7 ms·

Uber's Travis Kalanick punches back against the Benchmark lawsuit targeting him

76 points by mudil 9y ago

jeremynixon 9y ago
It's not just Shervin Pishevar that wants Benchmark off the board. Ron Burkle (Yucaipa Cos) and Adam Leber (Maverick) also penned the letter requesting that they divest.
- andirk 9y ago
  They should sue Benchmark but use the same lawyers, as to not crowd the building. It's in the Tenderloin and it's kinda sketch outside, day or night.
  - 0x8BADF00D 9y ago
    Uber is certainly not in the Tenderloin, it's closer to Hayes Valley or Skid Row.
    - DonHopkins 9y ago
      That's where the Wine Connoisseurs hang out on the sidewalks!
    - tim333 9y ago
      I think the Superior Court is though.
    - andirk 9y ago
      You're right. It feel like the TL to me though.
TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago
I have to wonder... I've seen the inside of a court room a few times, it's really not my favourite past time. Maybe civil is more fun than criminal. What I'm getting at is, wouldn't you rather go skiing, or hiking, or hanging out with friends or family. Or whatever your thing is. Wouldn't you, at some point, just think "righteo, this ain't that fun, let's just agree to something already"? Or do these things take on a life of their own and sweep you away with them? Or are people really just that keen to prove how right they are? Do you think anyone, on their death bed thinks "I wish I'd spent more time sueing the pants off everyone."
- ganoushoreilly 9y ago
  It's about proving a point, standing firm on that point (even if you're eventually proven wrong) then doubling down. Most civil individuals would have reached a mediation point. This case also seems pretty personal and despite what most would think, i'm of the camp that thinks emotions are driving a lot of it.
  - joelrunyon 9y ago
    Emotions + a few billion dollars or so.
- trustfundbaby 9y ago
  When you're talking about millions and billions of dollars at stake, sure people think what you typed above first ... then they go "nah ... fuck that. I'm suing".
- omot 9y ago
  I think it's more of a sunk cost thing. Like gosh I've spent the last 8 waking years to get to this place. I'm not letting these investors screw me over. Even if he goes skiing or hiking, or hanging out with friends or family its going to gnaw at him for the rest of his life.
  - icantdrive55 9y ago
    I know a Veterinarian that lost his license. I honestly believe do to lies. He spent 2.7 million on lawyers. He now just is mad at the Lawyers, and is sleeping behind his former veterinarian hospital. He is practically homeless. Travis has a lot of his personality out on the internet. Actually, it should be a warning for all of us. I will never forget him shimmying around in that Uber Black arguing with a guy who went bankrupt. I just thought he wasn't meant to have power, and money. And I know he was lonely for females he thought he deserved. Oh yea, those women were there just for the money. My point is good luck finding a sympathetic jury. I'd rather have him go off, and start something else, maybe a dating site? He doesn't seem like the charitable type.
  - 9y ago
noncoml 9y ago
I can only imagine the morale of the Uber employees at the moment.
- subroutine 9y ago
  A few uber employees showed up in a thread yesterday and showed support for Kalanick. One employee comment i found interesting wrote: Travis had a deep empathy for the challenges of building successful products, and would offer tremendous grace and thoughtful advice to his team solving problems in the trenches. When projects went sideways, and we presented numbers that were less than stellar, Travis was both empathetic and optimistic while offering actionable guidance and a path forward. "Bro culture" is a loaded term and the wrong one to describe the environment Travis cultivated. He had tremendous focus on the problems at hand and pushed his team to operate with a sense of urgency to solve them. If anything I think he cared too much about each individual problem, which propelled his teams forward but sometimes left him too deep in the details of his business rather than focusing on the big picture.
  - totalZero 9y ago
    Interesting. For me the strange part is that it's written like a eulogy.
    - Lordarminius 9y ago
      Maybe it is. The odds against a TK comeback to Uber as CEO at this point are very high.
    - ben_jones 9y ago
      As in it leaves out any bad parts?
      - subroutine 9y ago
        Well, I think most people are already aware of the bad parts (which was very apparent context of the original thread).
bgitarts 9y ago
Good for Travis and for founders in general. He probably is the guy to run a business like Uber. In an industry rife with corruption that often resorts to bully tactics, you need someone who will not bend on vision and principles because of personal threats. He could have sat back and avoided a public smear capaign and retire to nice life as a billionaire. Instead he choose to fight for what he believes is right. One has to believe that given the options for him, the choice to resist is not about money for him. It maybe about ego and his desire to change the course of history, but the latter is probably good for Uber if he gets to stay on.
- throwaway0071 9y ago
  We're seeing some of his principles are what landed Uber in this situation in the first place. So I'd be more careful with idolizing him. This is not the first or last drama from Uber. There are many other companies having similar impact in the world (or better) without using illegal methods.
  - abogdanovich 9y ago
    Who do you mean "we"?
- jackmott 9y ago
  what a disappointing comment.
  - bgitarts 9y ago
    What about it is disappointing?
- andrewvc 9y ago
  This sort of attitude is why tech has a reputation as a privileged boys club. These qualities may have helped in the early days but he also applied them internally and to great negative effect. How you can conveniently ignore that is beyond me. There is a mountain of poor decisions that put Kalanick in the dog house. The culture he created at Uber is notoriously toxic, senior management has been either leaving in disgust or forced out over malfeasance. Kalanick should gain some humility and leave it to the adults on his board to find someone who can run Uber responsibly.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

