“Incentives” was the name for the free money Uber doled out to users and drivers. Uber lost money on incentives, but it didn’t matter; for one, if Uber kickstarted the demand flywheel hard enough, they’d train people to keep using Uber even after the company stopped providing freebies. Moreover, Kalanick knew he could always, always find more money. By 2015, Uber was globally spending more than $2 billion annually incentivizing drivers and riders, a staggering burn rate for even the most well-capitalized startup.
