Scooter Business by @DavidSacks https://t.co/Lxxr8uQvDP
— Roelof Botha (@roelofbotha) July 13, 2019