Lime: Not so Fast! (A) The Impact of Lime´'s Strategic Choice Between “Asking for Permission or Begging for Forgiveness” in Madrid

The case describes Lime’s (the startup of dockless electric scooter sharing services) arrival in Madrid. The case looks at the strategy of the company when it landed in the summer of 2018, until the city hall of Madrid passed a Sustainability Mobility Ordinance in October of that year regulating the operation of the company. The case features a “role play” with two main characters: Álvaro Salvat, general manager of Lime in Spain, and Francisco José López Carmona, director of traffic management and oversight in the city hall of Madrid.

This case illustrates the entrepreneurial dilemma of “asking for permission or begging for forgiveness” faced by all disruptive entrepreneurs. It also looks at the business implications of the different strategic approaches to regulation and engagement with city officials that entrepreneurs can take. Finally, it will delve deep into the micro-mobility sector, which like many other potentially disruptive technologies, can serve a big market but is also defined by uncertainty.

This is a Role-play case for experiential teaching and classroom engagement.