Uber was supposed to be the future—a sleek, tech-driven revolution in transportation. With the tap of an app, a car would appear, no questions asked. But behind the company’s meteoric rise was a culture of aggression, secrecy, and ethical shortcuts, all shaped by its co-founder and former CEO, Travis Kalanick. Kalanick was the archetype of the "move fast and break things" Silicon Valley founder—brilliant, relentless, and unapologetically combative. He pushed Uber to expand at all costs, bulldozing regulators, undercutting competitors, and fostering a cutthroat internal culture where winning was everything. But that same intensity had a dark side. ### <br>**"Hustle" at Any Cost** Uber’s internal motto was *"Always Be Hustling."* Employees were encouraged to be relentless, even if it meant bending rules or ignoring discomfort. Former workers described a frat-house atmosphere where managers openly made sexist remarks, HR complaints were dismissed, and women were routinely sidelined. Then, in 2017, a former engineer, Susan Fowler, published a bombshell blog post detailing systemic sexual harassment at Uber. She recounted how HR ignored her complaints about a manager who propositioned her, explaining that he was a "high performer" and they didn’t want to punish him. Her story went viral, sparking outrage and forcing Uber to launch an internal investigation. The findings were damning: a toxic culture where harassment was rampant, and leadership had turned a blind eye. ### <br>**Spying, Sabotage, and Scandal** Kalanick’s obsession with dominance led Uber into even murkier territory. The company was accused of using a secret tool called *"Greyball"* to deceive regulators in cities where Uber was banned. They allegedly tracked law enforcement officials and showed them fake versions of the app to avoid fines. Even more disturbingly, Uber was caught spying on competitors. In one case, they paid hackers $100,000 to cover up a data breach that exposed personal information of 57 million users and drivers. Separately, executives discussed digging up dirt on journalists who wrote critical stories. The message was clear: Uber would play dirty if it meant staying on top. ### <br>**The Fall of a Founder** The scandals piled up, and pressure mounted. Investors, fearing Uber’s reputation was beyond repair, finally turned on Kalanick. In 2017, he was forced to resign. His departure marked the end of an era—one where unchecked ambition and "growth at all costs" had spiraled into something much darker. Uber has since tried to reform, but the scars remain. The story of Travis Kalanick is a cautionary tale—a reminder that a company’s culture starts at the top, and when leadership glorifies aggression over ethics, the damage can last for years. What do you think? Can a company as large as Uber truly change its culture, or is the shadow of its past too deep to escape?