0:00:01.657,0:00:05.419 Twelve years ago, I founded Zipcar. 0:00:05.419,0:00:08.265 Zipcar buys cars and parks them 0:00:08.265,0:00:10.841 throughout dense metropolitan areas 0:00:10.841,0:00:13.969 for people to use, by the hour and by the day, 0:00:13.969,0:00:16.258 instead of owning their own cars. 0:00:16.258,0:00:20.142 Each Zipcar replaces 15 personal cars, 0:00:20.142,0:00:23.246 and each driver drives about 80 percent less 0:00:23.246,0:00:25.606 because they're now paying the full cost, 0:00:25.606,0:00:28.182 all at once, in real time. 0:00:28.182,0:00:32.427 But what Zipcar really did was make sharing the norm. 0:00:32.427,0:00:36.678 Now, a decade later, it's really time to push the envelope a little bit, 0:00:36.678,0:00:38.663 and so a couple years ago I moved to Paris 0:00:38.663,0:00:41.342 with my husband and youngest child, 0:00:41.342,0:00:44.562 and we launched Buzzcar a year ago. 0:00:44.562,0:00:47.819 Buzzcar lets people rent out their own cars 0:00:47.819,0:00:49.486 to their friends and neighbors. 0:00:49.486,0:00:54.742 Instead of investing in a car, we invest in a community. 0:00:54.742,0:00:57.069 We bring the power of a corporation 0:00:57.069,0:01:00.182 to individuals who add their cars to the network. 0:01:00.182,0:01:03.870 Some people call this peer-to-peer. 0:01:03.870,0:01:07.158 This does express the humanity of what's going on, 0:01:07.158,0:01:09.595 and the personal relationships, 0:01:09.595,0:01:12.291 but that is also like saying that it's the same thing 0:01:12.291,0:01:15.144 as a yard sale or a bake sale or babysitting. 0:01:15.144,0:01:16.369 That's peer-to-peer. 0:01:16.369,0:01:21.256 It's like saying yard sales are the same thing as eBay, 0:01:21.256,0:01:28.828 or craft fairs are the same thing as Etsy. 0:01:28.828,0:01:31.190 But what's really happening is that we've got the power 0:01:31.190,0:01:33.395 of a free and open Internet, 0:01:33.395,0:01:36.600 and on top of that we're putting a platform for participation, 0:01:36.600,0:01:40.287 and the peers are now in partnership with the company, 0:01:40.287,0:01:43.504 creating shared value on shared values, 0:01:43.504,0:01:48.473 and each strengthening the other, and doing what the other can't do. 0:01:48.473,0:01:51.515 I call this Peers, Inc. 0:01:51.515,0:01:54.076 The incorporated side, the company, 0:01:54.076,0:01:56.893 is doing things that it does really well. 0:01:56.893,0:02:00.662 What does it do really well? It creates economies of scale, 0:02:00.662,0:02:04.405 significant and long-term resource investment, 0:02:04.405,0:02:07.210 the expertise of many different kinds of people 0:02:07.210,0:02:10.198 and different kinds of minds, and for individuals, 0:02:10.198,0:02:13.462 consumers, it's bringing the standards, rules and recourse 0:02:13.462,0:02:15.782 that we really want as consumers, 0:02:15.782,0:02:18.725 and this is kind of bound up in a brand promise, 0:02:18.725,0:02:23.765 and the companies are providing this on a platform for participation. 0:02:23.765,0:02:26.102 Peers are giving and doing things 0:02:26.102,0:02:29.109 that are incredibly expensive for companies to do. 0:02:29.109,0:02:32.933 What do they bring? They bring this fabulous diversity, 0:02:32.933,0:02:35.590 expensive for companies. And what does that deliver? 0:02:35.590,0:02:38.351 It delivers localization and customization, 0:02:38.351,0:02:41.758 specialization, and all of this aspect about social networks 0:02:41.758,0:02:44.606 and how companies are yearning and eager to get inside there? 0:02:44.606,0:02:48.702 It's natural for me. Me and my friends, I can connect to them easily. 0:02:48.702,0:02:52.265 And it also delivers really fabulous innovation, 0:02:52.265,0:02:53.681 and I'll talk about that later. 0:02:53.681,0:02:57.097 So we have the peers that are providing the services and the product, 0:02:57.097,0:03:01.677 and the company that's doing the stuff that companies do. 0:03:01.677,0:03:06.041 The two of these are delivering the best of both worlds. 