We just got back from week in Paris. We rode Lime and Dott bikes all over town and also rode the Metro extensivey. With the exception of the ride to and from the airport and a trip to the flea market, we didn't get into a car all week.
Paris has massively reduced it's dependence on car traffic and has built an extensive bike lane system. Apparently the pollution from cars is way down in Paris as a result.
Paris has had a city owned bike system called Velib for going on twenty years. Like Citibike, Velib has upgraded in recent years and offers electric bikes.
But in addition to Velib, Paris has licensed ebike companies like Lime and Dott that compete directly with Velib. From what I see out and about in Paris, it has not impacted the use of Velibs, but has done two very important things.
First, Lime and Dott offer ebikes exclusively so the availability of ebikes in Paris is abundant whenever you want one. And Lime and Dott are not Kiosk based but do have to park in designated "Velo" parking spots. Those spots are basically on almost every block.
Contrast this with NYC, which also has built an extensive bike lane system and has seen biking explode as an alternative to the subway and cars.
This morning my nearest Citibike kiosk had only eight bikes in it. Six were the new grey ebikes and none were available due to dead batteries. Of the other two regular bikes, only one was available. So I took it and rode to my coffee shop where I'm writing this post.
Citibike has been great for NYC. I use it pretty much every day when it is nice outside. I love it. But it needs competitors like Lime and Dott.
NYC only needs to look to Paris to see the benefits of competition and kiosk less systems. Bringing them to NYC won't hurt Citibike but it will massively expand the amount of riding going on, particularly on ebikes which are easier to ride and are a great way to get to and from work.
In the current NYC, where congestion pricing is dead and the subway system is scrambling for money, doubling down on biking makes all the sense in the world.
A month or so ago, we started sending out a weekly summary of things that were "overheard at USV" in the past week.
That first week was an experiment to see if folks care to know what we talk about around the office.
What we learned from it is that lots of people do care and so we kept doing it each Friday for the last month.
We call it "OH at USV" and you can get it on our USV Twitter account and our USV Farcaster account every Friday afternoon. You can also get it on the USV Farcaster channel.
Our hope and expectation is that by sharing our most interesting conversations with the world we will attract founders who are working on those things to come talk to us. So far, that seems to be working and we are thrilled about that.
I am struck by the difference in approach taken by the top onchain entrepreneurs and the top entrepreneurs from earlier internet eras (web1 and web2).
The earlier internet eras have been marked by companies and founders focused on selfishness:
"Your margin is my opportunity" - Jeff Bezos
"You know, one of my favorite Roman orators ended every speech with the phrase Carthago delenda est--Carthage must be destroyed" - Mark Zuckerberg
But when I look at the top onchain entrepreneurs I see generosity:
The Satoshi mic drop is the greatest entrepreneurial act I have ever witnessed. They created what has become a 1.4 Trillion economy and then just walked away. They gave it to the world and said "it is yours".
Vitalik stuck around but has taken a similar approach. He has welcomed other entrepreneurs to create systems that take value away from the Ethereum blockchain. I would say he has even encouraged it.
How can giving something away or letting others take value from you be good business?
It is all about zero sum thinking. If you think that the size of the pie is fixed, then you need to grab as much of it as you can. But if you are making a pie that can grow and grow and grow, you just take a small slice and let everyone else eat.
That is the Satoshi mic drop.
And it is the key to winning onchain.
Don't be selfish.
Be generous.