The belief that problems can be solved without involving people is probably why many of these companies did not meet with regulators and officials before starting services in new cities. And it’s a decision that has come back to haunt them. Luther Lowe, director of public policy at Yelp, had some basic advice for Uber that could apply just as well to Airbnb, Lyft and others: Hire a lobbyist and meet with the mayor and the city council before setting up shop.

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That leads to yet another principle shared by both older and newer tech companies: Regulators are little more than roadblocks standing in the way of innovation.

via When Uber and Airbnb Meet the Real World – NYTimes.com.

New companies learning old lessons. You need the buy-in of regulators and other stakeholders or you risk an existential threats- or at least a lot of money wasted on lawyers.