0:03:06.041,0:03:08.029 Some of my favorite examples: 0:03:08.029,0:03:11.982 in transportation, Carpooling.com. Ten years old, 0:03:11.982,0:03:13.385 three and a half million people have joined up, 0:03:13.385,0:03:15.943 and a million rides are shared every day. 0:03:15.943,0:03:19.175 It's a phenomenal thing. It's the equivalent 0:03:19.175,0:03:22.262 of 2,500 TGV trains, 0:03:22.262,0:03:26.238 and just think, they didn't have to lay a track or buy a car. 0:03:26.238,0:03:28.982 This is all happening with excess capacity. 0:03:28.982,0:03:32.469 And it's not just with transportation, my love, 0:03:32.469,0:03:35.622 but of course in other realms. Here's Fiverr.com. 0:03:35.622,0:03:38.433 I met these founders just weeks after they had launched, 0:03:38.433,0:03:42.889 and now, in two years, what would you do for five dollars? 0:03:42.889,0:03:47.157 Seven hundred and fifty thousand gigs are now posted after two years, 0:03:47.157,0:03:49.982 what people would do for five dollars. 0:03:49.982,0:03:53.668 And not just easy things that anyone can do. 0:03:53.668,0:03:58.444 This Peers, Inc. concept is in a very difficult and complex realm. 0:03:58.444,0:04:02.640 TopCoder has 400,000 engineers who are delivering 0:04:02.640,0:04:06.440 complex design and engineering services. 0:04:06.440,0:04:08.993 When I talked to their CEO, he had this great line. 0:04:08.993,0:04:13.783 He said, "We have a community that owns its own company." 0:04:13.783,0:04:16.055 And then my all-time favorite, Etsy. 0:04:16.055,0:04:19.326 Etsy is providing goods that people make themselves 0:04:19.326,0:04:20.992 and they're selling it in a marketplace. 0:04:20.992,0:04:24.407 It just celebrated its seventh anniversary, 0:04:24.407,0:04:26.975 and after seven years, last year it delivered 0:04:26.975,0:04:32.467 530 million dollars' worth of sales to all those individuals 0:04:32.467,0:04:35.623 who have been making those objects. 0:04:35.623,0:04:38.382 I know you guys out there who are businesspeople, 0:04:38.382,0:04:40.798 are thinking, "Oh my God, I want to build one of those. 0:04:40.798,0:04:42.475 I see this incredible speed and scale. 0:04:42.475,0:04:44.984 You mean all I have to do is build a platform and all these people are going 0:04:44.984,0:04:47.752 to put their stuff on top and I sit back and roll it in?" 0:04:47.752,0:04:52.803 Building these platforms for participation are so nontrivial to do. 0:04:52.803,0:04:56.816 I think of the difference of Google Video versus YouTube. 0:04:56.816,0:05:00.005 Who would have thought that two young guys and a start-up 0:05:00.005,0:05:02.188 would beat out Google Video? Why? 0:05:02.188,0:05:04.280 I actually have no idea why. I didn't talk to them. 0:05:04.280,0:05:06.912 But I'm thinking, you know, they probably had 0:05:06.912,0:05:08.891 the "share" button a little bit brighter and to the right, 0:05:08.891,0:05:11.885 and so it was easier and more convenient for the two sides 0:05:11.885,0:05:14.965 that are always participating on these networks. 0:05:14.965,0:05:19.164 So I actually know a lot about building a peer platform now, 0:05:19.164,0:05:21.025 and a Peers, Inc. company, because I've spent 0:05:21.025,0:05:24.424 the last two years doing that in Paris. 0:05:24.424,0:05:27.845 So let me take you back how it's so incredibly different 0:05:27.845,0:05:30.720 building Buzzcar than it was building Zipcar, 0:05:30.720,0:05:33.000 because now every single thing we do has these two 0:05:33.000,0:05:35.427 different bodies that I have to be thinking about: 0:05:35.427,0:05:38.291 the owners who are going to provide the cars 0:05:38.291,0:05:40.738 and the drivers who are going to rent them. 0:05:40.738,0:05:44.210 Every single decision, I have to think about what is right for both sides. 0:05:44.210,0:05:46.674 There are many, many examples and I'll give you one 0:05:46.674,0:05:49.996 that is not my favorite example: insurance. 0:05:49.996,0:05:54.525 It took me a year and a half to get the insurance just right. 