Uber Is Utopia

The revenge of the status quo is brutish. “If you attack the establishment long enough and hard enough, they will make you a member of it,” humorist Art Buchwald once observed. Those words never seemed truer than at the “Uber Turns Five” celebration at its San Francisco digs Wednesday. In the disruption economy, five years can carry a ride-service giant from disruptor to establishment.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick certainly has matured. Last year, the startup went on a “charm offensive” in an attempt to quell stories about Uber’s testosterone culture. That didn’t go swimmingly. A male exec told a New York editor that Uber should hire top opposition researchers to dig up dirt on media critics — in particular PandoDaily Editor Sarah Lacy, to retaliate against her protest of the company’s “sexism and misogyny.” It was a nasty ride.

Still, as Kalanick likes to say, Uber is “passionate about learning” from its mistakes. This year, Kalanick brought his mother. He teared up when he talked about her.

And who introduced him? Not some oozing-money venture-capital jockey but a military wife who became an Uber “driver partner” this year. Theresa Ferguson got all choked up as she talked about how being a driver has allowed her to not only spend more time with her three kids but also volunteer one day at her son’s school. “Uber has allowed me to be my own boss,” she proclaimed in a touching “I am woman” moment.

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