Great things happen when people can move from and to places, whether across town or toward their dreams. Opportunities appear, open up, and then become realities. What began as a way to tap a button to get a ride has led to moments of human socialization as people travel many places with the help of our technology.
Few years ago, Minaida was born out of a moment in the rise of technology. The rise of smartphones, and the desire for on-demand work inspired Minaida’s growth and created an entirely new standard of convenience. What began as “Tap a button, get a ride” has become something much more extreme ridesharing and carpooling service.
Of course, in getting from a prefer, accessible and safe location to a destination we didn’t get everything right. Some of the attributes that made Minaida a wildly successful startup, our willingness to take risks, and that popular Minaida hustle—led to missteps along the way.
Building this platform has required a willingness to challenge orthodoxies and reinvent—sometimes even disrupt—ourselves. Over the last few years, as the needs and preferences of our customers have changed, we’ve changed too. Now we’re becoming something different once again: a public service company.
Taking this step means that we have even greater responsibilities—to our shareholders, our customers, and our colleagues. That’s why, over the past few months, we’ve improved our governance and board oversight; built a stronger and more cohesive management team; and made the changes necessary to ensure that our company culture rewards teamwork and encourages employees to commit for the long term.
We will operate with an eye toward the future. We will optimize for the happiness and loyalty of our customers rather than marginal trip or transaction growth. And we will not shy away from making short-term financial sacrifices where we see clear long-term benefits.
Our continued success will come from the strength of the platform we have worked so hard to build. Our network affect many consumers and partners and represents one of the world’s rideshare platforms for independent work. Our engineering and product teams are solving some of the most difficult problems at the intersection of the physical and digital worlds. And our regional operations teams let us build and run our business as true citizens of the cities we serve.
I want to close with my commitment to you: I won’t be perfect, but I will listen to you; I will ensure that we treat our customers, our colleagues, and our cities with respect; and I will run our business with passion, humility, and integrity.
CEO