0:05:54.525,0:05:57.514 Hours and hours of sitting with insurers and many companies 0:05:57.514,0:06:01.260 and their thoughts about risk and how this is totally innovative, 0:06:01.260,0:06:03.091 they'd never thought of it before. 0:06:03.091,0:06:06.458 Way too much money, I just can't even go there, with lawyers, 0:06:06.458,0:06:09.242 trying to figure out how this is different, who's responsible to whom, 0:06:09.242,0:06:12.830 and the result was that we were able to provide owners 0:06:12.830,0:06:17.122 protection for their own driving records and their own history. 0:06:17.122,0:06:18.938 The cars are completely insured during the rental, 0:06:18.938,0:06:22.602 and it gives drivers what they need, and what do they need? 0:06:22.602,0:06:25.107 They need a low deductible, 0:06:25.107,0:06:27.355 and 24-hour roadside assistance. 0:06:27.355,0:06:30.239 So this was a trick to get these two sides. 0:06:30.239,0:06:34.487 So now I want to take you to the moment of -- 0:06:34.487,0:06:38.455 When you're an entrepreneur, and you've started a new company, 0:06:38.455,0:06:40.849 there's the, here's all the stuff we do beforehand, 0:06:40.849,0:06:44.775 and then the service launches. What happens? 0:06:44.775,0:06:49.175 So all those months of work, they come into play. 0:06:49.175,0:06:53.373 Last June 1, we launched. It was an exciting moment. 0:06:53.373,0:06:56.983 And all the owners are adding their cars. It's really exciting. 0:06:56.983,0:06:59.409 All the drivers are becoming members. It's excellent. 0:06:59.409,0:07:03.855 The reservations start coming in, and here, 0:07:03.855,0:07:06.922 owners who were getting text messages and emails 0:07:06.922,0:07:10.015 that said, "Hey, Joe wants to rent your car for the weekend. 0:07:10.015,0:07:14.419 You can earn 60 euros. Isn't that great? Yes or no?" 0:07:14.419,0:07:17.916 No reply. Like, a huge proportion of them 0:07:17.916,0:07:21.926 couldn't be bothered after they had just started, they just signed up, to reply. 0:07:21.926,0:07:25.554 So I thought, "Duh, Robin, this is the difference between 0:07:25.554,0:07:28.697 industrial production and peer production." 0:07:28.697,0:07:31.809 Industrial production, the whole point of industrial production 0:07:31.809,0:07:35.283 is to provide a standardized, exact service model 0:07:35.283,0:07:37.495 that is consistent every single time, 0:07:37.495,0:07:40.496 and I'm really thankful that my smartphone is made 0:07:40.496,0:07:41.869 using industrial production. 0:07:41.869,0:07:44.607 And Zipcar provides a very nice, consistent service 0:07:44.607,0:07:46.191 that works fabulously. 0:07:46.191,0:07:49.333 But what does peer production do? Peer production 0:07:49.333,0:07:52.626 is this completely different way of doing things, 0:07:52.626,0:07:57.698 and you have a big quality range, and so eBay, cleverly, 0:07:57.698,0:08:01.019 the first peer production, Peer, Inc. company, I'd say, 0:08:01.019,0:08:05.617 they figured out early on, we need to have ratings 0:08:05.617,0:08:09.001 and commentaries and all that yucky side stuff. 0:08:09.001,0:08:12.249 We can flag that and we can put it to the side, and people 0:08:12.249,0:08:16.564 who are buyers and consumers don't have to deal with it. 0:08:16.564,0:08:21.622 So going back, this is my look of excitement and joy, 0:08:21.622,0:08:24.056 because all this stuff that I'd also been hoping for 0:08:24.056,0:08:26.083 actually really did happen, and what's that? 0:08:26.083,0:08:28.896 That is the diversity of what's going on. 0:08:28.896,0:08:31.528 You have these different fabulous owners 0:08:31.528,0:08:34.958 and their different cars, different prices, 0:08:34.958,0:08:37.096 different locations. (Laughter) 0:08:37.096,0:08:42.243 They dress differently, and they look different, 0:08:42.243,0:08:47.963 and, really, I love these photos every time I look at them. 0:08:47.963,0:08:51.073 Cool guys, excited guys, 0:08:51.073,0:08:55.852 and here is Selma, who -- I love this driver. 