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How long does Uber have left? Another post about Uber from yesterday said they had around a year left of runway. As an aside: Every day for at least the past m

How long does Uber have left? Another post about Uber from yesterday said they had around a year left of runway. As an aside: Every day for at least the past month an Uber story talking about their failings has dominated Hacker News. I strongly believe that Uber's problems are extremely importantant, and deserve to be on the front page. But, its really tiring to talk about a company that is stumbling every single day when we could have posts about other things.

untog 9y ago
I suspect how long Uber has left is directly tied to Travis leaving - it was the main investors in the company that pushed him out. I suspect they used the threat of withholding a future round of funding to do so - with Travis out, I imagine Uber is safe to raise another round.
- ithinkinstereo 9y ago
  Seems like an empty threat. If they withhold funding their already sizable investments are lost. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
  - untog 9y ago
    Yes, but if Travis refuses to step down then the value of his sizable equity in Uber is also lost. So it's a battle of the wills.
  - sdenton4 9y ago
    Mmmmm, delicious sunk cost...
  - _jal 9y ago
    Not if you believe your sunk costs are lost if he stays. The game theory is pretty straightforward there.
baq 9y ago
the mob wants to hear about Uber's problems, the mob upvotes Uber's problems, so there's a lot of content that the mob wants to read on the front page. wait a bit for the topic to cool down. replace the mob with happy users if you wish. disclaimer: i'm a part of the mob, it's a very interesting topic for me.
- parthdesai 9y ago
  It's only the people in tech who know about Uber's problems. All of my friends who aren't in tech don't know anything about Uber's problems and use it regularly. Heck i still use it if the surge is below 1.5 since it's either Uber or Taxi.
  - bogomipz 9y ago
    >"It's only the people in tech who know about Uber's problems." No it's anyone who reads the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times or watches Bloomberg too. I'm pretty sure that includes much more than techies. Uber has been featured on the front page of both of those newspapers and not just recently. >"All of my friends who aren't in tech don't know anything about Uber's problems and use it regularly" That's purely anecdotal.
    - Xylakant 9y ago
      It's actually been in the mainstream news in Germany (Zeit, Welt, Tagesschau iirc) though Germany is certainly a bit of a niche market for them. http://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2017-06/travis-kalanick-uber-ruecktritt http://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2017-06/travis-kalanick-uber-r...
    - parthdesai 9y ago
      >No it's anyone who reads the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times or watches Bloomberg too. I'm pretty sure that includes much more than techies. Uber has been featured on the front page of both of those newspapers and not just recently. Uber CEO being fired or Waymo law suit is a bigger story and a lot more people know about it. But i don't think people will stop using uber because of those two stories. Compare that to sexual harassment being rampant in Uber which could cause a lot more people to not use Uber out of ethics. >That's purely anecdotal. I didn't say otherwise.
j2bax 9y ago
Considering the parent company of this forum (a startup accelerator) and the high profile of Uber in the startup world, I think it's appropriate to watch very closely how this unfolds. It should serve as a cautionary tale for many a future startup.
tc313 9y ago
Uber isn't going anywhere as long as the industry remains viable. Worst-case scenario, the company is restructured and investors lose their shirts; but you wouldn't kill the world's most recognizable ride-hailing brand.
TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
You can hide the posts about Uber, and go about your day.
woodandsteel 9y ago
There are so many Uber stories is because it is so big, it is so well known, and, above all, because it does so many different things that are flagrantly wrong. So we get a flurry of stories on one topic, then something else wrong is uncovered and we get stories on that, and so on.

untog 9y ago

I suspect how long Uber has left is directly tied to Travis leaving - it was the main investors in the company that pushed him out. I suspect they used the threat of withholding a future round of funding to do so - with Travis out, I imagine Uber is safe to raise another round.

ithinkinstereo 9y ago
Seems like an empty threat. If they withhold funding their already sizable investments are lost. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
- untog 9y ago
  Yes, but if Travis refuses to step down then the value of his sizable equity in Uber is also lost. So it's a battle of the wills.
- sdenton4 9y ago
  Mmmmm, delicious sunk cost...
- _jal 9y ago
  Not if you believe your sunk costs are lost if he stays. The game theory is pretty straightforward there.

baq 9y ago

the mob wants to hear about Uber's problems, the mob upvotes Uber's problems, so there's a lot of content that the mob wants to read on the front page. wait a bit for the topic to cool down. replace the mob with happy users if you wish. disclaimer: i'm a part of the mob, it's a very interesting topic for me.

parthdesai 9y ago
It's only the people in tech who know about Uber's problems. All of my friends who aren't in tech don't know anything about Uber's problems and use it regularly. Heck i still use it if the surge is below 1.5 since it's either Uber or Taxi.
- bogomipz 9y ago
  >"It's only the people in tech who know about Uber's problems." No it's anyone who reads the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times or watches Bloomberg too. I'm pretty sure that includes much more than techies. Uber has been featured on the front page of both of those newspapers and not just recently. >"All of my friends who aren't in tech don't know anything about Uber's problems and use it regularly" That's purely anecdotal.
  - Xylakant 9y ago
    It's actually been in the mainstream news in Germany (Zeit, Welt, Tagesschau iirc) though Germany is certainly a bit of a niche market for them. http://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2017-06/travis-kalanick-uber-ruecktritt http://www.zeit.de/wirtschaft/2017-06/travis-kalanick-uber-r...
  - parthdesai 9y ago
    >No it's anyone who reads the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times or watches Bloomberg too. I'm pretty sure that includes much more than techies. Uber has been featured on the front page of both of those newspapers and not just recently. Uber CEO being fired or Waymo law suit is a bigger story and a lot more people know about it. But i don't think people will stop using uber because of those two stories. Compare that to sexual harassment being rampant in Uber which could cause a lot more people to not use Uber out of ethics. >That's purely anecdotal. I didn't say otherwise.

j2bax 9y ago

Considering the parent company of this forum (a startup accelerator) and the high profile of Uber in the startup world, I think it's appropriate to watch very closely how this unfolds. It should serve as a cautionary tale for many a future startup.

tc313 9y ago

Uber isn't going anywhere as long as the industry remains viable. Worst-case scenario, the company is restructured and investors lose their shirts; but you wouldn't kill the world's most recognizable ride-hailing brand.

TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago

You can hide the posts about Uber, and go about your day.

woodandsteel 9y ago

There are so many Uber stories is because it is so big, it is so well known, and, above all, because it does so many different things that are flagrantly wrong. So we get a flurry of stories on one topic, then something else wrong is uncovered and we get stories on that, and so on.