221–230 of 294 posts
Smart dude - bailing the sinking ship
To be fair, he's the one who stuffed the ships with morality-free sailors, booze, drugs and prostitutes and then acted surprised when his investors questioned his ability to captain.
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'The rest of it was spent creating one of the most impactful companies that the world has ever seen.' I don't think Uber is this, even if 'impact' is purely taken as a morally neutral statement. It's just clearly not the case. Train companies, underground, shipping, airlines, have all had a much bigger impact and that's just looking at transport.
And yet Uber is worth significantly more than nearly all of the companies in the specific verticals you mention.
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And yet Uber is worth significantly more than nearly all of the companies in the specific verticals you mention.
"worth" being valuation based on debt. We don't know their worth because they aren't public.
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Thank you for providing a balanced view that’s so often missing on anything Uber related on HN. There is no denying that Travis threw ethics out of the window and took his paranoia way too far and never matured into a peacetime CEO. But every time a HN user takes an Uber, Lyft, Via, Grab, Ola etc etc you can thank Travis for his ruthlessness in fighting some of the most powerfully entrenched politicians (DeBlasio of…
Craigslist and zimride (lyft) started carpool rides. Uber then launched the black car service. And then sidecar launched a service where people used their own car to drive customers. Uber did not invent the space on its own.
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.…
Life has an interesting sense of humor.
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You imply that being ousted from the company he created is not a direct consequence of his actions. You imply that unethical behavior was helpful to Uber defeat awful local transport lobbies in some cities and improve transportation for the people. I strongly disagree with both assumptions. I believe he was ousted for legitimate reasons that he is 100% individually responsible for and I believe that unethical behavio…
In today’s politically correct environment, the masses are wont to instantly discredit and discard the entire career of anyone whose personal failings happen to become public. Travis spent a tiny fraction of his time being a jerk. The rest of it was spent creating one of the most impactful companies that the world has ever seen. Give credit where credit is due. ”Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done…
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Everything you say is true, but the vested rent-seeking interests of the medallion holders that for years caused untold costs to people who needed transportation, and to the economy as a whole, was also despicable. Money was already overwhelming the will of everyone who couldn’t get a cab, who had to buy a car they didn’t want to own, and who had to put up with a higher percentage of drunk drivers. Just because it wa…
I think Goldman Sachs took an Uber stake around the time it dumped it's medallions. So the identity of the rent seekers at the top hasn't even changed. But you use an app now... so, yay? I think anybody who takes a rent seekers' side over even the most despicable politician doesn't deserve to live in a Democracy.
After taxes this sale would amount to $1B+. That's a solid psychological finish line for some entrepreneurs. The liquid Billion club gets a pretty cool Amex card with personal concierge.
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I disagree. The video of him talking down to a driver seemed to be the catalyst. Once that came out, everyone that disliked Travis, stood to benefit from his dismissal, or just hated Uber, piled on with story after story. As an executive, he was aggressive and didn’t play nice with competitors or politicians seeking to limit his business and/or put their hands in its pockets. Show me someone that has built a $40+ bil…
> Uber used Greyball to avoid giving rides to undercover law enforcement personnel looking looking to destroy their business. Uber used Greyball to evade municipal laws.
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There's no evidence that the unethical behavior was necessary or even helped. > powerfully entrenched politicians (DeBlasio of NYC as an example) DeBlasio is entrenched because he was elected by a majority of his constituents. The people get to write the rules, called laws. Who voted for Kalanick? What gave him the right?
In London Uber has lost their license to operate, and that decision will come into effect this year. They cite passenger safety concerns, but there's been not-too-subtle protests by Black Cab drivers who simply refuse to change their archaic business model and a very stark lack of actual Uber users concerned about safety. Not only is it far less convenient than Uber, calling a Black Cab means you need to venture onto…