Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 230) reports that as part of a Saudi investment of $3.5 billion into Uber, Kalanick received the right to appoint three new directors of his personal choice to Uber’s board — cementing his control over Uber.
Kalanick demeaned board as “irrelevant” and under his control
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 197) reports a conversation between Travis Kalanick and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Kalanick told Cook: “The board is irrelevant. I hand pick all of these guys. They do what I tell them, and the way I’ve structured things, I do what I want.”
One employee called another “faggot”
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 171) reports one employee calling another a “fagot.” He says there were no sanctions for the use of that term because the speaker had Kalanick’s protection.
Weak legal department “by design”
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 158) describes Uber’s legal department as not “particularly strong” which was “partially design” to increase Kalanick’s control. Isaac remarks that Yoo “would push back on Kalanick occasionally, but her fear of being ‘iced out’ kept her from getting in Kalanick’s face about every legal concern she had.” Isaac continues: “Yoo was often unable–and at times reluctant–to influence her boss. When she did decide to raise an issue with Kalanick, Travis regularly treated her concerns as just another annoyance, especially when they had to do with legal compliance.”
Withheld information from investors
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 131) describes Kalanick’s effort to reduce rights of investors:
Private companies aren’t obligated to make their internal statistics public, but investors with a significant ownership stake are generally given insight into the company’s financials. Kalanick, however, over time stripped some major investors of all “information rights,” and limited the degree of detail offered to others.
Isaac (p. 342) explains Kalanick’s response when investors demanded more information:
“So sue me,” he told [the investor]. “What’s your rep going to be in this industry if you sue your own company?”
Negative advertising towards Lyft
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped describes Kalanick’s attempt to “cripple” Lyft through negative advertising:
Uber found ways to mess with Lyft. All around San Francisco, Uber bought street signs and billboards targeting Lyft. Each billboard showed a large, black disposable razor blade with “Uber” printed on the handle, poised above one of Lyft’s pink, cuddly trademark mustaches. In the text behind the graphic, Uber made its message clear: “Shave the ‘Stache.”
(p.122)
Interfered with Lyft’s marketing events
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped describes Kalanick’s attempt to “cripple” Lyft, including by disrupting Lyft marketing events:
He’d send his own employees to the [Lyft] events, where they would show up in jet black T-shirts–Uber’s signature color–carrying plates filled with cookies, each with the word “Uber” written in icing. Each Uber employee had a referral code printed on the back of their T-shirt. The codes were for Lyft drivers to enter when they signed up for Uber, earning them a bonus.
(p.122)
Did not allow investors to fund both Uber and Lyft
Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped describes Kalanick’s attempt to “cripple” Lyft, including by preventing investors from funding both Uber and Lyft. With Uber larger and ahead, many investors chose only Uber. (p.121)
Encouraged regulators to pursue Lyft and Sidecar
In the period where Uber used properly-licensed black cars but competitors Lyft and Sidecar used ordinary vehicles, Travis Kalanick tried to get regulators to pursue Lyft and Sidecar. Uber leaders met secretly with San Franscisco transportation regulators to flag what they saw as violations. Source: Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped (p. 119). In addition, Kalanick personally blogged about the situation.
When Uber later launched UberX, with unlicensed vehicles much like Lyft and Sidecar, Kalanick wrote “We could have chosen to use regulation to thwart our competitors,” which Mike Isaac calls “disingenuous” in that Uber had in fact attempted to do exactly that.
Ignored early complaint from San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
In 2010, when Uber operated only in San Francisco and only with black cars, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency sent it a cease and desist order alleging that the company was violating existing transportation regulations. CEO Travis Kalanick was firm in his decision about how to respond to the cease and desist order: “We ignore it.”
Source: Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped, p.91-92