Emil Michael: How I Negotiated the $4B Uber-China Deal, Why DoorDash Caught Up to Uber | 20VC

Emil Michael is the Former Chief Business Officer at Uber and is commonly referred to as Travis Kalanick’s right-hand man. At Uber, Emil was instrumental in raising nearly $15BN from some of the largest investors in the world, making Uber the most valuable private tech company ever. Emil was also core to Uber’s China strategy and led deals with Didi and Baidu. Before Uber, Emil spent 9 years at TellMe Networks where he was central to Microsoft raising their acquisition price from $300M to $800M. Emil is also an advisor to some of the greats including Raf @ GoPuff, Zach @ Codecademy, Jared @ Fundera and many more.
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Timestamps:
0:00 Who is Emil Michael?
3:13 Bill Campbell's Mentorship
4:40 Lessons from Tellme
7:53 Negotiating Microsoft's Acquisition of Tellme
12:40 Founders vs. Markets
14:12 Framework for Dealmaking
16:30 How to negotiate with someone who is highly emotional
19:00 Biggest mistakes in deal making
20:33 DiDi's Acquisition of Uber-China
26:53 How Uber got funding from Saudi Arabia
28:43 Worst deal ever done
30:21 M&A Analysis in the Downturn
32:13 Founder Advice for the Downturn
37:46 Pay-to-Play Never Goes Well
39:21 Travis and Emil's Downfall from Uber
45:50 Emil's Honest Opinion on Uber's New CEO Dara Khosrowshahi
48:59 Uber's $30BN Mistake in Food Delivery
51:50 Emil's Return to being an Operator
53:05 Misalignments between Founders & Investors
55:13 Emil's Favorite Board Member
56:53 Is the explosion of capital into venture a good thing?
58:51 Which VC brands are winning and losing?
1:04:14 How did becoming a father change your life as an investor and operator?
1:05:37 Older Founders vs. Younger Founders
1:07:32 What do you want your legacy to be?
1:09:37 Emil's Favourite Book
1:10:17 When will Emil come back?
1:11:06 Could Emil be Twitter's next CEO?
1:11:55 Emil's Favourite Investment Advice
1:15:15 The End of SPACs
1:17:29 What makes Shakil Khan so special?
1:18:47 Next 5 years for Emil
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In Todays Episode with Emil Michael:
1.) From Politics to Travis’s right-hand man at Uber:
How did Emil make his way into the world of startups with TellMe networks?
Harvard, Stanford, Goldman, Politics, which career shaped Emil the most?
When Emil looks at his cohort of Ali and Hadi Partovi, Alfred Lin, and many others, what did they have that Emil believes is core to their success today?
2.) Negotiations 101: A Masterclass:
What is Emil’s framework for dealmaking? How has it changed over time?
What are the single most important elements to remember when making deals?
What are the biggest mistakes people make when negotiating?
What is the right way to use leverage in negotiations?
How can one handle an opponent that is emotional or irrational when negotiating?
How did Emil make Steve Ballmer @ Microsoft increase his offer for TellMe from $300M to $800M?
What is the single deal that Emil made that he regrets the most?
3.) Uber: The Journey to the Most Valuable Private Company:
Why were Emil and Travis removed from Uber? Does Emil think it was fair?
Is it true that Travis lost the support of the team? How did his removal take place?
How did the Uber China deal go down with Didi? What got DiDi over the line on the deal?
How did Emil raise $3BN from Saudi in just 60 days with Travis needing to attend only one meeting?
4.) Uber: The Review:
How does Emil assess the management and performance of Uber CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi?
If Travis and Emil were still in charge, what would Emil have done differently?
Why does Emil think Dara and Uber have made a $30BN mistake in food delivery?
Why does Emil think Postmates, Careem, and others have been the worst acquisitions in tech?
5.) The Venture Landscape:
Emil entered the world of VC with Coatue, why did he decide that VC was not for him?
How does Emil analyze the VC landscape today? Who are risers? Who are fallers?
What are the single biggest points of misalignment between founder and VC?
What are the core improvements that Emil would like to see made to the VC world?
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#EmilMichael #Uber #20VC #HarryStebbings

[@jaizrox]

Loved his character in SUPERPUMPED. Big fan.

[@emmanuelmwansa3890]

So crszy how people don't watch such profound information, this is pure Gold

[@josephendtrain]

This is great podcast. Well done again Harry and big thanks to Emil for his energy and for sharing so much!

[@praneshumashankar8319]

This interview is a new record for you! Thank you for your talent and hardwork!

[@zzzggg388]

This was one of your top interviews, Harry!

[@JacintaNjuguna]

This is a wonderful podcast, with very insightful negotiation techniques. Good job! 👏👏

[@nishankjain9391]

Super episode. Good learnings on negotiations that are actionable! Also, really liked what Emil wants his legacy to be! Will write to him to be my Bill Campbell. :)

[@arsenalman30]

what part is on the 30b mistake in food delivery?

[@yoshionimusha2636]

great episode🎉

[@adebelov]

Amazing!!!