Super Pumped: The Battle For Uber Quotes
"Success in athletics doesn’t happen by accident; it requires hard work and discipline."
"Often regulations fail to keep pace with innovation."
"Uber was protecting its drivers while confronting what they saw as a 'corrupt' taxi industry."
"There are forces all around you when you run a company, ready to take you out."
"It is in the VC’s nature to kill a founding CEO."
"They’ll jump so high, they’ll smash through the roof with their heads."
"The [CEOs] that survive are the ones that are supposed to be there."
"Nobody likes him, he’s not a nice character, but he’s so woven into the political machinery and fabric that a lot of people owe him favors."
"We could have chosen to use regulation to thwart our competitors, but instead, we chose the path that reflects our company’s core: we chose to compete."
"The candidate is Uber and the opponent is an asshole named Taxi."
"If you ask for permission upfront for something that’s already legal, you’ll never get it."
"Could Uber reach a point in terms of price and convenience that it becomes a preferable alternative to owning a car?"
"Every single ride-hailing car on the road in every single important market should have an Uber driver behind the wheel."
"Transportation as reliable as running water."
"The law isn’t what is written. It’s what is enforced."
"Every interaction was a negotiation, every opening a potential weakness."
"But the qualities that made him such an effective dealmaker had their flip side."
"Michael tended to mirror his partners, taking on the qualities of the group to fit in."
"At his best, he was a great drinking buddy and even better new friend."
"At his worst, he was an enabler—a partner who not only helped mastermind the plan but conspired in the coverup as well."
"Michael and Kalanick became inseparable, chatting strategy and business together throughout the day."
"They took trips to places like Ibiza and Greece together—boundaries between the two melted away."
"Uber would hold only three meetings with bankers per day for the span of a week."
"Uber had what was called 'negative churn'—a term often used to describe software as a service."
"By the time a customer used Uber an average of 2.7 times, they became a customer for life."
"Kalanick positioned Uber among the famous world-changing tech companies."
"As Kalanick whirled through his pitch deck, Michael kept an eye around the boardroom table for body language."
"The entire process, soup to nuts, took the duo three weeks."
"Mutual funds, investment bankers, overseas sovereign wealth funds, and foreign governments noticed the enormous wealth being created."
"Uber was Travis Kalanick’s company—and if you were lucky, he would let you invest."
"Google Ventures hustled to be invited to buy into Uber."
"Krane and his partners made a first-class presentation to Kalanick and Michael at Uber headquarters."
"Then Kalanick gave them the numbers: Uber, he said, wanted to raise $250 million from a single investor."
"As he had done with previous investors, Kalanick shut Google Ventures off from receiving regular, detailed information about Uber’s progress."
"Levandowski should have been ecstatic. Instead, a few years later, as Page was hashing out terms with Kalanick, Levandowski felt handcuffed."
"The reason I'm excited for this self-driving car project is the ability for it to change the world around you."
"Don't worry, Uber has great health care. We will pay for your medical bills."
"We want to hear you commit to us. We want to know you will never, ever do this again."
"So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak."
"I want to be in the driver seat, not the passenger seat, and right now feels like I'm in the trunk."
"I don’t want the FTC calling me about this, either."
"God, I can’t believe these people’s votes count the same as ours."
"No one else knows what they’re doing in ride-sharing. We have it figured out."
"We need to win, no matter what. Do whatever it takes."
"If Uber knew that a driver worked for Lyft, Uber could market itself differently to the driver—likely with cash bonuses—to entice them away from the pink moustache."
"Some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own shit."
"They blame EVERYTHING in their life on somebody ELSE."
"I need leadership help and I intend to get it."
"It’s clear this video is a reflection of me."
"I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up."
"You either shoot yourself in the foot, or the press will end up shooting you in the head."
"You aren’t a terrible person. But you do do terrible things."
"It’s hard to put a timeline on this—it may be shorter or longer than we might expect."
"With great success comes great responsibility."
"We are no longer considered a startup by the outside world."
"The ultimate responsibility, for where we’ve gotten and how we’ve gotten here rests on my shoulders."
"Sometimes it’s more important to show you care than to prove you’re right."
"I really think we’re on the right side of history here."
"All of these issues are causing tremendous damage to Uber’s brand."
"We believe the issues stem from deep-seated cultural and governance problems at Uber."
"Uber’s brand and market share will continue to erode, to the detriment of the company and all of its shareholders."
"If we do not adequately address these issues now, Uber’s brand and market share will continue to erode."
"I love Uber more than anything in the world."
"Shawn! I can’t believe it’s come to this! I can change! Please let me change!"
"Travis Kalanick was no longer the chief executive of Uber."
"Forgive my anxious tone, I’m leaving for Europe in fifteen minutes."
"Today, you made the impossible happen. I’m in awe."
"We have a signed resignation letter."
"Uber CEO 'Super Pumped' about being replaced by founder."