Why Uber and Airbnb Win Big in Some Cities and Fail in Others

Jan de Vries · 2026-11-10

You've probably noticed it. Order an Uber in one city and cars show up in three minutes. Try the same thing somewhere else and you're staring at a spinning map with no drivers. Same app, wildly different experience. Turns out there's a reason for that — and it has less to do with traffic and more to do with the people living there. ### The Real Reason Some Cities Embrace Platforms Faster Scientists have been digging into why platforms like Airbnb and Uber catch fire in some places and fizzle out in others. Their finding is refreshingly simple: cities with open-minded residents adopt these platforms faster. That openness creates a kind of social permission. People are willing to try the unfamiliar, and the unfamiliar stops feeling risky. When residents are curious rather than suspicious, the whole adoption curve speeds up. Drivers sign up sooner. Hosts list their spare rooms. Riders and guests follow. It's a feedback loop, and open-mindedness is what gets it spinning. ### Why This Matters for Founders and Investors If you're building or backing a platform business, this changes how you think about expansion. You can't just look at population size and income levels. You also need to read the room — the cultural temperature of a city. Here's what that means in practice: - Cities with skeptical residents need more trust-building before launch, not just marketing spend - Local ambassadors and early adopters matter more than billboards - A slow start in one market doesn't mean your model is broken — it might mean the soil isn't ready yet - Regulatory friendliness and cultural openness often travel together A platform that flops in one city can thrive in another with nearly identical demographics. The difference is often attitude, not infrastructure. ### What This Tells Us About European Startup Incorporation This research lands at an interesting moment for Europe. As the conversation around the EU Inc proposal heats up, founders are watching closely to see whether a simpler path to incorporating across member states could unlock faster growth. And here's the connection. The EU Inc proposal isn't just about paperwork. It's about reducing friction so startups can move quickly across borders — the same kind of friction that slows platform adoption in wary cities. If the proposal makes it easier to set up and scale, founders get more shots at finding the markets where people are ready to say yes. > "Adoption isn't just a technology story. It's a people story. The cities that win are the ones where curiosity beats caution." So whether you're tracking EU Inc news, weighing a launch city, or just curious why your favorite app works everywhere except that one town — the answer is often the same. People decide. Technology just follows. ### The Takeaway Before you bet on a new market, spend a day talking to locals. Watch how they react to something new. That gut read might tell you more than any spreadsheet. Openness is hard to measure, but you can feel it — and apparently, so can the platforms that succeed.