uber

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce the party is abandoning its target to spend £28bn a year on green investment, Uber has reported its first annual operating profit, and the far-right winner of Dutch elections just can't seem to form a government. 

Mentioned in this podcast:

Labour set to ditch plan to spend £28bn a year on green investment

Geert Wilders struggles to find coalition partners in the Netherlands

Uber records first annual profits as market value approaches $150bn

Benjamin Netanyahu rejects ‘delusional’ Hamas terms for hostage deal

The FT News Briefing is produced by Fiona Symon, Sonja Hutson, Kasia Broussalian and Marc Filippino. Additional help by Sam Giovinco, Peter Barber, Michael Lello, David da Silva and Gavin Kallmann. Our engineer is Monica Lopez. Topher Forhecz is the FT’s executive producer. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. The show’s theme song is by Metaphor Music.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Tom Busby takes a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.

• In the US - we preview Disney and Uber earnings
• In the UK  - we detail how big oil is grappling with geopolitics and climate change
• In Asia - we look to the Lunar New Year and the health of the Chinese consumer

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Tom Busby takes a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.

• In the US - we preview Disney and Uber earnings
• In the UK  - we detail how big oil is grappling with geopolitics and climate change
• In Asia - we look to the Lunar New Year and the health of the Chinese consumer

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Today’s show:

Dara Khosrowshahi joins Bill Gurley, Brad Gerstner, and Jason Calacanis to discuss his initial reservations about joining Uber and how he overcame them (14:57), the early magic of Uber that captivated investors (22:36), a deep dive into Uber's future plans (45:50), and much more!

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Timestamps:

(0:00) Dara Khosrowshahi joins Bill Gurley, Brad Gerstner, & Jason Calacanis to discuss all things Uber

(2:41) Setting the stage for Uber entering 2024

(4:52) Untold parts of Uber's story

(09:38) Gusto - Get three months free when you run your first payroll at http://www.Gusto.com/twist

(11:38) Bill Gurley discusses Dara's selection as CEO

(14:57) Dara's initial reservations about joining Uber and how he overcame them

(20:57) Dara’s discomfort in the free-money environment of ZIRP

(21:43) Paintbrush - Visit http://www.getpaintbrush.com to see if you qualify for a $50K startup loan in less than 2 minutes

(22:36) Exploring the early magic of Uber that captivated investors

(26:27) How valuations impact founder mindset

(30:49) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/twist

(32:17) Discussing the relevance of secondaries in the near future

(35:02) Breaking down some Uber myths and Dara’s focus on drivers

(45:50) A deep dive into Uber's future plans

(51:31) Uber’s strategy with upselling as AI enters the conversation

(58:04) Bill Gurley on joining Zillow’s board and how innovation is needed in the real estate industry

(1:05:27) Brad Gerstner on markets

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Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp

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Check out Uber: https://www.uber.com

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LINKS:

Silicon Valley clip referenced:

https://twitter.com/StephNass/status/1745132141652877788

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Thanks to our partners:

(09:38) Gusto - Get three months free when you run your first payroll at http://www.Gusto.com/twist

(21:43) Paintbrush - Visit http://www.getpaintbrush.com to see if you qualify for a $50K startup loan in less than 2 minutes

(30:49) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://www.Squarespace.com/twist

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X:

https://twitter.com/Jason

https://twitter.com/dkhos

https://twitter.com/altcap

https://twitter.com/bgurley

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

*

Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

*

Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

*

Follow TWiST:

Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

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Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast

Will Larson is Chief Technology Officer at Carta. Prior to joining Carta, he was the CTO at Calm and held engineering leadership roles at Stripe, Uber, and Digg. He is the author of two foundational engineering career books, An Elegant Puzzle and Staff Engineer, and The Engineering Executive’s Primer, which will be released in February. In our conversation, we discuss:

• Systems thinking: what it is and how to apply it

• Advice for product managers on fostering productive relationships with engineering managers

• Why companies should treat engineers like adults

• How to best measure developer productivity

• Writing and its impact on his career

• How to balance writing with a demanding job

• How to develop your company values

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Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/the-engineering-mindset-will-larson-carta-stripe-uber-calm-digg/

