Travis Kalanick Life Lessons

Travis Kalanick, the CEO of Uber, has a lot to his name. From bringing back a startup which was failed, to making its presence felt in more than 300 countries all over the world, Travis has come a long way. When he first began his journey in the year 1998, little did he know he was at the cusp of creating something truly great. Over the years, Uber has grown from being just an idea to being one of the most successful startups. Here’s taking a look at some truly inspiring lessons to learn from the man who made travelling a hassle free process.

1. It is okay to take risks

Nothing worth having ever comes easily in life. If you want something, you have to go out of your way to achieve it and through the years, Travis has taught us just that. The more you believe in yourself and the more you believe in your ideas, the more you know they will come true. The bigger your risks, the bigger your rewards and by making Uber what it is today, Travis taught us the importance of taking risks.

2. Start with small beginnings

When Travis started Uber, he started with a really small idea and a smaller team. With only four people coming together in a small room in San Francisco, Uber grew to a massive success through sheer hard work. However, with the zeal to realise their dreams and make them come true, this small team created magic by using passion as their potion.

3. Think of solutions

Finding the problem isn’t enough. Finding the solution is important. Work with your team, understand the root cause of the situation and figure out what really happened. The more you dig, the more you realise what the issue is and how it can be solved. A classic example was how Uber in itself came to be. When Travis realised there was a massive dearth of cabs in Paris, he realised the solution was to start a cab service company, an idea which eventually took over the world.

4. Don’t be afraid of the hurdles

Every time you work toward making your dream come true, there will always be hurdles that cause roadblocks. Ever since it was founded, Uber has had its fair share of issues. However, instead of giving up on the problems, the team always tackled them head on and worked on giving people what they want. Had they stopped UberMoto when it failed in Paris, they would not have a solution to the other problems in the world.

5. Make mistakes and learn from them

Making mistakes is a part of growing up, a learning process which has a steep curve toward success. One of the major reasons so many startups fail before they can hit the success mark is because they don’t look back on their mistakes. They don’t take stock of what went wrong and refuse to look at the things which happen out of plan. Learn from the hurdles, from the problems and find ways around them to successful ends.

6. Sell your story

One of the biggest things Travis believes in is the selling of a story. Weave magic with your words and sell your idea to the people who matter the most. One of the ways Travis sold the idea of Uber to his investors was by telling them to look at the world through the eyes of a taxi driver. Only when you truly take in everything with all the magic the world has to offer can you see the brighter things of life!

Through all the years of Uber’s growth and rise to success, Travis played a major role. If you think we missed out on any other life lessons from this visionary, comment and let us know.