Celebrate, Don't Criticize, Uber

By any count, Uber is a brilliant market disruptor. Its founders were prescient and extraordinarily creative. The company joins only a very small group of others, such as Apple, Amazon, BestCashCow and Google that have totally changed the very nature of life in the 21^st Century. It is a game changer for transportation, for job creation and for consumer choice.

Uber’s model has changed the way we travel and live in a matter of only a few years. It is a technology pioneer playing in a sharing economy, developing new and bold models for the movement of individuals, groups and products in over 500 cities worldwide. And, it has taken on over 70 years of conditioning around fixed pricing of taxis and other transportation. Its experiments continue to push boundaries in self-driving, helicopter rides and traffic mapping technology to name only a few.

By any definition, our lives have been changed importantly by this company. As any disruptor as significant as Uber, they have made mistakes. They have faced protests, legal action, privacy challenges, and sexual harassment allegations. But, what they have done right, they have really done right. And, we have all benefited greatly from their boldness and creativity.

Investors, critics and the public at large need to remain mindful of what Travis Kalanick and his team have done and what they will continue to do for us and for our lives in this century. It is easy to be a critic. It is far harder to change our world.