There’s a very fine line between being ostentatious and being memorable.
As a startup, your survival absolutely depends on you being the latter, but if you start to realize you have bled into the former, then what’s the best move? Stay the course, knowing you won’t ever be able to make everyone happy? Or call timeout, cut your losses and make a substitution?
San Francisco-based ridesharing app Lyft decided to take a knee, cut its losses and make a swap.
Related: This Obsessive Entrepreneur Documented His 955 Rides as a Lyft Driver
The three-year-old startup, which is trying to make moves in a market dominated by the controversial but rapidly growing Uber, announced this week that it would be replacing its giant furry magenta mustache with a sleeker, smaller “Glowstache.” Yup, a glowstache.
The fluorescent pink mustache, about the size of a banana, will go inside a Lyft driver’s car on the dashboard. The previous mustache, which was large and furry, was affixed to the outside of a driver’s car. Still, the Glowstache retains the playful, irreverence that Lyft has used to distinguish itself from the more luxe, elite tone that its largest competitor has built its brand with.
Related: Uber Raises $1.2 Billion in New Funding Based on a $40 Billion Valuation
“The new Glowstache marks an exciting moment for Lyft as we embark on the next chapter of our growth,” the company said in an emailed statement. Glowstaches are expected to start hitting the streets in coming weeks.
To be sure, the fluffy pink mustache erred on the side of offensive to some potential customers. But it was also what put Lyft on the map. Shedding your defining feature isn’t always the best move, especially for a company still emerging.
What do you think? Did Lyft make the right move at the right time? Or should the company have kept the larger, more iconic mustache? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Related: This Ridesharing Service You've Never Heard of Has 10 Million Members and Counting
Catherine Clifford
Catherine Clifford is senior entrepreneurship writer at CNBC. She was formerly a senior writer at Entrepreneur.com, the small business reporter at CNNMoney and an assistant in the New York bureau for CNN. Clifford attended Columbi...
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