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Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

nytimes.com

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Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#31

Post by in_cahoots »

res0nat0r wrote: post #16
lettergram wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have three lawsuits that can sink the company, given their runway. They now have next to no leadership, and they still have no clear path to making money. Their board is up in arms, their CEO stepped down, but still has full control. If they want investment, it's going to be a down round. And their CEO will have to give up a significant chunk of the business. Even then, idk who else is left with the capital they…

All this shakeup at the top, but will it affect anything on the ground? I'm still going to take an Uber this weekend and no one not in tech that I know will even hear about any of this, let alone know who the CEO is. Sounds like they are trying to cleanup their image, then will get back to expanding their already massive reach they have in their cities they are already in around the world.

Travis' resignation was the lead story on Nytimes.com and on the front page of the Washington Post. This isn't just a niche story anymore.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#32

Post by sebastos »

BinaryIdiot wrote: post #7
lettergram wrote: post #2

I can't imagine Uber doesn't start raising prices and drop out of markets they aren't profitable in. No way they can bring in more investments (although maybe they could get a loan). Given the changes and their runway, I honestly see Lyft managing to outpace Uber in the next 12 months.

Why do you think they can't get more investments? They just completed this report and now Travis is out; unless you have proof you can't say they didn't fix their issues. So not only have they shown concern to solving a major PR and culture issue but they're absolutely HUGE. If they IPO it could be an incredible exit. Am I missing something? They seem far, far more investable now.

Yes, you're missing that this is all wish fulfillment doomsdayism. People are nursing some recreational outrage because of the revelations regarding Uber's culture. So now they all have a pet theory that Uber will fail. They're working backwards from what they _want_ to happen though, so their "theory" can explain anything: "Kalanick is a loose cannon who's going to run the company into the ground" Kalanick steps down "They have no leadership, they'll close their doors in a week" etc.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#33

Post by wapz »

danaliv wrote: post #23
johan_larson wrote: post #9

I remain flabbergasted by all of this upheaval at Uber. What's happening is the sort of housecleaning I would expect if the company had to file for bankruptcy or got caught flat out bribing judges or something. But really, what triggered all this was acting like jerks. It seems to me, what should have happened (a long time ago) was that they got shut down for systematically breaking the law, or encouraging others to…

A jerk is someone who borrows your car and doesn't pay for the dent he puts in the bumper. What happened at Uber was the creation of one of the most insanely hostile work environments in living memory, where flouting not just the law, but also basic standards of human decency, was not only accepted but encouraged at all levels of the company.

> one of the most insanely hostile work environments in living memory

> encouraged at all levels of the company

Do you have any sources for this? There have been a few blog posts and some independent investigations to my knowledge but nothing to suggest it is/was "one of the most insanely hostile work environments"--especially worldwide.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#34

Post by raleighm »

neil1 wrote: post #11

I wonder if Travis resigning was contingent on Bill Gurley leaving the board. As Bill seems to be the main anti-Travis actor on the board.

I wondered the same. Or whether Gurley is exhausted with the whole thing and viewed now as a good time to hand the baton to someone else at Benchmark.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#35

Post by lettergram »

johan_larson wrote: post #9

I remain flabbergasted by all of this upheaval at Uber. What's happening is the sort of housecleaning I would expect if the company had to file for bankruptcy or got caught flat out bribing judges or something. But really, what triggered all this was acting like jerks. It seems to me, what should have happened (a long time ago) was that they got shut down for systematically breaking the law, or encouraging others to…

> caught flat out bribing judges or something.

I mean, pretty close: http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-uber-gre...

They also have that Otto thing: https://www.wired.com/2017/05/googles-fight-uber-takes-turn-...

Oh and yeah, and with the push to #deleteuber and the massive amount of cash Uber's burning (or was), I can't imagine they wont be bankrupt soon[1].

[1] http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/04/uber-is-losing-an-ins...

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#36

Post by DanielLawhon »

johan_larson wrote: post #9

I remain flabbergasted by all of this upheaval at Uber. What's happening is the sort of housecleaning I would expect if the company had to file for bankruptcy or got caught flat out bribing judges or something. But really, what triggered all this was acting like jerks. It seems to me, what should have happened (a long time ago) was that they got shut down for systematically breaking the law, or encouraging others to…

I think a lot of the maneuvering that's happening now is prompted more by TK's seeming unwillingness to make sincere changes (and that's always worse than the initial mistake), but more importantly Uber's financials are still utter garbage right now and changes need to occur for that to be fixed in time for them to find the next Saudi Arabia that'll invest another $3.5B for them to keep the lights on for another year.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#37

Post by [deleted] »

astrange wrote: post #24
beaner wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like it makes perfect sense. It's capitalism in action. They are free to act like jerks, and their users and stakeholders are free to punish them for it.

That isn't freedom, it's privatized crime and punishment. It's the same as saying you're free to be homeless if you can't afford rent. (Except this is good.)

[deleted]

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#38

Post by aioprisan »

cf wrote: post #30
hkmurakami wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So basically all investment banking divisions should be treated with the same regard? I find it strange that we seem to give finance a pass when they've engaged in this sort of behavior for decades.

Do we actually give the finance industry a pass? The fact that "Wall st" is a pejorative these days is some indication that's not the case.

The fact that there are never any real consequences to Wall St actually tends to prove the opposite.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#39

Post by williamscales »

cf wrote: post #30
hkmurakami wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So basically all investment banking divisions should be treated with the same regard? I find it strange that we seem to give finance a pass when they've engaged in this sort of behavior for decades.

Do we actually give the finance industry a pass? The fact that "Wall st" is a pejorative these days is some indication that's not the case.

Yeah, we definitely give finance a pass. We say "huh, well, bankers will be bankers, can't expect folks to behave around that much money", put in place some ineffectual "controls" and start the whole cycle again.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#40

Post by JajaMan »

goodriddance wrote: post #15

For all the future founders on HN, the lesson here is to never do business with Bill Gurley. He's one of the reasons AngelList exists. I hope his lesser known reputation finally catches up with him and forces him out of Benchmark and out of the VC industry entirely. The Ravikant v. Tolia (and Bill Gurley) Lawsuit: http://blog.ericgoldman.org/personal/archives/2005/02/ravika...

I've never heard of the guy, whats hew known for? Also what's wrong with angellist?
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