He was also said to have been one of the executives who viewed medical records of a woman who had been raped by an Uber driver in New Delhi. Michael had visited an escort bar in South Korea with Kalanick and other employees in 2014. In early June, Kalanick's right-hand man Emil Michael left the company. But #DeleteUber was becoming a frequent trending topic on social media. Kalanick announced that former Attorney General Eric Holder would investigate the allegations. Soon, a video would surface that showed Kalanick berating an Uber driver who was frustrated over the company's rates.īut the bombshell landed in February, when former Uber engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post accusing the company of rampant sexism. It was the first in a series of scandals in 2017. Uber insisted that many drivers want to be their own boss.Ģ017: Kalanick faced a huge outcry after he joined President Trump's team of business advisers. Meanwhile, there was growing public anger over Uber policies that categorized drivers as contractors and not employees.Ģ016: Uber settled two legal suits brought by drivers in California and Massachusetts who sought to be classified as employees. The company was banned from operating in New Delhi, India, after a driver raped a passenger.Ģ015: Uber seized the crown of world's most valuable startup with a $51 billion valuation, but Kalanick continued to resist calls to take the company public. Uber expanded to more than 100 cities, but lawsuits and scandals highlighted concerns over rider safety, driver screening and aggressive business practices.Īn Illinois woman filed a lawsuit against Uber claiming that a driver fondled her. Forbes estimated his net worth at $3 billion in September 2014. Kalanick was by then a billionaire - on paper at least. A second round of fundraising at the end of the year boosted the valuation to $40 billion. He also brushed off talk of taking Uber public and said he wanted to lead the company for years to come: "Uber is my wife and I have no mistresses," he said.Ģ014: Uber was valued at $18 billion in June after raising more than $1 billion from institutional investors. Probably 50 different law firms," he said in December 2013. "We have three attorneys on staff at Uber and then we have law firms around the world that we work with. Kalanick said the company was spending $1 million per year on legal costs. Several cities took legal action to try to shut the firm down because of the threat it posed to the traditional taxi industry. Its valuation - $3.4 billion - reflected optimism about the firm's ability to expand at a breakneck pace.īut lawsuits plagued Uber as it expanded. Travis Kalanick arrives for a 2012 conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.Ģ013: Uber quickly became a disruptive force in dozens of cities around the world. Rap mogul Jay-Z and Amazon ( AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos became early Uber backers, helping the company raise over $40 million. The pugnacious CEO's management style helped the company bulldoze its way past legal obstacles, including taxi owners who argued that Uber wasn't abiding by local laws in many places.Ģ011: Uber expanded to New York City and Paris while billing itself as "Everyone's Private Driver." He also drove Uber's vast fundraising machine. Kalanick did much to shape the firm, pushing Camp away from the idea that Uber should purchase its own cars. "I'm frickin' pumped to be on board full-time with Uber!" Kalanick wrote at the time. Camp brought on Kalanick and three other friends as advisers.Ģ010: Uber officially launched in San Francisco in May 2010 and Kalanick joined the company full time as CEO in December 2010. Garrett Camp, another serial entrepreneur, came up with the idea for Uber in mid-2008 after getting "blacklisted" by the two big cab companies in San Francisco, according to a recent book by Adam Lashinsky. Red Swoosh was sold for about $15 million in 2007.Ģ008: Kalanick claims that he came up with the idea for Uber when he was unable to flag down a taxi in Paris during a tech conference.īut that may be more creation myth than fact. He would later wear socks emblazoned with the words "Blood, sweat and ramen." Kalanick has said that he ate a lot of ramen noodles during those lean years.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |