Tag: uber

LeWeb'13: Travis Kalanick and Snow in Paris in 2008 [en]

Note: discussion with Loïc, notes might be all over the place.

Unit of investment today… billions rather than millions… are we going back to the late nineties? Getting funding without revenue. What do you think?

It’s hard to get a cab here. Specially when it’s snowing. (Backstory: Travis couldn’t get a cab back in 2008 when Paris was snowed in => birth of Uber.)

LeWeb'13, Travis Kalanick

Numbers are good. People can see everything inside, transparent culture. Leaks question that, other companies can learn the lessons they’ve learned without going through learning them. Leaks give competitors a weapon and hurt Uber’s advantage.

Competition: China and North America.

steph-note: lots of number talk, not following well.

Taxis cost to exist. Scarcity.

Lifestyle: give it to me now. Ie, what we’re used to having on the internet. Uber for X => extending the concept. Right now Uber is delivering cars. Expanding to other cities.

Travis could wallpaper the walls with cease and desist letters. They even got one from New Orleans even though they’re not operating there, have no cars on the ground there. C&D letters just mean people don’t like you. They’re a nastygram. They have 3 attorney on staff at Uber. And law firms around the world that work with them.

Service in Paris is really good. It took time to get there.

Taxi organisations trying to get laws passed that outlaw competition. Basically, you have to wait 15 minutes.

Talking to the lawmakers? Waste of time. They make a service that people love. If they try to pass a law to stop it, the customers are going to speak up. Happened already.

Crazy laws. In South Korea, Uber is 100% legal. Except if the passenger is Korean. Travis was interrogated by the police 3.5 hours (police guy wanted a photo with him afterwards).

Disrupting a very old industry.

The customers slow down the political processes which are trying to outlaw Uber.

500 people in the company.

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