0:08:55.852,0:08:58.472 And after a year, we have 1,000 cars 0:08:58.472,0:09:01.872 that are parked across France and 6,000 people 0:09:01.872,0:09:04.240 who are members and eager to drive them. 0:09:04.240,0:09:08.409 This would not be possible to do that in economic fashion 0:09:08.409,0:09:10.770 for a traditional company. 0:09:10.770,0:09:12.912 Back to this spectrum. 0:09:12.912,0:09:15.628 So what's happening is, we had the yuck side, 0:09:15.628,0:09:17.852 but we actually had this real wow side. 0:09:17.852,0:09:20.592 And I can tell you two great stories. 0:09:20.592,0:09:23.559 A driver was telling me that they went to rent a car 0:09:23.559,0:09:27.294 to go up the coast of France and the owner gave it to them, 0:09:27.294,0:09:29.286 and said, "You know what, here's where the cliffs are, 0:09:29.286,0:09:31.806 and here's all the beaches, and this is my best beach, 0:09:31.806,0:09:34.606 and this is where the best fish restaurant is." 0:09:34.606,0:09:37.442 And the peers also become, 0:09:37.442,0:09:39.703 peers and owners create relationships, 0:09:39.703,0:09:41.974 and so at the last minute people can -- 0:09:41.974,0:09:44.631 a driver can say, "Hey, you know what, I really need the car, 0:09:44.631,0:09:46.121 is it available?" And that person will say, 0:09:46.121,0:09:49.232 "Sure, my wife's at home. Go pick up the keys. Go do it." 0:09:49.232,0:09:52.631 So you can have these really nice things that can't happen, 0:09:52.631,0:09:56.463 and it's a kind of "Wow!" and I want to say "Wow!" 0:09:56.463,0:09:58.943 type of thing that's happening here, because individuals, 0:09:58.943,0:10:01.814 if you're a company, what happens is you might have 0:10:01.814,0:10:03.564 10 people who are in charge of innovation, 0:10:03.564,0:10:05.522 or 100 people who are in charge of innovation. 0:10:05.522,0:10:09.026 What happens in Peer, Inc. companies is that you have 0:10:09.026,0:10:12.098 tens and hundreds and thousands and even millions 0:10:12.098,0:10:15.201 of people who are creating experiments on this model, 0:10:15.201,0:10:17.786 and so out of all that influence and that effort, 0:10:17.786,0:10:22.177 you are having this exceptional amount of innovation 0:10:22.177,0:10:24.596 that is coming out. 0:10:24.596,0:10:27.964 So one of the reasons, if we come back to why did I 0:10:27.964,0:10:30.805 call it Buzzcar? I wanted to remind all of us 0:10:30.805,0:10:33.681 about the power of the hive, 0:10:33.681,0:10:36.617 and its incredible facility to create this platform 0:10:36.617,0:10:40.638 that individuals want to participate and innovate on. 0:10:40.638,0:10:44.058 And for me, when I think about our future, 0:10:44.058,0:10:47.386 and all of those problems that seem incredibly large, 0:10:47.386,0:10:50.472 the scale is impossible, the urgency is there, 0:10:50.472,0:10:53.506 Peers, Inc. provides the speed and scale 0:10:53.506,0:10:58.092 and the innovation and the creativity that is going to answer these problems. 0:10:58.092,0:11:03.409 All we have to do is create a fabulous platform for participation -- nontrivial. 0:11:03.409,0:11:06.186 So I continue to think that 0:11:06.186,0:11:09.441 transportation is the center of the hard universe. 0:11:09.441,0:11:11.765 All problems come back to transportation for me. 0:11:11.765,0:11:15.612 But there are all these other areas that are these profound, 0:11:15.612,0:11:18.977 big problems that I know that we can work on, 0:11:18.977,0:11:21.753 and people are working on them in many different sectors, 0:11:21.753,0:11:24.298 but there's this really fabulous group of things 0:11:24.298,0:11:28.784 with the power of this Peers, Inc. model. 0:11:28.784,0:11:35.269 So over the last decade, we've been reveling in 0:11:35.269,0:11:38.772 the power of the Internet and how it's empowered individuals, 0:11:38.772,0:11:41.368 and for me, what Peers, Inc. does 0:11:41.368,0:11:45.204 is it takes it up a notch. We're now bringing the power 0:11:45.204,0:11:48.200 of the company and the corporation 0:11:48.200,0:11:51.065 and supercharging individuals. 0:11:51.065,0:11:54.610 So for me, it's a collaboration. 0:11:54.610,0:11:58.895 Together, we can. (Applause) 0:11:58.895,0:12:01.480 Thank you. (Applause)