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Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

nytimes.com

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Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#471

Post by ruleabidinguser »

Shanea93 wrote: post #327
smt88 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We should also believe men, but that isn't a historical problem the way it is for women. As an exercise, ask a few men and women you know if they've ever been harassed or attacked at work. If they didn't report it, ask them why.

Anecdotally, I'm in the process of being sexually harassed by a director at the company I work for and choosing not reporting it. I plan to leave in a couple of months, my startup is in the final stages of closing a seed round - getting in to a sexual harassment lawsuit right now is the last thing I need in terms of stress and career. The power dynamics are significantly different though, I don't feel at all in dange…

Maybe you could post a Glassdoor review in a year or two to help others out on this

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#472

Post by johnbellone »

naskwo wrote: post #352

A few weeks ago, I posted on HN about my experience in Hamburg (no Uber in Germany. The local taxi authority has its own app which works equally well, if not better). Last weekend, I was in Budapest. There is no Uber in Hungary (anymore), but the main taxi company (Fötaxi) has its own app which works brilliantly. I honestly see no "moat" around Uber in markets where (large) taxi dispatchers have the insight to build…

First, I hate having to have multiple apps to do the same thing. That would drive me crazy for every city. I would pay a premium not to do that.

Second, none of these apps I have seen thus far even attempts to make it easier for the user to add payment methods. Each time I need to put in my credit card information? Twice if I am on business? Nobody has taken advantage of Apple or Android pay integration.

I don't consider myself a heavy cab user, but I probably take at least ~200 rides a year, and unless the city is regulated (credit cards) I am using Lyft.

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#473

Post by ruleabidinguser »

venture_lol wrote: post #232
blazespin wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Please investigate, not necessarily believe. Innocent til proven guilty still has some place in this world.. That being said, kudos to anyone courageous enough to speak the truth even at the risk of vilification.

General observations from experience: A well-run company will have proper procedures, processes in place to deal with work place issues. Management and all staff will also be required to take training on a continuous basis. Professionally managed organizations don't walk around "believing" this or that or spouting off "innocent until proven guilty" and such :)

Is that a passive (maybe it's not passive) aggressive smiley face? In a paragraph talking about what it means to be professional?

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#474

Post by adventured »

baby wrote: post #394
dfabulich wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, but I think that's exactly how/why Uber's investors were able to convince Kalanick to step down. Uber may or may not take over the world at some point, but Uber needs another round of investment in the next 18 months just to survive. If the existing investors refused to play ball, they could kill the next round, which really would kill Uber. And here's another important moral of this story for founders:…

You guys are talking about Uber dying, but I cannot fathom how this is possible from just the user's perspective. Uber seems to be everywhere, people take Ubers or driver for Ubers every day. How could a company this big fail? Stop growing maybe, but going bankrupt and shutting down?

It's a relished fantasy that Uber is dying or is going to die, because so many people in tech circles hate Uber and Kalanick.

It's not actually dying and it's not going to die.

Routinely skeptics here will point out that Uber is selling a $1 service for $0.75 (or a similar invented sum). Said skeptics then intentionally, comically ignore that Lyft is and has been doing the exact same thing and has radically less capital & valuation to play that game with. The name of the game is: last company standing; that's going to be Uber because they can afford to be and Lyft can't. It's that simple.

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#475

Post by brianwawok »

devdoomari wrote: post #413
jeroenjanssens wrote: post #372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Python 2? Absolutely barbaric.

python2 has much better syntax than that... print "{something} may or may not take over the world at some point, but it needs another round of investment in the next 18 months just to survive.".format(something='any Ponzi scheme') python 2, 3 are nice... got loads of libs... just that they don't have enough static typings to help me around :(

Look into mypy! Its a good start.

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#476

Post by csomar »

sidcool wrote: post #208
hkmurakami wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For an embattled company like this in a fiercely competitive industry, you need committed leadership and not a rotating cast of hired guns looking to make a quick buck. Kalanick has serious issues but he's demonstrated unquestionably forceful (and polarizing) leadership that mere "managers" will never be able to replace. I've been bullish on Uber despite all their mistakes and internal issues because at the end of th…

But does winning have to come at the cost of basic human dignity and law?

What even is this question? Nothing "have" to come at the cost of anything. It's a matter of choices and people will make different choices.

Morals are relative.

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#477

Post by baybal2 »

bigtones wrote: post #190
downandout wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious how much Kalanick has already taken off the table. That may be a motivating factor in his decision. If he has already pocketed hundreds of millions, he may understand that this could well be the death of the company, but just isn't motivated enough to fight these investors and is willing to let them burn the company to the ground. I wouldn't go as far as to say he doesn't care anymore, but being forced ou…

Kalanick has stated publicly that he has not sold a single share - so he has actually taken no money off the table whatsoever.

PROTIP: Shareholder loan

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#478

Post by adventured »

bunkat wrote: post #405
baby wrote: post #394

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You guys are talking about Uber dying, but I cannot fathom how this is possible from just the user's perspective. Uber seems to be everywhere, people take Ubers or driver for Ubers every day. How could a company this big fail? Stop growing maybe, but going bankrupt and shutting down?

Uber doesn't make enough from fares to be profitable, they use investors' money to heavily subsidize them. Once the investor money runs out, Uber won't be able to pay drivers unless they jack up prices considerably. Once they are no longer price competitive, customers will move to other services. Turns out the car service business isn't very sticky at all (even the drivers work for multiple companies...). Drivers sta…

> Once the investor money runs out

And when will that be exactly? This entire thread is overflowing with nothing but fantasies of Uber dying - basically raw emotional hatred - and little else.

Eight years on, they've never had a serious problem with raising capital and there's no evidence to suggest they'll struggle to do so now. The absolute last problem that Uber has right now, is money.

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#479

Post by jordache »

baby wrote: post #394
dfabulich wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, but I think that's exactly how/why Uber's investors were able to convince Kalanick to step down. Uber may or may not take over the world at some point, but Uber needs another round of investment in the next 18 months just to survive. If the existing investors refused to play ball, they could kill the next round, which really would kill Uber. And here's another important moral of this story for founders:…

You guys are talking about Uber dying, but I cannot fathom how this is possible from just the user's perspective. Uber seems to be everywhere, people take Ubers or driver for Ubers every day. How could a company this big fail? Stop growing maybe, but going bankrupt and shutting down?

There is nothing that differentiates Uber from lyft, or another ride hail company. Drivers could easily switch between the companies. Driverless tech will be the differentiation. Whoever gets there first, even in limited urban centers will win the taxi industry

Re: Uber Founder Travis Kalanick Resigns as C.E.O.

#480

Post by tim333 »

matt4077 wrote: post #373
rmason wrote: post #12

Hope everyone's paying attention to the identity of these investors behind this horrid behavior. Travis is not without his flaws but he created an awful lot of value for them. They pressure him into taking a sabbatical, then two days in they pull this cowardly act of firing him remotely. Not only was it a cowardly act, but it was the wrong thing to do for the business. It will lead to an epic destruction of value. Wo…

Kalanick is no Steve Jobs, Kalanick is a bro on an ego trip who stumbled upon a business. But harassing women, and all his other flaws, are not what created uber. Steve Jobs' flaws actually served Apple. The worst he's been accused of is driving people hard to achieve the perfection he sought.

Jobs did some bad stuff apart from that and Kalanick is reputed to be quite talented.
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