Operators Ep 16: Emil Michael (ex-Uber)

Emil Michael was the former Chief Business Officer at Uber.  Prior to joining Uber, Emil worked at two other successful tech companies: Tellme Networks (acquired by Microsoft) and Klout (acquired by Lithium).  He also worked for the Secretary of Defense for a term, and started his career with a brief stint at Goldman Sachs.

In this episode we talk about why Emil disagrees with the famous adage “great companies are bought not sold”, why he feels that the art of business development is getting lost in Silicon Valley, how he closed an $8B deal in 30 days, and why UberX was the turning point for him. He also shares his thoughts on forming partnerships with huge companies like American Express and Toyota, why we don’t need to get jealous when other people get lucky, and his rationale that Silicon Valley still has the most concentrated ecosystem of tech in the world.

I hope you enjoy the show.

Full transcript available.

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