Rising Stars: The 6 Best Silicon Valley Startups

1. Lyft

Lyft is a startup with a very simple goal and motto: it’s Uber for people that don’t want to have to overpay for Uber. It’s motto is ‘Your friend with a car’, and people simply give a suggested donation amount. This startup reminds me of a story I read last year about a classroom experiment at Stanford University. To quickly summarize it: The class was split in groups and had 24 hours to see how much money they could make starting with $5. One of the most successful groups offered a bicycle air pump on campus for free, with a donation box, and received way more money than they would have if they’d simply charged a flat fee. By not charging the users a designated amount, Lyft taps into the same thing that these Stanford students did, which is using people’s conscience to give a large donation amount. This startup has received over $85 million in funding and has an employee size of just over 60 employees. With its growth on the horizon, and the success of its natural foil in Uber, Lyft is our top-rated startup in all of Silicon Valley.