Andy Hibbert, an entrepreneur from London, had a cool idea to create a car-sharing platform like Airbnb. He started Karshare in 2016, which let people rent out their cars to tourists visiting the UK. The business did well and even partnered with Gatwick Airport. But then, two big problems came up: the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. These things caused Karshare to fail. On top of that, there were some criminals who figured out how to use the platform for illegal stuff. This caused more problems for Karshare. Even though things didn’t work out, Hibbert is staying positive and looking into sustainable farming technology.

Hibbert got the idea for Karshare after he had a bad experience renting a car in the US. He got money from investors and made a deal with Gatwick Airport. The platform let people rent out their cars when they weren’t using them, which helped with parking at the airport. But then, the pandemic happened and travel stopped. This messed up Karshare’s business plan. So, they changed things up and let people rent their cars from their homes instead. They also made it easier to rent by using a keyless system.

Sadly, some bad people found a way to use Karshare for illegal things. They figured out how to cheat the system and trick the facial recognition software. This made people worried and caused problems for Karshare. If a criminal crashed a car or said it was stolen, the insurance wouldn’t cover it. Karshare tried to fix this by using video recognition and checking IDs randomly, but it was expensive and took a lot of time.

Even though Karshare didn’t work out, Hibbert isn’t giving up. He knows that failures happen a lot when you’re starting a business and thinks it’s important to learn from them. He wants to try something new and is interested in sustainable farming technology. He wants to find better ways to feed cattle and use algae as a fertilizer. Hibbert’s experience with Karshare shows that sharing economy businesses need to be ready for problems and find ways to fix them.

Original news source: Covid and criminals ruined my Airbnb for cars idea’ (BBC)

Listen

Slow

Normal

Fast

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs or small groups.
2. Provide each group with a copy of the article.
3. Instruct the groups to read the article and summarize the main points in a news summary format.
4. Each group will then present their news summary to the class.

– Opinion Poll
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs.
2. Provide each pair with a list of questions related to the article.
3. Instruct the pairs to take turns asking and answering the questions, expressing their opinions based on the article.
4. After completing the poll, discuss the different opinions as a class.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into small groups.
2. Provide each group with a set of vocabulary words from the article.
3. Instruct the groups to take turns selecting a word and drawing a picture to represent it.
4. The other group members must guess the word based on the drawing.
5. Repeat the process with different vocabulary words.

– Pros and Cons
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into pairs.
2. Instruct each pair to create a list of pros and cons for starting a car-sharing platform like Karshare.
3. After creating their lists, have each pair share their pros and cons with the class.
4. Facilitate a class discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of starting a sharing economy business.

– Future Predictions
Instructions:
1. Divide the students into small groups.
2. Instruct each group to discuss and make predictions about the future of sharing economy businesses like Karshare.
3. Have each group present their predictions to the class.
4. Facilitate a class discussion about the different predictions and their likelihood of coming true.

Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is Andy Hibbert and what was his idea for a business?
2. When did Hibbert start Karshare and what did it allow people to do?
3. What were the two big problems that caused Karshare to fail?
4. How did the pandemic affect Karshare’s business plan?
5. How did Karshare try to fix the problem of criminals using the platform for illegal activities?
6. Why did the insurance not cover the damages if a criminal crashed a car or said it was stolen?
7. How did Hibbert react to the failure of Karshare?
8. What is Hibbert’s new interest and what does it show about the lessons he learned from Karshare?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Andy Hibbert, an entrepreneur from London, had a cool idea to create a car-sharing platform like (1)______. He started Karshare in 2016, which let (2)______ rent out their cars to (3)______ visiting the UK. The business did well and even partnered with Gatwick (4)______. But then, two big problems came up: the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. These things caused Karshare to fail. On top of that, there were some criminals who figured out how to use the platform for illegal stuff. This caused more problems for Karshare. Even though things didn’t work out, (5)______ is staying positive and looking into sustainable (6)______ technology.

