Op-Ed: Uber’s Victory Against De Blasio a Win For All Entrepreneurs

Writing for Forbes, Crown Heights entrepreneur Zalmi Duchman explains why Uber’s victory over New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is a victory for all entrepreneurs, and brings as an example a new successful startup by two fellow Crown Heightsers – Menachem Light and Sam Jurkovitz – to illustrate his point:

As someone closely following the recent battle between Uber and New York City, I was very happy to learn that Mayor De Blasio decided to back away from his war on Uber. Just a few weeks ago, Mayor De Blasio and his city council proposed legislation that would have halted Uber’s growth in one of their largest markets. The legislation—which was to be voted on tomorrow—would have limited the annual number of new Uber vehicles to a mere 1% during a study period of nine months. Originally the city council wanted the study period of traffic patterns and congestion to be 13 months, but according to my sources the Mayor was going to propose nine months in an attempt to pacify Uber and their onslaught against him and the City. All indications were that the ban would pass, and that the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) would begin severely limiting the issuance of new for-hire vehicle licenses within 30 days. But in a surprising move late today, the Mayor announced that the city and Uber have come to an agreement to temporarily end the current battle. They city has agreed that—with Uber’s assistance—they will complete the study in four months, and that there will be no cap during that time.

This is a big win for Uber, but a much bigger win for startups that have been growing on the backs of ride sharing apps like Uber.

Startups like Buggy.

Sam Jurkovitz began driving for Uber in December 2012. Originally from Israel, Jurkovitz had been living in Brooklyn for most of his adult life. At the end of 2011, his business of helping people clean up their debt had failed. Jurkovitz and his partners spent most of 2012 tying up the loose ends that come with entrepreneurial failure. By summer, Jurkovitz was in real need of income. That’s when he learned about Uber. He applied to become a driver and was picking up passengers in a Lincoln Town Car by the end of the year.

Because he couldn’t afford to purchase the vehicle on his own, and since TLC rules require drivers to own their cars in order to qualify for TLC plates, Jurkovitz found a company that leased vehicles with TLC plates by the week. After driving for two months and seeing how archaic and difficult the rental company was—for example, Jurkovitz had to wait for two hours every Sunday to pay for the car in cash, the only form of payment the company accepted—he did what any good entrepreneur would do. He started his own company.

In summer 2013, Jurkovitz and his new partner Menachem Light launched Buggy, a car rental company that specializes in leasing TLC vehicles by the week. The concept was simple: make it easy for those looking to become Uber drivers to rent an Uber-approved car. Whether the driver needed to lease until they could afford to buy; or if they just wanted to try driving without investing in a vehicle, Buggy would be there to help. Buggys’ mission: do everything they can to make the process as easy as possible for their drivers. They even went as far as setting up a fund for drivers who couldn’t afford the minimal down payment needed to get into a car. Most of their renters are immigrants, and Sam and Menachem know that language barriers and unfamiliarity with tech can make the process daunting.

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