Episode description

Emil Michael was the Chief Business Officer at $UBER during its hyperscale period from 2013 to 2017. He’s currently the CEO of DPCM Capital, and he’s also a strategic advisor to a number of amazing companies, including Codecademy, GroupMe and Taser. 

On this episode of World of DaaS, Auren and Emil cover everything from tech IPOs and Uber's stock performance to the future of AI, the relationship between Uber and Benchmark, and more. 

Emil shares insights into the reasons behind the delay in tech IPOs, the profitability of ridesharing companies, and the future for Uber and Lyft as they expand their food delivery businesses and explore new verticals. He also discusses the impact of higher interest rates on startups and the nuances of launching and operating marketplace businesses. 

Emil and Auren also have a candid conversation about Uber’s relationship with Benchmark Capital and how it affected the trajectory of the company– Emil thinks Uber could have been 2 or 3 times as large as it is now. He offers key advice for founders on choosing your VCs and keeping execs and the board in alignment. 

To close out, Emil also shares some counterintuitive management advice and insights from conducting over 3,000 interviews at Uber.  

World of DaaS is brought to you by SafeGraph & Flex Capital. For more episodes, visit safegraph.com/podcasts.

You can find Auren Hoffman on X at @auren and Emil on X at @emilmichael. 

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com)