76 points by mudil 9y ago

It's not just Shervin Pishevar that wants Benchmark off the board. Ron Burkle (Yucaipa Cos) and Adam Leber (Maverick) also penned the letter requesting that they divest.

andirk 9y ago
They should sue Benchmark but use the same lawyers, as to not crowd the building. It's in the Tenderloin and it's kinda sketch outside, day or night.
- 0x8BADF00D 9y ago
  Uber is certainly not in the Tenderloin, it's closer to Hayes Valley or Skid Row.
  - DonHopkins 9y ago
    That's where the Wine Connoisseurs hang out on the sidewalks!
  - tim333 9y ago
    I think the Superior Court is though.
  - andirk 9y ago
    You're right. It feel like the TL to me though.

TheSpiceIsLife 9y ago

I have to wonder... I've seen the inside of a court room a few times, it's really not my favourite past time. Maybe civil is more fun than criminal. What I'm getting at is, wouldn't you rather go skiing, or hiking, or hanging out with friends or family. Or whatever your thing is. Wouldn't you, at some point, just think "righteo, this ain't that fun, let's just agree to something already"? Or do these things take on a life of their own and sweep you away with them? Or are people really just that keen to prove how right they are? Do you think anyone, on their death bed thinks "I wish I'd spent more time sueing the pants off everyone."

ganoushoreilly 9y ago
It's about proving a point, standing firm on that point (even if you're eventually proven wrong) then doubling down. Most civil individuals would have reached a mediation point. This case also seems pretty personal and despite what most would think, i'm of the camp that thinks emotions are driving a lot of it.
- joelrunyon 9y ago
  Emotions + a few billion dollars or so.
trustfundbaby 9y ago
When you're talking about millions and billions of dollars at stake, sure people think what you typed above first ... then they go "nah ... fuck that. I'm suing".
omot 9y ago
I think it's more of a sunk cost thing. Like gosh I've spent the last 8 waking years to get to this place. I'm not letting these investors screw me over. Even if he goes skiing or hiking, or hanging out with friends or family its going to gnaw at him for the rest of his life.
- icantdrive55 9y ago
  I know a Veterinarian that lost his license. I honestly believe do to lies. He spent 2.7 million on lawyers. He now just is mad at the Lawyers, and is sleeping behind his former veterinarian hospital. He is practically homeless. Travis has a lot of his personality out on the internet. Actually, it should be a warning for all of us. I will never forget him shimmying around in that Uber Black arguing with a guy who went bankrupt. I just thought he wasn't meant to have power, and money. And I know he was lonely for females he thought he deserved. Oh yea, those women were there just for the money. My point is good luck finding a sympathetic jury. I'd rather have him go off, and start something else, maybe a dating site? He doesn't seem like the charitable type.
- 9y ago

noncoml 9y ago

I can only imagine the morale of the Uber employees at the moment.

subroutine 9y ago
A few uber employees showed up in a thread yesterday and showed support for Kalanick. One employee comment i found interesting wrote: Travis had a deep empathy for the challenges of building successful products, and would offer tremendous grace and thoughtful advice to his team solving problems in the trenches. When projects went sideways, and we presented numbers that were less than stellar, Travis was both empathetic and optimistic while offering actionable guidance and a path forward. "Bro culture" is a loaded term and the wrong one to describe the environment Travis cultivated. He had tremendous focus on the problems at hand and pushed his team to operate with a sense of urgency to solve them. If anything I think he cared too much about each individual problem, which propelled his teams forward but sometimes left him too deep in the details of his business rather than focusing on the big picture.
- totalZero 9y ago
  Interesting. For me the strange part is that it's written like a eulogy.
  - Lordarminius 9y ago
    Maybe it is. The odds against a TK comeback to Uber as CEO at this point are very high.
  - ben_jones 9y ago
    As in it leaves out any bad parts?
    - subroutine 9y ago
      Well, I think most people are already aware of the bad parts (which was very apparent context of the original thread).

bgitarts 9y ago

Good for Travis and for founders in general. He probably is the guy to run a business like Uber. In an industry rife with corruption that often resorts to bully tactics, you need someone who will not bend on vision and principles because of personal threats. He could have sat back and avoided a public smear capaign and retire to nice life as a billionaire. Instead he choose to fight for what he believes is right. One has to believe that given the options for him, the choice to resist is not about money for him. It maybe about ego and his desire to change the course of history, but the latter is probably good for Uber if he gets to stay on.

throwaway0071 9y ago
We're seeing some of his principles are what landed Uber in this situation in the first place. So I'd be more careful with idolizing him. This is not the first or last drama from Uber. There are many other companies having similar impact in the world (or better) without using illegal methods.
- abogdanovich 9y ago
  Who do you mean "we"?
jackmott 9y ago
what a disappointing comment.
- bgitarts 9y ago
  What about it is disappointing?
andrewvc 9y ago
This sort of attitude is why tech has a reputation as a privileged boys club. These qualities may have helped in the early days but he also applied them internally and to great negative effect. How you can conveniently ignore that is beyond me. There is a mountain of poor decisions that put Kalanick in the dog house. The culture he created at Uber is notoriously toxic, senior management has been either leaving in disgust or forced out over malfeasance. Kalanick should gain some humility and leave it to the adults on his board to find someone who can run Uber responsibly.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]