—

Where to find Will Larson:

• X: https://twitter.com/Lethain

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-larson-a44b543/

• Website: https://lethain.com/

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Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

—

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Will’s background

(04:12) Changes in the field of engineering

(06:27) We need to stop treating engineers like children

(08:32) Systems thinking

(13:23) Implementing systems thinking in hiring

(16:32) Engineering strategy

(20:21) Examples of engineering strategies

(25:08) How to get good at strategy

(26:48) The importance of writing about things that excite you

(32:40) The biggest risk to content creation is quitting too soon

(35:24) How to make time for writing

(37:41) Tips for aspiring writers

(41:18) Building productive relationships between product managers and engineers

(43:45) Giving the same performance rating to EMs and PMs

(48:24) Measuring engineering productivity

(55:53) Defining company values

(01:02:10) Failure corner: the Digg rewrite

(01:11:05) Will’s upcoming book, The Engineering Executive’s Primer

(01:12:04) Lightning round

—

Referenced:

• The end of the “free money” era: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/11/techscape-zirp-tech-boom

• Work on what matters: https://lethain.com/work-on-what-matters/

• Sheryl Sandberg to Harvard Biz Grads: “Find a Rocket Ship”: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/05/24/sheryl-sandberg-to-harvard-biz-grads-find-a-rocket-ship/?sh=708c9a93b37a

• What Is Systems Thinking?: https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/business/what-is-systems-thinking

• Introduction to systems thinking: https://lethain.com/systems-thinking/

• Thinking in Systems: https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Systems-Donella-H-Meadows/dp/1603580557

• Silent Spring: https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Spring-Rachel-Carson/dp/0618249060

• Writing an engineering strategy: https://lethain.com/eng-strategies/

• Carta: https://carta.com/

• Eric Vogl on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericvogl/

• Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The difference and why it matters: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Strategy-Bad-difference-matters/dp/1781256179

• The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists: https://www.amazon.com/Crux-How-Leaders-Become-Strategists/dp/1541701240/

• How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything in Between: https://www.amazon.com/How-Big-Things-Get-Done/dp/0593239512/

• Technology Strategy Patterns: Architecture as Strategy: https://www.amazon.com/Technology-Strategy-Patterns-Architecture/dp/1492040878/

• The Value Flywheel Effect: Power the Future and Accelerate Your Organization to the Modern Cloud: https://www.amazon.com/Value-Flywheel-Effect-Accelerate-Organization/dp/1950508579

• The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win: https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Project-DevOps-Helping-Business/dp/1942788290

• The Engineering Executive’s Primer: Impactful Technical Leadership: https://www.amazon.com/Engineering-Executives-Primer-Impactful-Leadership/dp/1098149483

• An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management: https://press.stripe.com/an-elegant-puzzle

• Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track: https://www.amazon.com/Staff-Engineer-Leadership-beyond-management-ebook/dp/B08RMSHYGG

• Gergely Orosz’s newsletter: https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/author/gergely/

• Leaving big tech to build the #1 technology newsletter | Gergely Orosz (The Pragmatic Engineer): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/leaving-big-tech-to-build-the-1-technology-newsletter-gergely-orosz-the-pragmatic-engineer/

• The art of product management | Shreyas Doshi (Stripe, Twitter, Google, Yahoo): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/videos/the-art-of-product-management-shreyas-doshi-stripe-twitter-google-yahoo/

• Henry Ward on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heward/

• Vrushali Paunikar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vrushali-paunikar/

• Accelerate: The Science of Lean Software and DevOps: Building and Scaling High Performing Technology Organizations: https://www.amazon.com/Accelerate-Software-Performing-Technology-Organizations/dp/1942788339

• How to measure and improve developer productivity | Nicole Forsgren (Microsoft Research, GitHub, Google): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/how-to-measure-and-improve-developer-productivity-nicole-forsgren-microsoft-research-github-goo/

• DORA: https://dora.dev/

• Setting engineering org values: https://lethain.com/setting-engineering-org-values/

• Digg: https://digg.com/

• Kevin Rose on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrose/

• Digg’s v4 launch: an optimism born of necessity: https://lethain.com/digg-v4/

• Dash Gopinath on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dashgopinath/

