Story%20of%20Uber

After%20getting%20into%20an%20argument%20over%20the%20fare%20with%20a%20local%20cab%20driver%20in%20Mexico%2C%20Travis%20Kalanick%20jumped%20out%20of%20the%20moving%20cab.%20The%20incident%20would%20leave%20him%20with%20a%20dislike%20for%20conventional%20cabs.%20A%20few%20years%20later%2C%20he%20founded%20Uber.%20Under%20him%2C%20Uber%20%u2013%20went%20from%203%20drivers%20to%203.9%20million%20drivers%2C%20became%20the%20highest%20valued%20private%20company%20in%20the%20world%20and%20made%20him%20a%20famous%20billionaire%2C%20all%20within%20seven%20years.%20Then%2C%20he%20was%20fired.%20The%20Uber%20Story%20offers%20inspiration%2C%20but%20also%20warns%20about%20the%20consequences%20of%20pushing%20the%20limits%20too%20far.%0A%0AThe%20Uber%20Story%20formally%20began%20in%202008%2C%20when%20Travis%20Kalanick%20and%20Garrett%20Camp%20met%20at%20LeWeb%2C%20a%20tech%20conference%20in%20Paris.%20Like%20all%20seasoned%20entrepreneurs%2C%20both%20had%20founded%20a%20string%20of%20failed%20start-ups%2C%20before%20hitting%20pay-dirt%20with%20Red%20Swoosh%20%28acquired%20for%20%2419%20million%29%20and%20StumbleUpon%20%28acquired%20for%20%2475%20million%29%20respectively.%20They%20talked%20about%20the%20idea%20of%20people%20hailing%20rides%20using%20their%20phones.%20After%20this%20brief%20discussion%2C%20both%20of%20them%20returned%20to%20California.%0A%0AIn%202009%2C%20Camp%20began%20working%20on%20the%20ride%20hailing%20service%20as%20a%20side%20project%20and%20roped%20in%20Kalanick%20as%20a%20partner.%20They%20bought%20the%20domain%20UberCabs.com.%20After%20creating%20a%20working%20platform%20to%20hail%20rides%2C%20UberCabs%20had%20a%20beta%20launch%20in%20San%20Francisco%20with%203%20luxury%20cars%2C%20in%202010.%20Platform%20businesses%20have%20a%20very%20interesting%20phenomenon%20called%20Network%20Effects.%20As%20the%20number%20of%20users%20on%20a%20platform%20increases%2C%20sellers%20flock%20onto%20that%20platform%20in%20order%20to%20sell%20their%20products%20and%20vice%20versa.%20Amazon%20is%20a%20prime%20example%20%28no%20puns%20intended%29%20of%20such%20a%20phenomenon.%20These%20businesses%20manage%20to%20corner%2070-80%25%20of%20the%20market%20without%20using%20any%20predatory%20tactics.%20Uber%20became%20one%20such%20%u201Cnatural%20monopoly%u201D%20in%20San%20Francisco.%20The%20timing%20for%20Uber%20couldn%u2019t%20have%20been%20better%2C%20smartphone%20usage%20was%20increasing%20rapidly.%20People%20found%20Uber%20to%20be%20very%20convenient.%20Word-of-mouth%20helped%20Uber%20grow%20immensely.%20Drivers%20and%20users%2C%20flicked%20to%20Uber.%20However%2C%20it%20soon%20received%20a%20cease%20and%20desist%20order%20in%20San%20Francisco%2C%20for%20using%20the%20word%20%u201Ccab%u201D%20in%20its%20name.%20The%20solution%20was%20simple%3B%20it%20went%20from%20UberCabs.com%20to%20Uber.com.%0A%0AWith%20Kalanick%20as%20CEO%2C%20Uber%20grew%2C%20and%20it%20grew%20exponentially.%20To%20fund%20its%20hunger%20for%20growth%2C%20Uber%20raised%20%2411%20million%20from%20Benchmark%20Capital%20in%202011.%20The%20money%20was%20used%20to%20fund%20operations%20in%20new%20cities.%20The%20business%20model%20of%20outsourcing%20cars%20and%20drivers%20through%20contracts%2C%20helped%20keep%20investments%20and%20costs%20low.%20Unlike%20traditional%20cab%20firms%2C%20it%20did%20not%20have%20to%20pay%20any%20employee%20benefits%20to%20its%20drivers.%20Cab%20firms%20have%20to%20pay%20hefty%20license%20fees%20to%20run%20cabs%20in%20a%20city.%20Since%20Uber%20did%20not%20register%20itself%20as%20a%20Cab%20Company%2C%20it%20was%20free%20of%20these%20shackles.%20Legal%20loopholes%20helped%20Uber%20push%20through%20these%20issues.%0A%0ABy%202012%2C%20Uber%20had%20launched%20a%20new%20product%20called%20UberX%20for%20low%20cost%20rides.%20Uber%20got%20into%20the%20relatively%20less%20affluent%20market%20segment.%20In%20the%20same%20year%20it%20expanded%20to%20Canada%20and%20the%20UK.%20By%202013%2C%20people%20could%20use%20their%20personal%20cars%20for%20sharing%20rides%20on%20UberX.%20It%20became%20a%20great%20combination%20of%20the%20gig%20economy%20and%20the%20sharing%20economy.%20By%20the%20end%20of%202013%2C%20Uber%20raised%20%24258%20million%2C%20which%20valued%20it%20at%20%243.5%20billion.%20This%20was%2022x%20the%20original%20amount%20it%20had%20raised%20just%20two%20years%20back%20in%20its%20first%20round%20of%20funding.%0A%0AThis%20blistering%20growth%20came%20at%20a%20cost.%20%20Journalists%20wrote%20articles%20about%20the%20extremely%20aggressive%20culture%20fuelled%20by%20Travis%20Kalanick.%20The%20culture%20was%20called%20%u201Ctoxic%u201D.%20Despite%20these%20rumours%2C%20Uber%20raised%20%241.2%20billion%20at%20a%20valuation%20of%20%2440%20billion%20in%20the%20same%20year.%20It%20also%20launched%20UberFRESH%2C%20which%20would%20later%20pivot%20to%20become%20the%20famous%20food%20delivery%20platform%20UberEats.%0A%0ABy%202015%2C%20even%20though%20Uber%20was%20still%20growing%20at%20a%20fast%20pace%2C%20the%20tide%20had%20st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