How Uber Beat Lyft And Reached A $100B Valuation w/ Emil Michael (Former Chief Business Officer @ Uber)

The Dealroom with Shamus Madan

In this episode, Shamus Madan talks with Emil Michael about the importance of mentors, his career journey post-Harvard, and his transition to the public sector. They discuss the shifting honor from public to private sector and Emil's experience at Uber, including its growth, international expansion challenges, and evolution into a 'SuperApp'. They also explore the future of payment services and the impact of self-driving cars on ride-sharing. Emil offers advice for startups and shares about his personal life and political involvement.

Emil Michael immigrated to the United States in the early 1970s. Now well-known as the former Chief Business Officer of Uber, he was instrumental to the company's success. He led Uber's international expansion strategy and helped the company raise nearly $15 billion from key investors worldwide.

In today's interview, we discuss one of the most critical lessons Emil learned from his mentor, Bill Campell, who is famous for mentoring the likes of Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, and Steve Jobs. We will also understand his story and how he helped build Uber into the most valuable ridesharing company in the world.

Twitter of Host (Shamus Madan): @mbitpodcast

Twitter of Guest (Emil Michael): @emilmichael

(0:00) Introduction and guest Emil Michael (3:21) Importance of mentors and Emil's lessons from Bill Campbell (6:43) Emil's career journey post-Harvard and transition to public sector (15:21) Discussion on the shift of honor from public to private sector and Emil's journey to Uber (20:25) The growth of Uber and its international expansion challenges (25:25) Strategy behind Uber's evolution into a 'SuperApp' (29:44) Future of payment services and impact of self-driving cars on ride sharing (32:26) Advice for startups: decisiveness, speed, and financial conservatism (34:15) Emil's personal life and involvement in politics (35:07) Closing remarks and where to find Emil Michael