Is this real life? Apparently MS banker Michael Grimes has been "moonlighting" as an Uber driver for years. This is the same guy who has led some of the hottest tech IPOs in the past decade. Why would somebody like him part-time drive for Uber?
The cynic in me thinks that this is A) a gimmick - leaked to WSJ by MS to one-up bakeoff competitors B) vastly exaggerated (maybe the guy drove once or twice) or C) done as a strategic ploy, years in advance, to gain positioning for the eventual IPO.
Thoughts?
Do you realize the kind of market surveillance he could do as an uber driver? The calls he can listen to, the meetings he takes people to, the information people tell their uber drivers is insane.
SO smart.
Can’t tell if serious
Not serious
Well, I once met a rich looking guy doing the Uber driver with a pretty nice Jaguar; of course I asked why he was doing that. His answer was striking: his son died from a drunk driving accident and he believed that by "ubering", he would avoid people to follow his son's fate.
I didn't ask for these feels
Thought we knew the sam guy when I read Jaguar. God that’s awful.
Being in that situation is the worst. You’re left to deal with the trauma forever and there was probably nothing you could’ve done before the accident to stop this kinda stupidity.
That's what it takes to become an uber-banker
...
Definitely an intentional leak
Good god this is beyond belief. Uber drivers are independent contractors, but they are still contractors. I'll bet you Uber's latest valuation that even a low level company employee can confirm in about two mouse clicks that Michael Grimes is or is not one of their drivers, and if he is, exactly where, when and how many miles he's driven.
And FB was a disaster? The stock is up 5x since the IPO. I need more disasters like that in my portfolio. And you have a poor understanding of how entrepreneurs are wired if you think Uber's CEO and board members would be offended by one of their potential bankers driving for them. Grimes probably doesn't need to work at all, let alone as an Uber driver. What this says it that he is making an extraordinary and unique effort to understand their business, which is probably the single biggest factor in banker selection.
How was FB a disaster? FB got a great valuation for the company itself and investors long term got a nice return. I thought the story was impressive. Not off putting at all.
How bad do you want to win? is the question I guess
iggs99988 does it anger you
I actually know a few people who drive uber for fun. One guy showed me his profile with his jaguar -_- they seem to find it funny
He did the same thing for Snapchat as well - obviously not on the same level as driving for Uber but showing that he's a user of the product is straight out of the playbook for Grimes. I forget where I read this, but there was an article that mentioned a client meeting where he got a call, and instead of taking it outside, he crawled under the table and took the call there. Sounds ludicrous but totally makes sense if you ever met the guy.
Need more detail pls. How big was the table? Were other people seated there?
success doesn't necessarily mean they're flush with cash. had that experience recently. got into a very clean uber and the guy had a custom suit hanging up in the backseat. without hesitation, proceeds to tell me his life story, here are the highlights:
it's possible this guy is still a rockstar dealmaker but has to dole out 50% of his gross income to an ex wife, pay her mortgage, pay his mortgage, and pay for kids in college, maybe uber is just a way for him to not spend money and make a little extra scratch.
I bet it's more of a gimmick, but these kinds of things are not outside the realm of possibility.
Funny enough - I know a couple of VCs who drive Uber on the side in the Sand Hill Road region to network with potential investors / companies.
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