Wayne Ting

I would fall asleep dreaming about Lyme and everything that could go wrong with Lyme. Number one, we got to self-sustaining free cash flow positive. It was the first time in many years where I stopped dreaming about Lyme. I dream about Lyme now, but in a good way. It's not in worrying about we're going to be out of business.

I would fall asleep dreaming about Lyme and everything that could go wrong with Lyme. Number one, we got to self-sustaining free cash flow positive. It was the first time in many years where I stopped dreaming about Lyme. I dream about Lyme now, but in a good way. It's not in worrying about we're going to be out of business.

I would fall asleep dreaming about Lyme and everything that could go wrong with Lyme. Number one, we got to self-sustaining free cash flow positive. It was the first time in many years where I stopped dreaming about Lyme. I dream about Lyme now, but in a good way. It's not in worrying about we're going to be out of business.

First, you're absolutely right. We haven't done much M&A. We've done two M&A deals. One is to buy Jump from Uber. And I think that was an incredible deal. It came with a lot of cost because it was a down round for our prior investors. What it allowed us to do was to really deeply integrate with Uber and become the micro-mobility provider on the Uber platform. And that was critical.

First, you're absolutely right. We haven't done much M&A. We've done two M&A deals. One is to buy Jump from Uber. And I think that was an incredible deal. It came with a lot of cost because it was a down round for our prior investors. What it allowed us to do was to really deeply integrate with Uber and become the micro-mobility provider on the Uber platform. And that was critical.

First, you're absolutely right. We haven't done much M&A. We've done two M&A deals. One is to buy Jump from Uber. And I think that was an incredible deal. It came with a lot of cost because it was a down round for our prior investors. What it allowed us to do was to really deeply integrate with Uber and become the micro-mobility provider on the Uber platform. And that was critical.

And it was allowed us to get the capital we needed to survive the pandemic. Lime wouldn't have survived if we did not do that deal. But I think most M&A deals are value destructive. And that's probably the thought that's always in the back of my head as I think about new M&A deals. Why so?

And it was allowed us to get the capital we needed to survive the pandemic. Lime wouldn't have survived if we did not do that deal. But I think most M&A deals are value destructive. And that's probably the thought that's always in the back of my head as I think about new M&A deals. Why so?

And it was allowed us to get the capital we needed to survive the pandemic. Lime wouldn't have survived if we did not do that deal. But I think most M&A deals are value destructive. And that's probably the thought that's always in the back of my head as I think about new M&A deals. Why so?

Because we have our own hardware, because we have our own operations, because we have great operators on the ground. If we buy a competitor, we may not want their hardware. That's a lot of lost capex. We may not want to use their operators. We may want to take our own operational model and put it over their business.

Because we have our own hardware, because we have our own operations, because we have great operators on the ground. If we buy a competitor, we may not want their hardware. That's a lot of lost capex. We may not want to use their operators. We may want to take our own operational model and put it over their business.

Because we have our own hardware, because we have our own operations, because we have great operators on the ground. If we buy a competitor, we may not want their hardware. That's a lot of lost capex. We may not want to use their operators. We may want to take our own operational model and put it over their business.

So by doing that, we're actually essentially saying we're not really buying much when we look at M&A. So instead, the alternative is like, can we invest an equivalent amount of money that it would take to buy that company and invest in our own business? Will we get a better ROI, a better return on that capital invested than buying a company? Because usually you have to pay up to get control.

So by doing that, we're actually essentially saying we're not really buying much when we look at M&A. So instead, the alternative is like, can we invest an equivalent amount of money that it would take to buy that company and invest in our own business? Will we get a better ROI, a better return on that capital invested than buying a company? Because usually you have to pay up to get control.

So by doing that, we're actually essentially saying we're not really buying much when we look at M&A. So instead, the alternative is like, can we invest an equivalent amount of money that it would take to buy that company and invest in our own business? Will we get a better ROI, a better return on that capital invested than buying a company? Because usually you have to pay up to get control.

I do. I think any CEO, any founder cannot use down round willy-nilly because investors have believed in you, invested in you, and down rounds are very, very destructive for your investor base. And when you lose that trust, it's hard to get it back. But I would also say like,

I do. I think any CEO, any founder cannot use down round willy-nilly because investors have believed in you, invested in you, and down rounds are very, very destructive for your investor base. And when you lose that trust, it's hard to get it back. But I would also say like,

I do. I think any CEO, any founder cannot use down round willy-nilly because investors have believed in you, invested in you, and down rounds are very, very destructive for your investor base. And when you lose that trust, it's hard to get it back. But I would also say like,

When I see companies sometimes unwilling to raise around because it's going to be lower than this like fictitious number they have in their own head. I see this with like IPOs now where like companies are like, oh, well, I can't go public unless I hit the valuation I had in 2020. And that valuation is fake.

When I see companies sometimes unwilling to raise around because it's going to be lower than this like fictitious number they have in their own head. I see this with like IPOs now where like companies are like, oh, well, I can't go public unless I hit the valuation I had in 2020. And that valuation is fake.