Uber tested the boundaries, and finally got a red card.
The Uber journey has been fascinating to watch. No matter their ultimate outcome, their story will be scrutinized and studied for the foreseeable future. At the center is a dynamic, win-at-all-costs leader. Travis broke conventional wisdom by raising $8.81 billion in funding to transform the taxi industry globally.
Along the way, there has been a litany of scandals that have put Uber front and center in the news. Travis and Co have taken extreme measures to silence their competitors and critics with each incident. Uber seemed to embrace their bad-boy attitude. The result of this burn-the-bridges approach was fawning investors who begged for a piece of Uber at breath-taking valuations. The message the investors seemed to be sending was that they appreciated that Uber would lie, cheat and steal to dominate. What more could they ask of their portfolio company? If only their other investments would be so bold.
With the Trump victory, crusaders for fair-play felt the need to take cover. Had we entered into a post-honesty world?
The straw that broke the camel’s back was Susan Fowler’s blog reporting a culture of misogyny. Uber had long been known for its frat-like atmosphere, with Travis himself boasting that the company should be called Boob-er considering all the ladies he was slaying as the king of the hottest start-up since Facebook. So many of Uber’s indiscretions have been reported, but the question is why only now is there blow-back?
The Uber board has largely been silent through numerous scandals. Is it that the business is now facing the daunting task of transforming from a hyper-growth startup, to a profit-generating behemoth? Is it that raising an upround on their $60+ billion valuation is no longer an open pathway?
The board is expressing shock and dismay at Uber’s bad behavior.
Please.
To claim they did not know of the multitude of issues at Uber before Holder’s report is ridiculous. You would need to be living on a Wi-fi free island to not be exposed to the delude of accusations of malfeasance at the company. No matter. The board is turning on Travis and attempting to take the moral high ground.
What have we learned from Uber’s stumble from grace? Too early to tell. The backstabbing and finger-pointing will go on for a while. Sacrificial lambs will be slaughtered. Travis may re-emerge as a Michael Milken-like reformer, or may find a position next to Jeffrey Skilling as a business-villain leader of a rogue pirate ship.
In the Uber story, we can’t fault the press. They have done their share to illuminate and document troubling programs and scandals at the company. The greed and FOMA of the investors seem to have emboldened Travis to brashness. The board has looked the other way to avoid displeasing their star performer. Uber has built a powerful brand despite these issues, but their future seems more uncertain than it has in years. The current state of Uber recalls the post-French Revolutionary period. During the Terror, heads were rolling and the leadership of the great nation was changing with rapidity. How long before Uber’s leadership settles, and the business can continue on its quest to transform transportation? Stay tuned as the Uber drama continues to unfold. As with all things Uber, it should be exciting.