• Rich Schumacher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richschumacher/

• The ALL NEW Don’t Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: https://www.amazon.com/ALL-NEW-Dont-Think-Elephant-ebook/dp/B00NP9LHFA

• Top Chef on Peacock: https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/tv/top-chef/5172289448907967112

• Hard to work with: https://lethain.com/hard-to-work-with/

—

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

Ebi Atawodi is Director of Product Management for the Creator Experience at YouTube, former Head of Product at Uber, and a former Director of Product (Payments and EMEA) at Netflix. Known for crafting a strong, unified vision, Ebi empowers her teams to achieve outsized outcomes. In today’s episode, we go deep into vision and strategy, including:

• The four key elements of a good vision statement

• Three ways to determine your mission

• The four pillars of great product management

• How writing helps you gain clarity

• How culture influences product

• Tips on how to structure a strategy session

• Advice on building team culture and improving work relationships

• What’s coming soon at YouTube

—

Brought to you by Sidebar—Accelerate your career by surrounding yourself with extraordinary peers | Jira Product Discovery—Atlassian’s new prioritization and roadmapping tool built for product teams | Wix Studio—The web creation platform built for agencies

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennyspodcast.com/crafting-a-compelling-product-vision-ebi-atawodi-youtube-netflix-uber/

—

Where to find Ebi Atawodi:

• X: https://twitter.com/ebiatawodi

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebiatawodi

• YouTube mixes: https://www.youtube.com/@EbiAtawodi/videos

—

Where to find Lenny:

• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

—

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Ebi’s background

(04:31) Four key elements of a product vision

(08:14) Examples of lofty but attainable visions

(11:43) Vision vs. mission 

(13:23) Examples of visions and missions from notable companies

(15:00) A simple framework for outlining a vision 

(20:51) Other methods for outlining a vision 

(23:29) The impact of writing clear headlines

(26:41) Using mockups to frame your vision

(28:24) A step-by-step approach to developing a vision

(32:58) Ebi’s “10 Things” document

(37:47) A quick summary of Ebi’s tips

(40:56) How to use the “10 Things” doc in a strategy session

(43:11) The three concentric circles of evangelizing 

(47:48) The cadence of developing a vision and bringing it to life

(49:26) Visions vs. micro visions

(52:58) First steps in developing a vision

(55:12) Infrastructure is the product

(56:39) Clarity and conviction, the main jobs of PMs

(59:58) Ebi’s narrative doc

(1:04:59) Conviction, its role in the job, and how to build it

(1:08:20) How to build company culture

(1:17:06) The monolithic culture at Uber

(1:19:09) The culture Ebi embeds in her teams

(1:23:58) How to evaluate your relationship with your engineering manager 

(1:26:02) What’s new at YouTube

(1:29:22) Ebi’s closing thoughts

(1:30:45) Lightning round

—

Referenced:

• Andre Albuquerque on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-albuquerque

• TED’s mission: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization

• Stripe’s operating principles: https://stripe.com/jobs/culture

• Microsoft’s vision and mission: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about

• Tesla’s mission statement: https://www.tesla.com/blog/mission-tesla

• Lyft’s mission on Comparably: https://www.comparably.com/companies/lyft/mission

• Ebi’s playbooks and templates: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tU3jpbq_xHcF4x1bdANCVBsO6rbQ8h1HqvdQfwGW4MA/edit

• Working Backwards Press Release Template and Example: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/working-backwards-press-release-template-example-ian-mcallister/

• Patrick Collison on X: https://twitter.com/patrickc

• Seinfeld meme: https://seinfeldmemes.com/you-know-how-to-take-the-reservation/

• Travis Kalanick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/traviskalanick/

• Wimdu: https://www.wimdu.com/

• Leaving big tech to build the #1 technology newsletter | Gergely Orosz (The Pragmatic Engineer): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/leaving-big-tech-to-build-the-1-technology-newsletter-gergely-orosz-the-pragmatic-engineer/

• The 48 Laws of Power: https://www.amazon.com/48-Laws-Power-Robert-Greene/dp/0140280197

