Excesses at Las Vegas party

Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped reports excesses at an Uber employee event in Las Vegas. Total cost exceeded $25 million in cash plus $6 million of stock to performer Beyonce.  In addition to transportation and lodging payments, each employee received a prepaid Visa card with additional spending money. An employee called the event “baller as fuck.”

Yet Uber’s  communications leaders realized the risk to the company of such a lavish celebration. Employees were banned from wearing Uber apparel, and the Uber logos on corporate email accounts were removed so that a bystander glancing at devices would not know which company was spending so freely.

(pp. 26-29)

Outrageous Miami party required pointed instructions to employees

Mike Isaac’s Super Pumped describes a large party Uber hosted for employees — where company leaders anticipated such problematic behavior that they had sharp guidance for employees:

[Kalanick] went on to advise his staff not to throw large kegs off of tall buildings, and mandate no interoffice sex unless coworkers explicitly stated “YES! I will have sex with you” to one another.  He also noted that ny puking on hotel grounds would result in a $200 fine.  The email set the tone for the rest of the retreat.

(p.23)