Masters in Business · Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Upon taking the helm at Lyft, CEO David Risher discovered a company that, despite its innovative spirit, had spread itself too thin and was losing market share to competitors. His initial strategy focused on lowering prices for riders and significantly reducing costs, including a 26% workforce reduction. Simultaneously, Lyft increased driver pay, a move Risher described as necessary to reorient the company towards customer obsession and innovation, exemplified by the introduction of 'Women+ Connect'.
“I saw a company that had some real innovative spirit at its core. Remember Lyft was actually the one that really revolutionized ride share. So the other guys they came up with a sort of black car concept and you know, black car on an app, but it was really Lyft that said, you know what it can be anyone with a prius, you know what I mean, anyone can pick up.”
“So the first thing is lower prices. We were just priced too high. That'd be really yeah, I can't operate.”
“So we laid off about it's about a third of the company and yeah, twenty six percent actually of the company, and I think about a three hundred and thirty million dollars of savings.”
“So first, you know, call it you know, you know, thirty sixty ninety days. It's fixing some basics, but also reorienting the company back towards its customer obsessed roots.”