Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

Post by notyourwork » Sat, Jan 21, 2017, 3:43 AM UTC

grandalf wrote: post #14

oculusthrift wrote: post #5

I'm really confused on what to think about Uber. My personal thinking/logic is really bearish on them, similar to the post on the front page yesterday [1]. However, I keep seeing extremely smart/accomplished people joining it which makes me second guess my intuition. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13437414

Uber has done nearly everything right. I think its main vulnerability is that its laborers are a fickle bunch and Uber hasn't done enough to inspire any loyalty. All Uber drivers I talk to alternate between Uber and Lyft and exploit any promotions or incentives either firm offers. Uber has the opportunity to revolutionize not just logistics but also on-demand employment, but has lagged in the latter, leaving the door…

Post by bduerst » Sat, Jan 21, 2017, 4:09 AM UTC

fullshark wrote: post #101

bduerst wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Matt Levine nailed it earlier this month [1], on how Uber lost $2.2 Billion in 9 months [2]: >Eventually there will be self-driving cars, and there's no special reason to think that Uber will be the best at building them, or that its dominant position in the ride-hailing-app space will protect it from better self-driving-car businesses. Which also needs to factor in Uber's biggest liability: their attitude to…

I don't think their position is safe but I'd probably bet on them or google winning that market over anyone else.

Post by throwaway729 » Sat, Jan 21, 2017, 4:30 AM UTC

pyrophane wrote: post #83

oculusthrift wrote: post #5

I'm really confused on what to think about Uber. My personal thinking/logic is really bearish on them, similar to the post on the front page yesterday [1]. However, I keep seeing extremely smart/accomplished people joining it which makes me second guess my intuition. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13437414

I don't know all that much about Mr. Singhal, so I have no idea if this may be true in his case, but I suspect that great engineers are frequently not the best judges of a company's prospects, especially when there are numerous factors other than the strength of their technology that will determine how they perform. With respect to Uber, regardless of anything else, they have lots of cash with which to compensate key…

Post by snappyTertle » Sat, Jan 21, 2017, 4:38 AM UTC

klausa wrote: post #77

cryptozeus wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have same feeling, one my friend worked at a flywheel (uber but with taxi cabs)...he said that uber dominates this industry. They have figured out the biggest obstacle which is government regulations. This is the big challenge for any startup trying to copy uber.

I wouldn't call "knowingly breaking the law and throwing VC money at the lawyers until the problem goes away" necessarily "figuring out government regulations".

Post by phamilton » Sat, Jan 21, 2017, 4:56 AM UTC

burger_moon wrote: post #99

kelukelugames wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should sign up for Blind and read the Uber employees' comments.

Are you able to read comments from people at other companies? My understanding was that if be limited to just interacting with people at my own company.