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Uber·Product Manager·Onsite - Product Sense / Strategy·Senior

Senior
Apr 2026

Summary

Product sense round at Uber focused on launching a new vertical within a super-app context. Just the one question but it had a lot of surface area to cover.

Questions Asked (1)

Q1

For a brand new vertical like peer-to-peer car rental inside a super-app, what metrics would you track in the first six months to evaluate whether it has legs?

Product Analytics & MetricsProduct StrategyAdaptability & Ambiguity
Author's notes

I went straight to supply and demand balance metrics, which felt right but I spent too long there and barely touched trust signals like damage claims or dispute rates.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Start by framing the evaluation around the product's core value proposition: connecting car owners with renters to create a liquid marketplace. Then propose a tiered metric framework that tracks supply, demand, and marketplace health, with a focus on leading indicators of product-market fit within six months. Emphasize the importance of setting clear thresholds for success and being prepared to iterate or pivot based on data.

Pro tip: Don't just list metrics—tie them to a hypothesis about what 'having legs' means for this vertical, such as achieving liquidity in a single city. Show that you understand Uber's super-app context by considering cross-platform synergies and the unique trust and safety challenges of peer-to-peer rentals.

1. Define success criteria and hypotheses

Clarify what 'having legs' means for this vertical—e.g., achieving product-market fit, sustainable unit economics, or liquidity in a target market. State your hypotheses about the key drivers of success.

2. Select a balanced set of metrics

Choose metrics across supply, demand, and marketplace health, ensuring they are actionable and measurable within six months. Include both growth and engagement metrics.

3. Prioritize leading indicators

Focus on early signals that predict long-term success, such as repeat usage, supply growth rate, and match rate, rather than lagging indicators like total revenue.

4. Set targets and benchmarks

Establish specific, time-bound targets for each metric based on industry benchmarks or internal goals, and define what would constitute a 'go' or 'no-go' signal.

5. Plan for iteration and learning

Outline how you would use the metrics to inform product iterations, experiments, and potential pivots, emphasizing a test-and-learn approach.

Key Points to Mention

  • Supply-side metrics: number of active car owners, listing growth rate, utilization rate per car, and owner retention.
  • Demand-side metrics: number of active renters, booking conversion rate, repeat rental rate, and average rental duration.
  • Marketplace health metrics: match rate (successful bookings per search), time to first booking, and liquidity (e.g., percentage of cars booked within a week).
  • Unit economics: customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), and contribution margin per rental.
  • Trust and safety metrics: incident rate, insurance claims, and user ratings for both owners and renters.
  • Super-app synergies: cross-usage with other Uber services (e.g., riders becoming renters) and incremental revenue impact.

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.