Hibbert got the idea for Karshare after he had a bad experience renting a car in the US. He got money from investors and made a deal with Gatwick Airport. The platform let people rent out their cars when they weren’t using them, which helped with (7)______ at the airport. But then, the pandemic happened and travel stopped. This messed up Karshare’s (8)______ plan. So, they changed things up and let people rent their cars from their homes instead. They also made it easier to rent by using a keyless (9)______.

Sadly, some bad people found a way to use Karshare for (10)______ things. They figured out how to cheat the system and trick the facial recognition software. This made people worried and caused problems for Karshare. If a criminal crashed a car or said it was (11)______, the insurance wouldn’t cover it. Karshare tried to fix this by using (12)______ recognition and checking IDs randomly, but it was expensive and took a lot of time.

Even though Karshare didn’t work out, Hibbert isn’t giving up. He knows that failures (13)______ a lot when you’re starting a business and thinks it’s important to learn from them. He wants to try something new and is interested in sustainable farming technology. He wants to find better ways to feed cattle and use (14)______ as a fertilizer. Hibbert’s experience with Karshare shows that (15)______ economy businesses need to be ready for (16)______ and find ways to fix them.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is Karshare and how does it work?
2. Have you ever had a bad experience renting a car? How did it make you feel?
3. How do you think the Covid-19 pandemic affected Karshare’s business?
4. Do you think it was a good idea for Karshare to change their business plan during the pandemic? Why or why not?
5. How do you think criminals were able to use Karshare for illegal activities?
6. How would you feel if you rented your car on Karshare and it was used for illegal things?
7. Do you think it’s important for businesses to learn from their failures? Why or why not?
8. What do you think about Hibbert’s interest in sustainable farming technology?
9. What are some problems that sharing economy businesses might face?
10. How do you think video recognition and checking IDs randomly could help prevent illegal activities on Karshare?
11. Have you ever tried a sharing economy platform like Airbnb or Uber? What was your experience like?
12. Do you think it’s a good idea to rent out your car when you’re not using it? Why or why not?
13. How do you think sustainable farming technology could benefit the environment?
14. Do you think it’s important for businesses to be prepared for problems? Why or why not?
15. What other sharing economy businesses can you think of? Do you think they face similar challenges as Karshare? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. entrepreneur
2. car-sharing
3. platform
4. pandemic
5. criminals
6. illegal
7. insurance
8. sustainable

Meanings:
(a) A financial protection that covers damages or losses
(b) A system that allows people to share cars
(c) A digital space where people can interact and exchange goods or services
(d) Able to continue without causing harm to the environment
(e) Against the law
(f) A global outbreak of a disease that affects many people
(g) People who commit crimes
(h) A person who starts their own business
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is Karshare?
(a) A hotel booking platform
(b) A car-sharing platform
(c) A food delivery service
(d) A clothing store

2. Why did Karshare face difficulties?
(a) Lack of investors
(b) Bad customer reviews
(c) High competition
(d) The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine

3. How did Karshare adapt to the pandemic?
(a) By shutting down the platform temporarily
(b) By focusing on international travel
(c) By increasing the rental prices
(d) By allowing people to rent their cars from their homes

4. What problem did Karshare face with criminals?
(a) They used the platform for illegal activities
(b) They hacked into the system
(c) They stole cars from the platform
(d) They caused accidents while using the platform

5. How did Karshare try to fix the problem with criminals?
(a) By using video recognition and checking IDs randomly
(b) By shutting down the platform
(c) By partnering with the police
(d) By increasing the insurance coverage

6. What did Andy Hibbert learn from the failure of Karshare?
(a) Sharing economy businesses need better marketing
(b) Failures are common when starting a business
(c) Sustainable farming is the future
(d) Investors are unreliable

7. What is Andy Hibbert interested in now?
(a) Renewable energy sources
(b) Artificial intelligence
(c) Sustainable farming technology
(d) Space exploration

8. What lesson can be learned from Hibbert’s experience with Karshare?
(a) Sharing economy businesses are not profitable
(b) Karshare was a unique and successful idea
(c) Sharing economy businesses should be prepared for problems
(d) Karshare failed due to lack of government support

