I can’t say I was surprised to hear that Juno shut down recently. They offered a lot to drivers and really seemed to do their research, but ultimately it wasn’t meant to be. Today I’ll be talking about Juno as a case study – what happened, what went wrong, and what we can get out of this whole process.
If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.
Intro
- Today I’ll be chatting with Alison Griswold of Quartz on Juno
- Covering the sharing economy for as long as I’ve been around!
- Thanks to George Grama – interviewed him before
- He white-labels rideshare apps – if you’re interested in starting your own rideshare company, reach out to me: harry [at] therideshareguy.com and I can put you in touch with him!
Intro to Alison Griswold
- Alison Griswold of Quartz, covers the sharing economy
- Runs a newsletter on the sharing economy called Oversharing
- Typically used Via in NYC (but usually uses public transit!)
Juno – The Beginning
- Became aware of them in 2016
- Started in beta mode – much lower commission than Uber and offered a higher wage
- Subsidized on rider side
- Skeptical early on of their chances – how long could this all last?
Were Drivers Happy with Juno?
- Overall, they were!
- RSUs, no shared rides, better pay for drivers
- Drivers felt they were getting a share of the company
Where Did it All Go Wrong?
- Did it really go wrong? It all went right – for Juno
- Juno owner had a pattern of identifying market opportunities, creating a competitor in the space, and then turning it over for a profit
- Juno sold to Gett in 2017 – deal reported around $2M
- Drivers lost their stock options
Takeaways from Juno’s Exit
- Initial branding is very important
- Uber and Lyft copied a lot of the features Juno had
- Can a driver-friendly company really unseat Uber/Lyft?
- Yes! Barriers to entry are not high
Outro
- Appreciate Ali sharing her expertise as a reporter – she’s doing important work!
- If you have questions about Juno, reach out!
- And if you want to start a rideshare company, contact me: harry [at] therideshareguy.com