Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber by Mike Isaac (4 stars)

This is a fascinating insight into one of Silicon Valley's unicorns. Uber was so successful it became a way for dozens of other startups to describe themselves: "Uber for ...".

Even though I read all of the NY Times articles as they unfolded at the time, this was a good read, and I learned some things. My two main takeaways were:

1. Toxic culture that starts at the top will infest every part of the organization.

2. Kalanick was really good at pitching VCs, raising money, and keeping complete control over the company despite enormous outside investment.

Of these, I knew there was going to be a lot in here about the toxic culture, and I was mostly surprised by how far and deep it seemed to run. The second was new to me. 

As more and more problems emerged with Uber I kept asking why the board hadn't kicked Kalanick out of the CEO role, and the answer is in this book. He had been through the fire with many VCs and previous companies, and by the time he founded Uber he knew all the tricks for how to lock out the investors from wresting control of the company, even if the CEO was driving it into the ground.

Here's my highlighted phrases.

Toxicity

More than most other tech companies, Uber prized the almighty Masters of Business Administration, a degree that signaled business acumen and, often, an alpha male mindset. Not every MBA grad was an asshole, by any means. It just seemed that many of the ones who were assholes tended to feel at home joining Uber.

At Uber, being cutthroat and competitive was considered an asset, not a liability.

Mohrer thought he was empowering his staff, and felt like his high expectations were a good management strategy. But around the office, according to two employees, he seemed like a shorter version of Biff Tannen, the high school bully antagonist from Back to the Future.

Some women at the Chelsea office felt alienated by management. To some staff, Mohrer appeared more comfortable with his “bros,” other alpha-male types who shared his frat-like mentality, and the office culture reflected as much.

Employee treatment

Have a free meal, you only have to work 12 hour days to get it:

Though employees were fed for free at work, Mohrer followed Travis’s lead and delayed dinner until 8:15 p.m.

Even during recruiting, prospective employees were treated poorly. The company had designed an algorithm that determined the lowest possible salary a candidate might accept before making an offer to them, a ruthlessly efficient technique that saved Uber millions of dollars in equity grants.

Do anything to win

The reality was much less noble. As Uber’s insurance costs grew exponentially, the “Safe Rides Fee” was devised to add $1 of pure margin to each trip, according to employees who worked on the addition.

After the money was collected it was never earmarked specifically for improving safety. “Driver safety education” consisted of little more than a short, online video course. In-app safety features weren’t a priority until years later. “We boosted our margins saying our rides were safer,” one former employee said. “It was obscene.”

Silicon Valley excess

Kalanick had paid Beyoncé $6 million in Uber restricted stock units for her performance.

4 stars