This first-person essay recounts the life and evolving career of Sergio Avedian, a seasoned 58-year-old professional who now drives for Uber and Lyft throughout Southern California. Based on an extended conversation with him, the narrative has been carefully edited for clarity and conciseness while preserving his reflections on a remarkable professional transformation and the insights he has drawn from both finance and the gig economy.
Avedian’s story begins in Istanbul, Turkey, where he was born to Armenian parents who instilled in him a profound respect for education, resilience, and cultural identity. His early academic path took him beyond national borders: he attended high school in Germany, an experience that broadened his worldview and exposed him to international business ideas. Later, his intellectual curiosity and ambition led him to the United States, where he pursued higher education, focusing on finance—the field that captivated him from a young age. This deep-rooted fascination with financial systems and market behavior eventually guided him to Wall Street, where he built a career as a trader in a smaller, boutique investment firm.
During his years in trading, Avedian had a front-row seat to some of the most turbulent and transformational moments in modern financial history, including the exuberant rise and eventual collapse of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s. Those volatile years shaped his understanding of risk, pattern recognition, and the power of data-driven decision-making. When he retired from his full-time trading career in 2005, Avedian found himself missing the intellectual intensity of markets and began searching for meaningful pursuits that could keep both his mind and energy engaged. He became increasingly intrigued by algorithms and the concept of automation, having observed how technology had revolutionized trading through sophisticated programs capable of executing complex strategies at lightning speed.
Fast-forward to 2016, when a seemingly casual lunch conversation changed the course of his post-retirement path. A friend mentioned a relatively new platform called Uber—an application that, the friend remarked, relied heavily on algorithmic systems to connect drivers and passengers efficiently. That single observation sparked Avedian’s curiosity. Could the same analytical principles he once used on the trading floor apply to this emerging world of ridesharing? Determined to explore, he began studying the model in depth, talking extensively with drivers, reading about gig platforms, and analyzing how data influenced dynamic pricing. What began as intellectual curiosity soon turned into active participation: he registered as a rideshare driver in the Los Angeles area to experience the phenomenon firsthand.
At that time, Uber was offering extraordinary incentives to attract new drivers—sign-up bonuses as high as $1,000 were common. Combined with surge pricing and high passenger demand, Avedian could earn as much as $80 per hour. Yet, beyond the financial upside, what fascinated him most were the clear parallels between trading and ridesharing. In finance, traders live by the mantra “a trend is your friend,” a concept suggesting that success often lies in recognizing a pattern early and acting decisively before it peaks. He realized that driving for Uber or Lyft demanded a similar mindset. To maximize earnings, one had to anticipate when and where prices would surge—just as a trader anticipates when markets will move. For instance, positioning himself strategically in Santa Monica during the lucrative morning hours between 8 and 9 a.m. often resulted in a significant boost in fares, much like entering a profitable trade at the optimal moment.
Over the years, Avedian has expanded his involvement in the rideshare community beyond driving. He began contributing articles and co-creating educational content with Harry Campbell, widely known as The Rideshare Guy, whose YouTube channel provides advice and analysis for gig workers. Since 2018, their collaboration has aimed to inform, empower, and give a voice to independent contractors navigating the complexities of gig work. Although activity slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic—when both ridership and driver income fell dramatically—Avedian eventually resumed his advocacy and media work, reflecting his commitment to improving conditions for those whose livelihood depends on platforms like Uber and Lyft.
Despite acknowledging the transformative potential of gig apps, Avedian retains a critical perspective. He emphasizes that while these platforms have undeniably created vast opportunities and new forms of income generation, they have also left a substantial gap in long-term financial security. Gig workers, he warns, often lack the traditional safeguards that full-time employees enjoy—such as health insurance, paid leave, and retirement benefits. To help address this imbalance, Avedian launched his latest endeavor: a personal finance website and companion YouTube channel. Although targeted at general audiences, a large share of his followers are rideshare drivers and delivery workers who seek guidance on budgeting, saving, and investing.
One of the core principles he promotes is deceptively simple yet profoundly effective: at the conclusion of each driving shift, drivers should complete one additional ride and set aside the earnings from that single trip. Instead of spending that extra income, he urges them to deposit it into a dedicated savings or investment account—perhaps an index fund or another vehicle likely to appreciate steadily over time. He underscores that this discipline can build a financial cushion for the future, which is particularly important given the accelerating march toward automation and self-driving technology, which may one day diminish the need for human drivers.
Looking further ahead, Avedian is exploring an innovative idea to create a specialized investment trust designed to own self-driving cars, modeled loosely after a real estate investment trust (REIT) that holds commercial properties such as malls. His vision is to allow drivers themselves to become partial owners, giving them a share in the wealth created by the very technology that could otherwise replace their jobs. In his view, this structure would not only generate passive income but also instill a sense of ownership, agency, and inclusion among gig workers.
In addition to these initiatives, Avedian has championed efforts to secure greater recognition from the major ride-hailing companies. He recently organized a petition calling on Uber and Lyft to provide a one-time “Thank You” bonus for drivers—a tangible acknowledgment of their role in sustaining the platforms’ growth. He argues that both companies are now on solid financial ground and can afford such gestures. Uber, for instance, has achieved profitability in part through innovations like upfront pricing, while Lyft has successfully executed a turnaround. Uber even plans a $20 billion stock buyback program, evidence of significant financial resources that, in Avedian’s opinion, could be partly redirected to enhance driver welfare and reinforce loyalty.
Thanks to his ongoing work with The Rideshare Guy, Avedian has had the unusual opportunity to speak directly with high-level executives and even CEOs of these companies. He believes they are open to dialogue and receptive to ideas for reform, though whether they will act on these suggestions remains to be seen. Still, his experience has convinced him that constructive engagement can yield real results. In 2023, he collaborated with another Los Angeles driver, Pablo Gomez, to advocate for adjustments to reimbursement rates under California’s Proposition 22—the state law governing minimum pay for gig workers. Their joint efforts led the state treasurer’s office to revise the rates, compelling Uber to pay millions of dollars in back compensation to affected drivers. Avedian admits that without Gomez bringing the issue to his attention, he might never have realized the discrepancy existed—a humbling reminder of the value of community awareness and collective action.
Ultimately, his mission is to broaden the discussion about how gig-economy participants can build sustainable financial futures. Whether through policy tweaks, corporate accountability, or creative investment models, Avedian hopes to inspire industry leaders and fellow drivers alike to envision a more equitable ecosystem—one that rewards innovation without neglecting those who power it every day.
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Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/retired-wall-street-trader-drives-for-uber-lyft-2025-12
