Case Study: The Meteoric Rise and Fall of Uber’s

Founder Travis Kalanick

Travis Kalanick is an American entrepreneur and the co-founder of Uber Technologies Inc., a
ride-hailing company that revolutionized the transportation industry. He was born on August 6,
1976, in Los Angeles, California. Kalanick grew up in a middle-class family and showed an
early interest in entrepreneurship.

Kalanick attended the University of California, Los Angeles, but dropped out before completing
his degree to pursue his entrepreneurial ventures. He co-founded his first startup, Scour, a peer-
to-peer file-sharing company, in 1998. However, Scour faced significant legal challenges related
to copyright infringement and was eventually forced to file for bankruptcy.

Kalanick went on to found several other startups, including Red Swoosh, a content delivery
network, and Uber, which he co-founded in 2009 with Garrett Camp. Under Kalanick’s
leadership, Uber grew rapidly, expanding into hundreds of cities around the world and attracting
billions of dollars in investment.

However, Kalanick’s tenure at Uber was also marked by numerous controversies and scandals
related to the company’s workplace culture, business practices, and legal challenges. In 2017,
following mounting pressure from investors and a series of high-profile scandals, Kalanick
resigned from his role as CEO of Uber. This case study will examine the factors that contributed
to Kalanick’s rise and fall at Uber, as well as the lessons that can be learned from his experience.

Background

Travis Kalanick co-founded Uber in 2009 with the goal of disrupting the traditional taxi industry.
The company’s innovative model, which used a smartphone app to connect riders with drivers,
quickly gained popularity and helped Uber expand rapidly around the world. By 2016, Uber was
operating in more than 500 cities and had become one of the most valuable startups in the world.

Factors Contributing to Kalanick’s Success

There were several factors that contributed to Kalanick’s success at Uber. One of the most
significant was his willingness to take risks and pursue aggressive expansion strategies. Kalanick
was known for his “growth at all costs” mentality, which helped Uber expand into new markets
and outcompete traditional taxi companies. He was also skilled at attracting top talent and raising
large sums of capital from investors, which helped fuel Uber’s growth.
Another key factor was Kalanick’s ability to leverage technology to disrupt the taxi industry.
Uber’s smartphone app was a game-changer, making it easy for riders to hail a car and for
drivers to find passengers. This helped Uber gain a competitive advantage over traditional taxi
companies, which were slow to adopt new technologies.

Finally, Kalanick’s vision for Uber as a platform for transportation, rather than just a ride-hailing
service, helped the company expand into new areas, such as food delivery and freight
transportation. This broadened the company’s potential market and revenue streams, making it
more attractive to investors.

Controversies and Scandals

Despite his successes, Kalanick was also at the center of numerous controversies and scandals
during his tenure as CEO. One of the most significant was related to the company’s workplace
culture, which was described as aggressive and toxic. In 2017, former Uber engineer Susan
Fowler published a blog post detailing her experience of harassment and discrimination at the
company, which led to a broader investigation into the company’s culture. The investigation
revealed a range of issues, including allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination, and
retaliation against employees who spoke out against these practices.

Kalanick was also criticized for engaging in questionable business practices, including using
secret software to evade regulators and engaging in aggressive tactics to undermine competitors.
For example, in 2014, Uber was accused of using a program called “God View” to track the
location of riders and monitor their movements without their consent. Uber was also accused of
engaging in price-fixing with its drivers and using fake accounts to book rides with rival ride-
hailing services, such as Lyft.

Finally, Uber also faced significant financial challenges during Kalanick’s tenure. The company
lost billions of dollars in its efforts to expand globally and compete with other ride-hailing
services. Investors also grew increasingly concerned about the company’s mounting losses and
the lack of a clear path to profitability.

Question: What do we learn from the case?

Lessons Learned

There are several lessons that can be learned from Kalanick’s experience at Uber. One of the
most important is the need for strong corporate governance and oversight. Kalanick was known
for his hands-on management style and tendency to micromanage the company, which may have
contributed to the culture of aggressiveness and lack of accountability at Uber. Companies must
have checks and balances in place to ensure that executives are held accountable for their actions
and that employees are treated with respect and dignity.
Another lesson is the importance of ethical leadership. Kalanick’s aggressive growth strategies
and questionable business practices ultimately damaged Uber’s reputation and led to significant
legal and regulatory challenges. Companies must prioritize ethical decision-making and
transparency in all their operations, particularly in industries that are prone to disruption and
controversy.

Furthermore, the importance of diversity and inclusion cannot be overstated. The toxic
workplace culture at Uber, which was characterized by sexism and discrimination, was a
significant factor in Kalanick’s downfall. Companies must prioritize diversity and inclusion
initiatives to ensure that employees from all backgrounds feel valued and supported.