4 ms·

This letter reads as faceless (who's Benchmark's representative on the board as of now anyways?) and a bit condescending to me. "We've never interacted with you

This letter reads as faceless (who's Benchmark's representative on the board as of now anyways?) and a bit condescending to me. "We've never interacted with you in the past, but trust us, we're on your side and have your best interests in mind." Not sure what this letter is supposed to accomplish. Employees who were behind Benchmark already will continue to support them, and employees who were behind Travis will continue to support him, and if anything, the polarization will increase with this message.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago
> Not sure what this letter is supposed to accomplish Communicate why Benchmark acted in a manner they find to be reasonable? Assuming every single one of Uber's employees don't divide into neat pro-Benchmark and pro-Kalanick camps, this could help keep nervous minds put. Disclaimer: This comment is NOT investment advice. Please do not buy or sell any securities based on it.
- Gargoyle 9y ago
  I don't work at uber, but this letter communicates nothing but drama and uncertainty to me. I can't imagine it put anyone's mind to rest.
  - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
    > his letter communicates nothing but drama and uncertainty This letter or the lawsuit? The suit certainly communicated drama and uncertainty, though if the accusations in this letter are true, it might have been a calculated judgment that lots of drama now is better than a slow drip over years. After filing the lawsuit, Benchmark could (a) stay silent, leaving everyone guessing (and letting the machinations they accuse Kalanick of orchestrating continue to work their rot) or (b) explain their actions. They chose (b).
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
tyingq 9y ago
>Not sure what this letter is supposed to accomplish. I would guess just stirring the pot and keeping Uber in the news. If you believe that Benchmark is the source of some leaks, like the poor state of the leasing program, that's the goal. Make enough noise that some other investor is willing to buy them out to stop the noise.
- SyneRyder 9y ago
  >Make enough noise that some other investor is willing to buy them out to stop the noise. But hasn't that already been proposed? There was a letter to Benchmark from 3 Uber investors earlier this week who have offered to buy a minimum 75% of Benchmark's share. Approximately $6 Billion, if I remember correctly.
jasode 9y ago
>Not sure what this letter is supposed to accomplish. [...] , and employees who were behind Travis will continue to support him, Based on Travis' continued day-to-day meddling in Uber, it looks like he still has quite a bit of "soft power" within the company even though he's no longer an employee. This isn't like the situation where Steve Jobs sold all his Apple stock and cut the ties after John Sculley and the Apple board fired him. I'm guessing his soft power exists because you have a large faction of employees with stock options. For whatever reasons rational/irrational, they think the best way for the stock value to increase is with Travis instead of Benchmark's candidates. Maybe Benchmark thinks their letter can change some opinions on Travis or capture the undecideds. (Yes, Steve Jobs coming back to Apple helped, but Jack Dorsey coming back to Twitter didn't. Therefore, don't get tunnel vision about Travis being the ultimate savior ... seems to be Benchmark's underlying message.) Yes, Benchmark also has stock equity in Uber so the VC's protection of their capital should be perfectly aligned with the employees' desire for their stock to go up in value. The problem is that the employees have been "in the trenches" with Travis whose value to the business was demonstrated concretely whereas Benchmark is just an "investor" whose value to Uber is abstract.
jedberg 9y ago
It's for all the entrepreneurs who just thought to themselves, "maybe I won't take money from Benchmark". They knew it would leak.
sbarre 9y ago
I feel like this letter would have come across as more honest if they had at least once acknowledged that they are also motivated by their desire/need to protect their own investment alongside the rest of the things they claim.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago

> Not sure what this letter is supposed to accomplish Communicate why Benchmark acted in a manner they find to be reasonable? Assuming every single one of Uber's employees don't divide into neat pro-Benchmark and pro-Kalanick camps, this could help keep nervous minds put. Disclaimer: This comment is NOT investment advice. Please do not buy or sell any securities based on it.

Gargoyle 9y ago
I don't work at uber, but this letter communicates nothing but drama and uncertainty to me. I can't imagine it put anyone's mind to rest.
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago
  > his letter communicates nothing but drama and uncertainty This letter or the lawsuit? The suit certainly communicated drama and uncertainty, though if the accusations in this letter are true, it might have been a calculated judgment that lots of drama now is better than a slow drip over years. After filing the lawsuit, Benchmark could (a) stay silent, leaving everyone guessing (and letting the machinations they accuse Kalanick of orchestrating continue to work their rot) or (b) explain their actions. They chose (b).

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

tyingq 9y ago

>Not sure what this letter is supposed to accomplish. I would guess just stirring the pot and keeping Uber in the news. If you believe that Benchmark is the source of some leaks, like the poor state of the leasing program, that's the goal. Make enough noise that some other investor is willing to buy them out to stop the noise.

SyneRyder 9y ago
>Make enough noise that some other investor is willing to buy them out to stop the noise. But hasn't that already been proposed? There was a letter to Benchmark from 3 Uber investors earlier this week who have offered to buy a minimum 75% of Benchmark's share. Approximately $6 Billion, if I remember correctly.

jasode 9y ago

>Not sure what this letter is supposed to accomplish. [...] , and employees who were behind Travis will continue to support him, Based on Travis' continued day-to-day meddling in Uber, it looks like he still has quite a bit of "soft power" within the company even though he's no longer an employee. This isn't like the situation where Steve Jobs sold all his Apple stock and cut the ties after John Sculley and the Apple board fired him. I'm guessing his soft power exists because you have a large faction of employees with stock options. For whatever reasons rational/irrational, they think the best way for the stock value to increase is with Travis instead of Benchmark's candidates. Maybe Benchmark thinks their letter can change some opinions on Travis or capture the undecideds. (Yes, Steve Jobs coming back to Apple helped, but Jack Dorsey coming back to Twitter didn't. Therefore, don't get tunnel vision about Travis being the ultimate savior ... seems to be Benchmark's underlying message.) Yes, Benchmark also has stock equity in Uber so the VC's protection of their capital should be perfectly aligned with the employees' desire for their stock to go up in value. The problem is that the employees have been "in the trenches" with Travis whose value to the business was demonstrated concretely whereas Benchmark is just an "investor" whose value to Uber is abstract.

jedberg 9y ago

It's for all the entrepreneurs who just thought to themselves, "maybe I won't take money from Benchmark". They knew it would leak.

sbarre 9y ago

I feel like this letter would have come across as more honest if they had at least once acknowledged that they are also motivated by their desire/need to protect their own investment alongside the rest of the things they claim.