Lyft CEO Recounts Bill Gates‘ Scathing Critique of Early Amazon Role
SAN FRANCISCO – Lyft CEO David Risher revealed that Bill Gates once told him he was making “teh stupidest decision I’ve ever heard anyone make” – a reference to Risher’s decision to join Amazon in 1997. The anecdote underscores Risher’s willingness to embrace unconventional paths, a trait he’s now applying to revitalize the ride-sharing company.
Risher, who took the helm at Lyft in 2023, inherited a company facing challenges. At the time, Lyft was losing market share and operating at a loss. (Lyft stock is down roughly 20% over the last five years, but has risen 60% year-to-date.) His strategy centers on a return to fundamental customer understanding.
To gain firsthand insight, Risher regularly works “undercover” as a Lyft driver in Napa Valley and San Francisco.A direct result of this practice was the creation of Lyft’s “Price Lock” feature, prompted by a passenger’s frustration with fluctuating fares. Risher also emphasizes drivers as customers, leading to a 70% earnings guarantee – ensuring drivers receive at least 70% of rider payments, a policy that has yielded a 19-point advantage in driver preference over competitors.
Risher frames his approach as a fight against “enshittification,” a term popularized by Cory Doctorow and recently named “word of the year” by both the Australian dictionary and the American Dialect Society.He defines it as the tendency for services to degrade over time due to profit and investor pressures. Under Risher’s leadership, Lyft has seen meaningful improvements, notably reducing driver cancellation rates from 15% to below 5%.
Risher’s career has been marked by taking on ambitious challenges, from his early days at Amazon – a move Gates openly questioned – to his current role at lyft. He believes the same customer-centric philosophy that propelled Amazon’s growth can drive Lyft’s future success.
