4 ms·

Personal failings are one thing, but that hasn't been the downfall of Travis Kalanick. His professional failings have been his downfall.

downandout 9y ago
I disagree. The video of him talking down to a driver seemed to be the catalyst. Once that came out, everyone that disliked Travis, stood to benefit from his dismissal, or just hated Uber, piled on with story after story. As an executive, he was aggressive and didn’t play nice with competitors or politicians seeking to limit his business and/or put their hands in its pockets. Show me someone that has built a $40+ billion business out of thin air that isn’t constantly pushing the limits like he did. Airbnb was born out of Craigslist spam. Facebook only grew because of a contact spammer that is still in use to this day. In Facebook’s early days, Hotmail temporarily blocked Facebook invite spam and their growth instantly dropped by 90%. Uber used Greyball to avoid giving rides to those in violation of its terms of service, some of whom were undercover law enforcement personnel looking to disrupt its business. These big businesses don’t come to fruition by accident, and the one thing they seem to have in common is that most of them broke the rules to get where they are. It may not be pleasant or politically correct, but it’s a fact of life.
- jdblair 9y ago
  > Uber used Greyball to avoid giving rides to undercover law enforcement personnel looking looking to destroy their business. Uber used Greyball to evade municipal laws.
  - downandout 9y ago
    Yes, they were denying rides to undercover law enforcement personnel looking to destroy their business.
    - jdblair 9y ago
      Or regulate Uber the same as any other taxi service in their community. Look, I'm a fan of Lyft and Uber. They shook up an ossified taxi industry. But let's not sugarcoat what Uber did - they broke laws and constructed systems to aid breaking those laws.

downandout 9y ago

I disagree. The video of him talking down to a driver seemed to be the catalyst. Once that came out, everyone that disliked Travis, stood to benefit from his dismissal, or just hated Uber, piled on with story after story. As an executive, he was aggressive and didn’t play nice with competitors or politicians seeking to limit his business and/or put their hands in its pockets. Show me someone that has built a $40+ billion business out of thin air that isn’t constantly pushing the limits like he did. Airbnb was born out of Craigslist spam. Facebook only grew because of a contact spammer that is still in use to this day. In Facebook’s early days, Hotmail temporarily blocked Facebook invite spam and their growth instantly dropped by 90%. Uber used Greyball to avoid giving rides to those in violation of its terms of service, some of whom were undercover law enforcement personnel looking to disrupt its business. These big businesses don’t come to fruition by accident, and the one thing they seem to have in common is that most of them broke the rules to get where they are. It may not be pleasant or politically correct, but it’s a fact of life.

jdblair 9y ago
> Uber used Greyball to avoid giving rides to undercover law enforcement personnel looking looking to destroy their business. Uber used Greyball to evade municipal laws.
- downandout 9y ago
  Yes, they were denying rides to undercover law enforcement personnel looking to destroy their business.
  - jdblair 9y ago
    Or regulate Uber the same as any other taxi service in their community. Look, I'm a fan of Lyft and Uber. They shook up an ossified taxi industry. But let's not sugarcoat what Uber did - they broke laws and constructed systems to aid breaking those laws.