• The God of Small Things: https://www.amazon.com/God-Small-Things-Novel/dp/0812979656/

• Outliers: The Story of Success: https://www.amazon.com/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell/dp/0316017930

• All About Love: https://www.amazon.com/All-About-Love-New-Visions/dp/0060959479

• The Bear on Hulu: https://www.hulu.com/series/the-bear-05eb6a8e-90ed-4947-8c0b-e6536cbddd5f

• Scavengers Reign on Max: https://www.max.com/shows/scavengers-reign/50c8ce6d-088c-42d9-9147-d1b19b1289d4

• Sleep Cycle: https://www.sleepcycle.com/

• Nanit: https://www.nanit.com/

• “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51642/invictus

• Burning Man: https://burningman.org/

—

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

—

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.

This Week in Startups is brought to you by…

Squarespace. Turn your idea into a new website! Go to Squarespace.com/TWIST for a free trial. When you’re ready to launch, use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.

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*

Today’s show:

First up, Jason takes on the news solo by breaking down Uber's Q3 earnings (2:23), reflecting on SBF's guilty verdict (13:39), and giving some takes on Biden's EO on AI (15:53). Then, Motive CEO John Habeck joins to break down building "Shopify for Car Dealerships" (21:39).

*

Time stamps:

(0:00) Jason kicks off the show

(2:23) Uber earnings report and Uber’s profitability

(12:17) Squarespace - Use offer code TWIST to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain at https://Squarespace.com/twist

(13:39) SBF’s guilty verdict

(15:53) Takes on Biden's executive order on AI

(20:11) House of Macadamias - Get a free month's supply of Macadamia Milk with any order at https://houseofmacadamias.com/twist by using code TWIST20!

(21:39) Motive CEO John Habeck discusses building a startup in a "sleeping giant" industry

(32:18) CLA - Get started with CLA's CPAs, consultants, and wealth advisors now at https://claconnect.com/tech

(33:17) Understand the TAM for "Shopify for Car Dealerships”

*

Referenced in the podcast:

https://s23.q4cdn.com/407969754/files/doc_earnings/2023/q3/earnings-result/Uber-Q3-23-Earnings-Press-Release.pdf

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/10/30/executive-order-on-the-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-development-and-use-of-artificial-intelligence

https://www.businessofapps.com/data/uber-statistics

https://twitter.com/EconomyApp/status/1721899291248324642

*

Check out Motive: https://www.ridemotive.com

* Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four

Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply

Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com

Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland

Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis

*

Follow Jason:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

*

Follow TWiST:

Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin

*

Subscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.founder.university/podcast

After a decade, billions of dollars and almost five years on the public markets, Uber has at last turned a profit. In the previous quarter, it made $326 million dollars. Today on the show, we ask: What took it so long? And why is it so hard to make money matching riders with drivers? Also, we go long the 10-year US Treasury, and short cultural criticism. 

For a free 90-day trial to the Unhedged newsletter go to: https://www.ft.com/unhedgedoffer

Follow Ethan Wu (@ethanywu) and Katie Martin (@katie_martin_fx) on Twitter. You can email Ethan at ethan.wu@ft.com.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi dropped by the Acquired studio for an Eats delivery, so we broke out the cameras and asked him to hang out for a wide-ranging conversation. :) We talk about his 20 years working with Barry Diller, starting his career at Allen & Company, how the Uber CEO search process ACTUALLY went down… and oh yeah, the massive transformation that’s happened at Uber over the past few years. When Dara took over the company it was bleeding huge sums of cash, losing share to competitors and embroiled in one of the biggest corporate controversies in recent memory. Fast forward to today and it’s turned cashflow positive while also having tripled revenue to over $30B (on $120B in GMV) and solidified its rideshare dominance in the US. And in perhaps the biggest change, it’s done it all while staying out of the headlines. Tune in!

ACQ2 Show + LP Program:

• Subscribe to our interview show, ACQ2!

Links

• Ben & David on My First Million

Sponsors:
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Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Thursday briefing: Missile strikes in Kyiv; abortion pill hearing; Texas trans bill; Montana TikTok ban; Uber for teens; and more

Read today's briefing.