Vivek

Our room during YC when we first started Mixpanel in 2009. Stay strong founders. You got this!

It is 100% true that great men and women of the past were not sitting around moaning about their feelings. I regret nothing.

>be Travis Kalanick >born 1976 in Los Angeles >middle class, San Fernando Valley 1998: >co-found Scour >peer-to-peer file sharing >like Napster but for everything >Hollywood notices >they don't like it 2000: >33 entertainment companies sue >$250 billion lawsuit >company goes bankrupt >you're 24 >first company: destroyed by lawyers 2001: >start Red Swoosh >same technology, legal this time >grind for 6 years >company almost dies multiple times >sleep on floors >keep going 2007: >sell Red Swoosh to Akamai >$19 million >your cut: about $2 million >not rich, but free 2008: >vacation in Paris with Garrett Camp >can't get a cab >Garrett: "what if you could request a car from your phone?" >the idea sticks 2009: >co-found UberCab >start in San Francisco >push a button, get a ride >simple >revolutionary 2010-2014: >regulators threaten shutdown >you launch anyway >create demand, let users scream at politicians >politicians back down >repeat in every city >growth at all costs the tactics: >Greyball: identify regulators, show them fake cars >Hell: track Lyft drivers, poach them >move fast and break things >break a lot of things 2016: >Uber valued at $70 billion >fastest-growing startup in history >you own 10% >on paper, worth $7 billion 2017: >everything collapses >Susan Fowler's blog post >sexual harassment, toxic culture exposed >your mom dies in a boating accident >dad seriously injured >five days later, investors hand you a letter >demand you resign >you're getting coup'd >by people you made rich the manifesto (years later): >"I left Uber in 2017 heartbroken" >"I had been torn away from an idea and a movement I had poured my life into" >"an investor decided to exploit this vulnerable moment" >"I bled, but I did not perish" 2017-2018: >sell most of your Uber stake >$2.7 billion total >start something new >but go dark >full stealth City Storage Systems: >the name nobody recognizes >purposely obscure >employees not allowed to put it on LinkedIn >thousands of employees >invisible company >"we've been in stealth mode for eight years" CloudKitchens: >ghost kitchens for delivery apps >no dining rooms, just cooking >raise $400 million from Saudi Arabia >"can you get prepared food delivered so efficiently it approaches grocery store cost?" >"if you do, you do to the kitchen what Uber did to the car" March 2026: >emerge from stealth >rename everything to Atoms >not just food anymore >robotics for food, mining, transportation >"gainfully employed robots" >specialized machines, not humanoids >"the industrial thing is probably our main jam" the portfolio: >Atoms Food: "infrastructure for better food" >Atoms Mining: "more productive mines" >Atoms Transport: "wheelbase for robots" >acquiring Pronto, Anthony Levandowski's autonomous mining startup >yes, the guy from the Waymo lawsuit >the band is getting back together the backing: >reportedly has major support from Uber >the company that kicked him out >now funding his return >irony is not dead the manifesto: >"I got back up and fought my way back into the arena" >"back to my calling" >"back to building" >"digitizing the physical world is my life's work" from $250 billion lawsuit at 24 >to building the biggest startup in history >to getting coup'd at 40 >to eight years in stealth >to emerging with thousands of employees and robots Travis Kalanick. the most aggressive founder of his generation.

The CEO planning to replace me with AI hearing me ask for a rise...

Woke up to a pleasant surprise. First time getting paid on X. I was really expecting like $50-$100

“sir they’ve paid $100 for the Apple Developer account” “good. wait 2 days to confirm their account then reject the app 10 times over the next 20 days. if they make it through take a 30% cut of the revenue and pay them out 2 months later. ban them if they try using Stripe”

taking VC money is such a headache nobody tells you what actually happens after you take VC money. you stop building a company and start building a story for the next round projections have to be unrealistic, growth has to be aggressive "good business" stops being enough - it has to be venture-scale or you're failing by definition first-time founders chase funding because that's what X, TechCrunch, and every startup podcast celebrates. the raise IS the headline - the proof you made it they don't realize they just signed up for a completely different game I raised hundreds of thousands for my first two startups. both failed I'm now bootstrapping 5 SaaS products, trying to get each to $100K MRR. no board pressure, no forced narratives, 100% freedom - just building things that work for me VC money isn't bad. it's just a different game with different rules, and most founders just don't read them before signing the game you pick matters the most are you building a company or building a fundraising story?

Media businesses are so easy when someone tells you what metrics you should strive for: - 30-60 Day Break Even on Ad Spend - 3X ROAS on Ad Spend After 12 Months - 40%+ Email Open Rates - 0.5% Email Clickthrough Rates - 20% Email to SMS Conversion Rate etc.