Shafqat Islam’s phone was ringing. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the number on the screen. It said unknown, but he took the call anyway.
"Hi, this is Travis," a voice said. "I know Lukas Biewald, and he said you were the only guy he knew in Switzerland."
Islam, part of the tech team at Merrill Lynch Bank Suisse, sat up and wracked his brain.
Biewald? He had met the man once or twice, but he certainly didn't know this Travis character.
"Let's go out!" prodded the restless out-of-towner.
Islam resisted. It was getting late and he was tired. He wasn't in the mood to give his night to a stranger.
"Come on, I'm only in town one night!" Travis persisted. "You gotta show me Geneva!"
Islam finally gave in. He hopped in his second-hand BMW, picked up Travis and took him to a favorite bar, where Islam learned a bit more about the mystery man. A tech founder named Travis Kalanick, he’d sold a startup for millions to Akamai. He was now an investor in a couple of companies, including CrowdFlower, which was run by their mutual friend. After a night of drinking and swapping tech war stories, the pair parted ways.
Years later, they met again at a business event in the States. Islam had founded a content marketing company called NewsCred. Kalanick was running a startup called Uber, designed to link car services and passengers at the tap of a finger.
Now that Kalanick's startup has grown into one of the world’s most admired tech companies, recently valued at $3.4 billion, Islam can’t help wondering: Was he the world's first Uber driver?
"Travis pressed a button and I was his ride for the night!" Islam says now, reflecting on that fateful evening. "I wonder if he has ever put that together."
Now 37, Kalanick has recently found himself anointed king of Silicon Valley, his unlikely throne, that car-service app — or perhaps more accurately, a real-time, mobile logistics company, for which the town car business is likely just the beginning.
Founded just three and a half years ago, the service works like magic. Press a button on your smart phone to summon a ride. A few minutes later — during which you can chart a driver’s progress toward your location — up rolls the car. The driver doesn't accept cash, not even for a tip. Instead the app automatically charges the passenger's credit card once the transaction is complete. Then, both the customer and driver rate each other on Uber's application. (Passengers who leave a driver waiting may see their ratings fall, which can result in fewer drivers agreeing to pick them up.)
Read more:
All Hail The Uber Man! How A Sharp-Elbowed Guerrilla Marketer Named Travis Kalanick Became Silicon Valley's Newest Star - Business Insider
