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Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

nytimes.com

81–90 of 170 posts

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#81
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A jerk is someone who borrows your car and doesn't pay for the dent he puts in the bumper. What happened at Uber was the creation of one of the most insanely hostile work environments in living memory, where flouting not just the law, but also basic standards of human decency, was not only accepted but encouraged at all levels of the company.

So basically all investment banking divisions should be treated with the same regard? I find it strange that we seem to give finance a pass when they've engaged in this sort of behavior for decades.

We shouldn't give them a pass either. That's a non sequitur.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#82

For all the future founders on HN, the lesson here is to never do business with Bill Gurley. He's one of the reasons AngelList exists. I hope his lesser known reputation finally catches up with him and forces him out of Benchmark and out of the VC industry entirely. The Ravikant v. Tolia (and Bill Gurley) Lawsuit: http://blog.ericgoldman.org/personal/archives/2005/02/ravika...

THIS. A million times this. Go ask pmarca too.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#83
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps it should be actually illegal, like criminally punishible, but it is not. It is a tort, civil violation, etc...but nobody is going to jail.

Sigh. Arguing logic of proper behavior on these matters on HN always results in apologists making excuses as to how it should have been handled.

Well, no. I specifically pointed out that perhaps it should be criminal. I felt it worth noting not for pedantry, but because we have a fair number of readers that might wonder why nobody was being prosecuted if it is indeed a crime.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah Trump didn't drive a women off a bridge and leave her dead like your previous leader Ted Kennedy. I personally support third party but damn the left loves to ignore how dirtball their own party is. Add Mel Reynolds, Robert KKK Byrd and others to the mix and it's laughable the party is any more a champion for anything. I honestly don't understand how either side can wage an ethics war on the other. Someone makes…

"your leader"? "your party"? "ethics war"? you're making a lot of assumptions for a wed evening, no?

You didn't deny it so I'm probably right.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#85
post #80

I remain flabbergasted by all of this upheaval at Uber. What's happening is the sort of housecleaning I would expect if the company had to file for bankruptcy or got caught flat out bribing judges or something. But really, what triggered all this was acting like jerks. It seems to me, what should have happened (a long time ago) was that they got shut down for systematically breaking the law, or encouraging others to…

I bet Travis will ultimately be back. They are parking him for 1-2 years (and he's willing) because there is such a negative culture in the place it pervades everything. Putting in some stability for a while makes sense, but a some point they will probably want to start running hard again.

Actually, I think TK responded to the letter from the investors by saying "you want me out, fine, kick Gurley to the curb and I'm gone", knowing full well he can vote himself back in when he wants to.

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#87
post #11

I wonder if Travis resigning was contingent on Bill Gurley leaving the board. As Bill seems to be the main anti-Travis actor on the board.

It's unclear if Gurley actually wants to leave the board. Part of me thinks that he knows something really bad is coming down the pipes (e.g. potential criminal liability re: Otto, etc) and he wants to distance himself now. It's half a conspiracy theory, but makes you think ...

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but the claim is extraordinary and requires extraordinary evidence

By this point, it is clear that Eric Holder found at least some evidence.

Evidence of problems, yes. Evidence of "one of the most insanely hostile work environments in living memory, where flouting not just the law, but also basic standards of human decency, was not only accepted but encouraged at all levels of the company"?

Re: Bill Gurley Is Leaving Uber’s Board

#89
post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sigh. Arguing logic of proper behavior on these matters on HN always results in apologists making excuses as to how it should have been handled.

Well, no. I specifically pointed out that perhaps it should be criminal. I felt it worth noting not for pedantry, but because we have a fair number of readers that might wonder why nobody was being prosecuted if it is indeed a crime.

"Illegal" and "criminal" are not the same thing.
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