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Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake

bloomberg.com

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Re: Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake

#31

Post by wozniacki »

paunchy wrote: post #8

Although unsurprising, this can't be a good indicator for the outlook of the company.

Perhaps someone well versed in these matters could chime in but the somewhat bigger question is whether its a good indicator even for the economy at large, since Uber's reach is quite global.

Just today:

  One of the biggest surprises of the U.S. stock market’s
  relentless rally is how many individual investors have 
  run away from it.

  The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 25000 for
  the first time on Thursday, punctuating a record-setting 
  period nearly unmatched in U.S. history. Yet throughout 
  the nearly nine-year surge in share prices, individual 
  investors have continued to yank money out of funds that
  own U.S. stocks.

  Nearly $1 trillion has been pulled from retail-investor 
  mutual funds that target U.S. stocks since the start of 
  2012, according to EPFR Global, a fund-tracking firm. 
  Over that same period through Wednesday, the S&P 500 
  soared 116% and, along with the Dow Industrials and Nasdaq
  Composite Index, rose to 190 all-time highs.[1]
[1]

As Dow Tops 25000, Individual Investors Sit It Out

Since 2012, $1 trillion has been pulled from retail- investor mutual funds that target U.S. stocks

https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-dow-tops-25000-individual-in...

Re: Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake

#32

Post by cocktailpeanuts »

Good for him. This is probably an unpopular opinion here, but I feel bad for this guy. Could have built a really great empire, and he probably would have if it was ten years ago.

But things are changing so fast nowadays and the masses have a lot of power (maybe too much than they deserve) and Uber unfortunately was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

When I talk to real people in the real world (not Twitter trolls and social justice warriors), most people appreciate how Uber changed the world for the better. He deserves every cent of his billions of dollars.

Re: Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake

#33

Post by cocktailpeanuts »

adjkant wrote: post #29
cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I bet most people would have pinned him as the next Jobs And they would have been absolutely correct. Exactly what happened to Steve Jobs.

Far too early to say "correct". Starting a company that burns cash faster than anyone and cashing out is not at the same level of Steve Jobs.

Do you know why Steve Jobs was kicked out of Apple?

Re: Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake

#34

Post by kinkrtyavimoodh »

Happy for him. I can only imagine how much being ousted from a company he created and raised to its current level must have hurt.

I do not look fondly at what a pain local transport was in cities without public transport (and even those with), and it is Travis (yes, Travis first, Uber second) that led this paradigm shift.

We can debate about Uber's business practices until the cows come home, but this is undeniable. And yes, other so-called 'nicer' / 'ethical' rideshare companies who didn't have to get their hands dirty because they profited from the ecosystem that Uber created exist precisely because of that.

Re: Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake

#35

Post by tyingq »

paunchy wrote: post #26
tyingq wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hard to determine if he lost confidence in "his vision" vs "current + future vision". In his place, having lost direct control, I'd be tempted to cash out early solely because my influence was so diminished. Not because I was 100% sure the new direction wasn't right. So I can't tell if this is an admission that Uber is over valued, or just a risk management decision around losing more direct control.

True. But by cashing out the maximum possible amount, this is far more than a hedge. In your scenario, I would cash out some but would have confidence in the strength of the business that I created... unless I didn't. In reality, I'm at a loss as to why anyone would join Uber right now. They cannot be still attracting the best talent, especially in the autonomous vehicle space. And I've seen no evidence that the curr…

I get your point, but is roughly 1/3 of my stake having lost direct control that strong a statement?

Personally, I think his next move is more telling. If he holds 2 thirds, that's an endorsement. If he keeps selling, then, yeah...it's a signal.

Re: Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake

#36

Post by hyperbovine »

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #32

Good for him. This is probably an unpopular opinion here, but I feel bad for this guy. Could have built a really great empire, and he probably would have if it was ten years ago. But things are changing so fast nowadays and the masses have a lot of power (maybe too much than they deserve) and Uber unfortunately was at the wrong place at the wrong time. When I talk to real people in the real world (not Twitter trolls…

Boy, where to even begin... "wrong place at the wrong time"? Are you actually aware of the circumstances under which he was forced out?

Re: Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake

#37

Post by huac »

CardenB wrote: post #2

Does anyone know what sort of restrictions he could have on his stake? Is he allowed to do this? I would assume a CEO of a private company couldn't sell this much without being removed, but since he has already been removed, I wonder what incentives he would have to keep it.

Article said board members were limited to 50% of their stake.

Re: Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Said to Plan Sale of 29% of Stake

#38

Post by ejstronge »

cocktailpeanuts wrote: post #32

Good for him. This is probably an unpopular opinion here, but I feel bad for this guy. Could have built a really great empire, and he probably would have if it was ten years ago. But things are changing so fast nowadays and the masses have a lot of power (maybe too much than they deserve) and Uber unfortunately was at the wrong place at the wrong time. When I talk to real people in the real world (not Twitter trolls…

Perhaps the 'real people in the real world' would be offended and stop using Uber if they knew of Kalanick and his team's doings, not the least of which has been the intimidation and attempt to discredit a rape victim.

EDIT: I appear to be mis-remembering Uber's actions - they did not initially share their denial of the victim's experiences with her, per the accounts I've found. In this setting, 'intimidation' may be too strong a word.

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