[HN Gopher] Beyond the PayPal Mafia: A Case Study on the Uber Al...
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       Beyond the PayPal Mafia: A Case Study on the Uber Alumni Network
        
       Author : amrrs
       Score  : 19 points
       Date   : 2023-04-07 21:37 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (trailruncapital.substack.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (trailruncapital.substack.com)
        
       | indus wrote:
       | Isn't mafiadom a representation of a clique? Closed network for
       | the benefits of its members.
       | 
       | Not undermining the success of entrepreneurs but curious about
       | tech's obsession with mafia.
        
         | toomuchtodo wrote:
         | People want to be in the "in" group and desire status.
        
       | mi_lk wrote:
       | Not to undermine the good effort to put those data together. But
       | for reasons the author didn't mention she's ex-Uber who founded
       | Fast which was a disaster to put it lightly
       | 
       | https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/05/fast-shuts-doors-after-slo...
        
       | roopawl wrote:
       | Another commenter mentions the 'moral flexibility' of Uber. From
       | the featured photo this appears to be another attribute of the
       | diaspora. The business model of Arrived is frankly disgusting.
       | 
       | I highly recommend "Poverty, By America" if you'd like the
       | background for my comment.
       | 
       | https://www.amazon.com/Poverty-America-Matthew-Desmond/dp/05...
        
       | ipython wrote:
       | Don't forget that the secret formula also includes a certain,
       | shall I say, moral flexibility: https://gizmodo.com/portland-
       | says-uber-targeted-more-than-a-...
        
         | blaufast wrote:
         | I had lunch with an early Uber employee (male) who told me
         | 'wokeness killed uber'. He said the famous cultural issues
         | "weren't real", an if TK hadn't been ousted they'd have
         | destroyed Lyft completely in a few months.
         | 
         | A couple of months before the self driving car killed a
         | pedestrian in Arizona, a drunk engineer from that team told me
         | 'everybody is lying on their human intervention reports to the
         | state, that's just how the sausage is made'
         | 
         | Late Uber produces seriously impressive technology and mature,
         | reliable services. Early Uber was so errr.. problematic... that
         | I'd be hesitant to wear that as a badge.
        
         | roopawl wrote:
         | I think the moral flexibility of the diaspora and the people
         | who encouraged it for $ would be a way more interesting
         | article.
         | 
         | From the linked article linked about 'Fast':
         | 
         | Earlier this year, NPR reported on how CEO Holland had his
         | share of controversy in Australia prior to starting Fast.
         | Holland's former startup, Tow.com.au, which aimed to be "the
         | Uber of towing," failed in what at least one person described
         | as a "disaster." NPR's article noted that Holland's previous
         | venture was embroiled "in a multimillion-dollar billing dispute
         | with the Australian state government over towing and impounding
         | fees that led to the startup's liquidation in 2018."
        
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       (page generated 2023-04-07 23:00 UTC)