I recently met a Uber driver who had retired from a successful career in the semi conductor industry and was trying out driving for Uber as he gets to meet new and interesting people.
A startup CEO drives for Uber
41–50 of 59 posts
Re: A startup CEO drives for Uber
#42I'm always torn when I hear about the "CEO" of such a small company (or, in more extreme cases, the CEO of a one man band) - from one side, I see that it gives a clear impression of how the tasks are distributed within the company, but it still sounds a bit weird. What do you think?
Do you want someone's title to change as they grow the team and responsibilities change? I prefer CEO & CTO over just founder since it at least implies what their role is rather than just being "founder". It would also be worse if they threw in a title that purposely misled someone like "VP of Business Development" even though they are a business founder.
Re: A startup CEO drives for Uber
#43I am surprised by the negativity in this thread. Since when did founding a startup start having a fixed set of rules?
Further, if he gets a break in terms of bigger investor who happens to be a passenger. This is what everyone will start doing!
Re: A startup CEO drives for Uber
#44Before your startup is in an accelerator or has raised your seed round driving Uber to remain afloat is downright scrappy. After you've raised your seed round, it raises huge red flags for me. Your seed round should enable you to not have to worry about money. That's pretty much the point. Uber should just be a distraction at that point, and one that should be squashed quickly. The fact that the "CEO" is putting all…
Driving three to five hours a night a few nights a week isn't so bad as a relaxing hobby, nor does it need to be "squashed quickly."
Re: A startup CEO drives for Uber
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
You might not be connecting the dots here. The concern or even attention to "self-aggrandizement" is itself a form of social status policing. That's literally what the term means.
Maybe we have read "social status policing" to mean completely different things. To me, that suggests caring a lot about status, and worrying a lot about people laying claim to more status than what they're due. My issue here is with people turning status, either deserved or otherwise, into a bigger thing than it is. Social status is only very rarely material to any given conversation, so I do care when people feel t…
Aren't you also signalling that you care a lot about status by complaining about it? Usually when people actually don't care about something, they just make note of the fact that somebody else does and slightly alter their dealings with that person to get a more favorable outcome. An argument isn't a favorable outcome; negotiating more of something you do care about (like equity, or influence, or effort on their part) in exchange for something they care about (like titles) is.
Re: A startup CEO drives for Uber
#46I'm always torn when I hear about the "CEO" of such a small company (or, in more extreme cases, the CEO of a one man band) - from one side, I see that it gives a clear impression of how the tasks are distributed within the company, but it still sounds a bit weird. What do you think?
Titles are tools, and you should use the right tool for the right job. Using the wrong tool at the wrong time makes you look like the tool, but in the right context they're useful. I've found that using the 'CEO' title can make your company sound more established when dealing with people who aren't your peers - especially when doing business development with larger companies. Back when I was running an smartphone ana…
[deleted]
Re: A startup CEO drives for Uber
#47Before your startup is in an accelerator or has raised your seed round driving Uber to remain afloat is downright scrappy. After you've raised your seed round, it raises huge red flags for me. Your seed round should enable you to not have to worry about money. That's pretty much the point. Uber should just be a distraction at that point, and one that should be squashed quickly. The fact that the "CEO" is putting all…
Driving three to five hours a night a few nights a week isn't so bad as a relaxing hobby, nor does it need to be "squashed quickly."
[deleted]
Re: A startup CEO drives for Uber
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Small companies don't need "Officers."
Any corporation needs to report a certain standard set of officers in their incorporation papers: President, Secretary are often the minimum. Many think of President as roughly equivalent to CEO.
Corporations, yes. Companies, no. Nobody founds a corporation.
Re: A startup CEO drives for Uber
#49I am surprised by the negativity in this thread. Since when did founding a startup start having a fixed set of rules? Further, if he gets a break in terms of bigger investor who happens to be a passenger. This is what everyone will start doing!
Taking this even further: use uber/lyft as vehicles to do market research and/or customer development.
I only pick up in Atherton... ;)
Re: A startup CEO drives for Uber
#50I'm always torn when I hear about the "CEO" of such a small company (or, in more extreme cases, the CEO of a one man band) - from one side, I see that it gives a clear impression of how the tasks are distributed within the company, but it still sounds a bit weird. What do you think?
This is Dan (author of the article).
I agree in full with this comment. I actually never introduce myself as anything other than "a co-founder of reQwip" and when asked to print my role, I try to stick with that, occasionally allowing (when pressed) for "ceo" rather than the ALL CAPS version.
Which is very core to the point I wanted to make. This startup founding experience is not the glamorous joyride that many imagine based on the VentureBeat and TechCrunch and mainstream media articles that we love to read. This is a "shit, $5 for a beer?! ... maybe I will have water instead ..." lifestyle.
Startup life is an out and out hustle and grind. You find money to oxygenate the flame wherever you can. You think outside the box for unique ways to bring attention to your company that don't charge by the click. You recognize there is no script, you will never be on top of things, so just #JFDI.
And most importantly, you put your ego on the shelf. You identify what you suck at doing and add awesomely talented team members who can kick ass in those areas. You accept that kids half your age are probably already doing what you are doing and can do it better than you, so you work even harder to stay competitive (or you partner with them). And wherever and whenever a situation requires you to roll up your sleeves and do the hard and unsexy work necessary to keep going and growing, you do that unflinchingly.
I do the latter a lot, in no small part because my teammates are indeed better than me at almost everything. My job is just to block and tackle so they can do what they are so good at doing and shine as a result. Coffee bitch? That's me.
And yeah, those Uber rides help me pay for that coffee (as well as our marketing, ads, etc.). #JFDI