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. Criminals found a way to use Karshare for illegal activities.
2. Hibbert is no longer interested in sustainable farming technology.
3. Andy Hibbert created a car-sharing platform called Karshare in 2016.
4. Hibbert had a bad experience renting a car in the US, which inspired him to create Karshare.
5. Karshare allowed people to rent out their cars to tourists visiting the UK.
6. Karshare maintained its business model during the pandemic and prohibited people from renting their cars from their homes.
7. The business severed ties with Gatwick Airport.
8. The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine led to Karshare’s success.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What is Karshare and what was its purpose?
2. What were the two big problems that caused Karshare to fail?
3. How did the pandemic affect Karshare’s business plan?
4. How did some criminals use Karshare for illegal activities?
5. What is Andy Hibbert’s attitude towards failure and what is he interested in pursuing now?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who is Andy Hibbert and what was his idea for a business?
Andy Hibbert is an entrepreneur from London. His idea for a business was to create a car-sharing platform similar to Airbnb.

2. When did Hibbert start Karshare and what did it allow people to do?
Hibbert started Karshare in 2016. Karshare allowed people to rent out their cars to tourists visiting the UK.

3. What were the two big problems that caused Karshare to fail?
The two big problems that caused Karshare to fail were the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

4. How did the pandemic affect Karshare’s business plan?
The pandemic affected Karshare’s business plan because travel stopped, which meant fewer people were renting cars.

5. How did Karshare try to fix the problem of criminals using the platform for illegal activities?
Karshare tried to fix the problem by using video recognition and randomly checking IDs.

6. Why did the insurance not cover the damages if a criminal crashed a car or said it was stolen?
The insurance did not cover the damages because the criminals were able to cheat the facial recognition software and trick the system.

7. How did Hibbert react to the failure of Karshare?
Hibbert reacted to the failure of Karshare by staying positive and looking into a new business venture.

8. What is Hibbert’s new interest and what does it show about the lessons he learned from Karshare?
Hibbert’s new interest is sustainable farming technology. This shows that he learned from the challenges of Karshare and is now exploring a different industry.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) Airbnb
(2) people
(3) tourists
(4) Airport
(5) Hibbert
(6) farming
(7) parking
(8) business
(9) system
(10) illegal
(11) stolen
(12) video
(13) happen
(14) algae
(15) sharing
(16) problems
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. entrepreneur
Answer: (h) A person who starts their own business

2. car-sharing
Answer: (b) A system that allows people to share cars

3. platform
Answer: (c) A digital space where people can interact and exchange goods or services

4. pandemic
Answer: (f) A global outbreak of a disease that affects many people

5. criminals
Answer: (g) People who commit crimes

6. illegal
Answer: (e) Against the law

7. insurance
Answer: (a) A financial protection that covers damages or losses

8. sustainable
Answer: (d) Able to continue without causing harm to the environment
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is Karshare?
Answer: (b) A car-sharing platform

2. Why did Karshare face difficulties?
Answer: (d) The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine

3. How did Karshare adapt to the pandemic?
Answer: (d) By allowing people to rent their cars from their homes

4. What problem did Karshare face with criminals?
Answer: (a) They used the platform for illegal activities

5. How did Karshare try to fix the problem with criminals?
Answer: (a) By using video recognition and checking IDs randomly

6. What did Andy Hibbert learn from the failure of Karshare?
Answer: (b) Failures are common when starting a business

7. What is Andy Hibbert interested in now?
Answer: (c) Sustainable farming technology

8. What lesson can be learned from Hibbert’s experience with Karshare?
Answer: (c) Sharing economy businesses should be prepared for problems
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. Criminals found a way to use Karshare for illegal activities. (Answer: True)
2. Hibbert is no longer interested in sustainable farming technology. (Answer: False)
3. Andy Hibbert created a car-sharing platform called Karshare in 2016. (Answer: True)
4. Hibbert had a bad experience renting a car in the US, which inspired him to create Karshare. (Answer: True)
5. Karshare allowed people to rent out their cars to tourists visiting the UK. (Answer: True)
6. Karshare maintained its business model during the pandemic and prohibited people from renting their cars from their homes. (Answer: False)
7. The business severed ties with Gatwick Airport. (Answer: False)
8. The Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine led to Karshare’s success. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