Building Product & Ops at Uber (with Brian Tolkin)
05/05/19 • 45 min
[on Uber’s Early Organizational Structure] “Uber always thought about it as a twin-turbine plane: maybe for a short period of time, you could operate on one engine. But if you want to operate at full efficiency, you need both engines working in tandem and working effectively together.” Brian Tolkin, (@briantolkin)
We’re super excited to be joined by Brian Tolkin, one of Uber’s first ~100 employees who built their “Product Ops” organization and then went on to lead Product Management for UberPOOL and all shared rides on the platform. We dive into the nitty gritty of how Uber built their “twin turbine” engine of decentralized real-world Ops and centralized Tech Product, and how the organization evolved as it scaled. We also cover Brian’s new role at OpenDoor and the tight ops + product coupling they’re building now in real estate.
Sponsors:
- Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24
Be sure to follow the Acquired Podcast:
Links from the Show:
[on Uber’s Early Organizational Structure] “Uber always thought about it as a twin-turbine plane: maybe for a short period of time, you could operate on one engine. But if you want to operate at full efficiency, you need both engines working in tandem and working effectively together.” Brian Tolkin, (@briantolkin)
We’re super excited to be joined by Brian Tolkin, one of Uber’s first ~100 employees who built their “Product Ops” organization and then went on to lead Product Management for UberPOOL and all shared rides on the platform. We dive into the nitty gritty of how Uber built their “twin turbine” engine of decentralized real-world Ops and centralized Tech Product, and how the organization evolved as it scaled. We also cover Brian’s new role at OpenDoor and the tight ops + product coupling they’re building now in real estate.
Sponsors:
- Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24
Be sure to follow the Acquired Podcast:
Links from the Show:
Previous Episode
VC Term Sheets
Ben & David take their turn at the "power ballad" of VC blogging/podcasting, explaining how venture term sheets work. From valuation to pro rata rights to founder vesting, we leave no stone unturned in this episode. If you're a founder, work at a startup, or are considering doing one of those someday, this episode is for you!
Sponsors:
- Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24
Be sure to follow the Acquired Podcast:
Links from the Show:
Acquired LP: Demystifying Corp Dev (Sara Adler)
Next Episode
Reflections on the APLUSS IPOs so far, Uber+Lyft+regulators+autonomy, and listener Q&A
“Uber, pre-IPO, had raised more money than Lyft’s current market cap. And now, because they raised 9B in an IPO, they’re close to total money ever raised to being 2x of Lyft’s current market cap. It’s an outlier in every way.”
Ben & David reflect on what they’ve learned from the APLUSS IPOs so far, what’s ahead for Uber and Lyft, and tackle some longstanding listener questions.
Sponsors:
- Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24
Be sure to follow the Acquired Podcast:
Links from the Show:
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