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July 2013. An email from @allenpenn said I am Uber India’s first employee.
I walked out of my home with no office, no team, no drivers, no playbook. Just the city of Bangalore and most importantly, a directive from Travis saying, “Go build it.”
That moment changed my life. Not because of Uber. Because of how Travis taught me to see the world.
He’s one of my top five heroes. Not in a poster-on-the-wall way but in a rewired-how-my-brain-works way.
Before Travis, obstacles were just obstacles. After working with him, obstacles became the whole point.
The harder the problem, the clearer the signal: no one else has solved it yet.
That’s not a motivational quote. That’s an operating system he installed in me.
The confidence I have today to build Basil with @HR_starryeyes didn’t come from an MBA or a book. It came from watching Travis take on entire industries and governments and simply say: “We’re doing this anyway. We won't take no for an answer”.
Yep he left Uber.
But Builders don’t retire. They reload.
Travis was always building. Always thinking. Always in the arena. The world just couldn’t see it.
Now with Atoms, everyone can.
But here’s what I really want: I want @travisk to talk more. Write more. Share more.
Because there are thousands of founders in India and around the world, sitting in small rooms, staring at impossible problems. They need to hear from someone who didn’t just build a company, but changed how a generation thinks about building.
He shaped me. I know he can shape many more.
Welcome back, TK. Write and share more!
travis kalanick@travisk
Atoms. atoms.co/vision
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