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A review by jeremyanderberg
Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber by Mike Isaac
4.0
It's impossible to read this book and not be reminded of last year's superb Bad Blood, which told the story of Elizabeth Holmes and the now-defunct Theranos. Holmes and Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick are remarkably similar in their egocentrism, their creation of a dysfunctional company culture, their delusion about their product and employees, and now, their Silicon Valley banishment.
The very real difference between the two stories? Theranos didn't have a real product, whereas Uber was basically printing cash for a handful of years, leading the company to be called the "unicorn of unicorns" (a startup valued at $1 billion).
Uber subversively wound its way into major cities (even internationally) breaking dozens of local regulations en route. But debut author and NYT tech reporter Mike Isaac, through hundreds of interviews, pulls back the curtain on the appallingly destructive and misogynistic bro culture that was lurking in the shadows. Kalanick is a bit like the Wizard of Oz — initially seen as a magical tech founder who could do no wrong, but is ultimately revealed as a troubled and deeply flawed leader.
In 2017, which Isaac calls one of the worst single years ever for a corporation, Uber was in the news a lot, mostly for ill. From the infamous Susan Fowler blog post, to Kalanick's involvement with President Trump's tech council, to the even more infamous video of Kalanick berating one of his own drivers, things couldn't have been much worse. The co-founder departed, decidedly not amicably, and now the company is trying to claw its way out of PR hell.
This is one of those books where the writing complements the story in such a way as to not be a hindrance. The focus is not on the words necessarily, but in how those words are carrying the crazy plot forward. Isaac finds this balance very well, as John Carreyrou did in Bad Blood.
Super Pumped is a page-turning and noteworthy book which adds to the growing library that exposes Silicon Valley’s not-so-glamorous underbelly, and one that will force readers to reconsider their use of not only Uber, but ride-sharing companies in general.
The very real difference between the two stories? Theranos didn't have a real product, whereas Uber was basically printing cash for a handful of years, leading the company to be called the "unicorn of unicorns" (a startup valued at $1 billion).
Uber subversively wound its way into major cities (even internationally) breaking dozens of local regulations en route. But debut author and NYT tech reporter Mike Isaac, through hundreds of interviews, pulls back the curtain on the appallingly destructive and misogynistic bro culture that was lurking in the shadows. Kalanick is a bit like the Wizard of Oz — initially seen as a magical tech founder who could do no wrong, but is ultimately revealed as a troubled and deeply flawed leader.
In 2017, which Isaac calls one of the worst single years ever for a corporation, Uber was in the news a lot, mostly for ill. From the infamous Susan Fowler blog post, to Kalanick's involvement with President Trump's tech council, to the even more infamous video of Kalanick berating one of his own drivers, things couldn't have been much worse. The co-founder departed, decidedly not amicably, and now the company is trying to claw its way out of PR hell.
This is one of those books where the writing complements the story in such a way as to not be a hindrance. The focus is not on the words necessarily, but in how those words are carrying the crazy plot forward. Isaac finds this balance very well, as John Carreyrou did in Bad Blood.
Super Pumped is a page-turning and noteworthy book which adds to the growing library that exposes Silicon Valley’s not-so-glamorous underbelly, and one that will force readers to reconsider their use of not only Uber, but ride-sharing companies in general.