In today’s episode, I’ll be chatting with an Executive Editor of Fortune, Adam Lashinsky, about his new book Wild Ride: Inside Uber’s Quest for World Domination. Adam’s book is really interesting because not only did he spend a significant amount of time with Travis and the people who know him, but Adam also spent some time as a driver, giving him a perspective journalists don’t usually have. Stick around until the end too – there’s a giveaway!
If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.
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Intro
- Today we’re talking with Adam Lashinsky about Uber’s wild ride
- Adam is an executive editor of Fortune, and he’s the author of a new book titled Wild Ride: Inside Uber’s Quest for World Domination that will be released in May 2017
- Looking for an app to help automate how you drive for Uber and Lyft? Check out Mystro, a new app that puts you in control of the passengers you accept and when. You can register for their beta program here with the code RSGB3171
- You might also want to check out Stride Drive for mileage tracking – it’s now available on Android and iOS. You can track your mileage, expenses, and receipts from within the app – sign up with Stride here
An Interview With Adam Lashinsky
- Adam is executive editor of Fortune, where he oversees all live events and technology-industry coverage
- Wrote Wild Ride as a narrative first about Uber that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and went global immediately
- Also covers Uber’s controversial and infamous (and charismatic) CEO, Travis Kalanick
- Tells the story of Uber from the beginning up until recently
- Get your first audiobook FREE when you sign up with a 30 day trial of Audible! Sign up with Audible using our link to receive your first audiobook free here.
The Uber Narrative and Wild Ride
- There’s more to the Uber story than the story that’s told on Uber’s site – this is the story of Uber’s meteoric ride with Travis as well as Garrett Camp and Ryan Graves
- Adam was able to get a lot of access to Travis as well as people who know Travis well – got to know the “good, bad and ugly”
- Uber didn’t just appear out of nowhere: Travis learned a great deal from his initial companies, and he learned from his mistakes – although he wouldn’t put it like that
- Uber wasn’t the first company to discover rideshare. Other companies, including Lyft, beat them to a lot of innovations – but Uber just did it all better
Driving for Uber While Writing Wild Ride
- As a journalist, the opportunity to work for a company while writing about it doesn’t present itself often
- Adam wanted the opportunity to really illustrate what it’s like as an Uber driver
- Found out that Uber employees do drive for Uber – it wasn’t like this in the past
- Drivers are still just numbers to Uber though
Takeaways as a Driver and a Journalist
- Uber is a company full of contrasts – it’s gotten very big, very fast, but it’s still messy and chaotic
- How things can go wrong for Uber: if they can’t rebound from their badly damaged public image
- How things can go right for Uber: the amount of money they’ve raised so far and the loyalty of their customers, who prioritize convenience and cost over anything else
Outro
- I’m hosting a giveaway of Adam’s book Wild Ride – all you need to do to enter is leave us a review on iTunes, take a screenshot, and email it to harry@therideshareguy.com. For every 5 entries we get, we’ll pick one winner and send you a copy of the book!
- The book is really great because Adam does have a perspective of Uber many of us will never see – he talked to Travis and those around him plus worked as a driver to get a fuller picture than most
- In the end, while we do complain about Uber and while there are rightfully a lot of things Uber should address for drivers, we’re all pretty happy to have Uber around
- Feel free to reach out to me at harry[at]therideshareguy.com or follow me on Twitter @TheRideShareGuy
- Have a question for Adam? Leave your comments or questions below!
Show Notes
- Wild Ride: Inside Uber’s Quest for World Domination
- Review RSG’s podcast on iTunes to be entered to win a copy of Wild Ride by Adam Lashinsky – don’t forget to screenshot your review and email it to harry@therideshareguy.com
- Subscribe to iTunes and never miss an episode!
- Connect with me on Twitter
- Get your first audiobook FREE when you sign up with a 30 day trial of Audible! Sign up with Audible using our link to receive your first audiobook free here.
What are your predictions of Uber’s future – will Travis’ combative attitude toward everyone outside of Uber change for the better as the company matures and grows? Or do you think Uber will be just as combative in the future as they are now?
-Harry @ RSG
If you’d like to read a transcript of this podcast, please click here.
