Super Pumped

This review will be in the minority here - and I get it. The characters in the show are over-the-top, one-dimensional and almost cartoon-like in the way they're portrayed.

So why the "10"? Because ... that's what it's really like with some founders and their corporate entourage / enablers. If you've lived through that experience, like many of us who've been involved in high-growth Silicon Valley startups, it's scary real.

There are brilliant founders out there with god-complexes and a reality-bubble surrounding them. It's like a distortion field. You get close enough and you start buying into the warped reality they have. The more successful company becomes - the stronger the bubble gets.

Anyway - while this won't be great viewing for everyone, to those who've lived through stuff like this, it can be captivating. To be on the outside and look into the crazy, fevered frenzy that sucks people in like a cult is quite an opportunity for reflection and learning.

So - that's why for me, it has to be a "10".

I don't understand all the people moaning that this is like The Wolf of Wall Street. It isn't and even if it was, they're both about reckless entrepreneurs so what would the issue be? "Waaaah it's like the Social Network". Well they're both about tech startups, genius.

It's solidly acted. It's about things that happened, so again it's unclear why people are whining that it's "unrealistic"?

From the same guys that make the excellent Billions and you can see the stye and the tropes here as well as some of the same actors, which is no bad thing.

It's pacy and dynamic and moves along at quite a rate, doesn't outstay its welcome. Give it a shot.

I worked for several Silicon Valley start ups 25 to 30 years ago when the Valley was in its hey day. It's the reason I started my own company - I could no longer stand to work for domineering egotistical management. Super Pumped is a bit over the top in some ways but also an accurate depiction of today's tech start ups. People need to understand the mentality of these 'disruptive' genius's. Guys like Larry Ellison (founder of Oracle) was very much like the Uber founder - a ton of hype and in the end very successful but he did many under-handed things to get there (like shipping blank installation disks in the 90's because the product wasn't ready for prime time despite Ellison saying it was, plus Oracle's misleading and deceptive sales and ads).

Travis Kalanick is what Silicon Valley is today what Larry Ellison was 30 years ago. I do remember Uber going through terrible growing pains and they had to deal with hypocrites and corruption in local governments. I also vividly remember when NYC banned Uber for a short time until locals and businesses fought back against DiBlasio. I did a lot of business in NYC and can verify that the cabs at that time (10 years ago) were God awful. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, had sympathy for them and their broken down beat up unsafe cars and bad attitude cabbies. They overcharged and cabbies were blatantly dishonest. I started using Uber the moment it was available. Uber was a breath of fresh air at the time. However, today Uber has lost its luster imo due to inconsistent rates, unhappy drivers and surge pricing that customers despise. This limited Showtime series accurately depicts Uber's fight for relevancy. I specifically remember their 'Grayball' tactics on the West coast. Everyone was rooting for them at that time and they were very creative in getting around the rules until city after city finally accepted them. I have 2 beefs with this series: 1. Kyle Chandler plays the same role he plays in everything he does. He's ok in this series but not great imo.

2. I enjoy JGL as the Uber CEO/founder but it is highly dramatized and does have that Billions feel to it. He's good though in the role he's playing.

Overall it's a good watch and a *relatively* accurate depiction of Uber's struggle (and continued struggle) for profitability. It's stock price today is about half of the $45 IPO when it went public in 2019. It's been a terrible investment for shareholders. It's a business that burns through tons cash due to the high variable costs of scaling the business to meet demand. This series accurately depicts Uber's struggles and the ego's that get in the way of success.

As Episode 1 of "Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber" (2022 release; 7 episodes of about 50 min each) opens, it is "2011" and we are introduced to Travis. Kalanick, who is trying to get UberCab off the ground. But he is struggling on many fronts, most of all money, as he needs venture capital investment in the worst way. Travis is introduced to Bill Gurley... At this point we are 10 min into the opening episode.

Couple of comments: this mini-series is the latest brainchild of Brian Koppelman and David Levien ("Billions"). Here they take a look at the rise of Uber and what role Travis Kalanick played in it. Having seen 2 episodes to date, I was pleasantly surprised and frankly entertained as a viewer. As it turns out, I knew very little about how Uber came about, and the obstacles it had to overcome along the way. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is cast perfectly as Travis Kalanick, who not surprisingly isn't the most pleasant person to be around. Kyle Chandler is equally up to the task as the venture capitalist Bill Gurley. Travis' mother is played by none other than Elizabeth Shue. Umma Thurman (playing Arianna Huffington) was not in the initial 2 episodes. The production set is tops. For some reason, the initial 2 episodes feature a bunch of Pearl Jam songs, for no apparent or obvious reason. Please note that "Super Pumped" has already been greenlighted for a second season, which will have nothing to do with Uber. But instead will look at Facebook. Can't wait for that.

Episode 1 of "Super Pumped: The Fight for Uber" premiered on February 27 on Showtime. New episodes air Sunday evenings. Once aired, episodes are available on SHO On Demand and SHO Anytime (where I caught it). If you have any interest in understanding the rise of Uber or what it takes to run a company like Uber, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

UPDATE 4/11/22 I've now seen all episodes. I've upgraded my rating to 8 stars. Chilling yet absorbing mini-series that is must=watch, period.

Super Pumped is a limited series on Showtime based on the true events for the battle for Uber. The story centers around the cofounder Travis Kalenick who is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt thru all the ups and downs the start up withstood against the public, their employees, politically and to their drivers. The story was intriguing from the start with narration from Quentin Tarantino. I never knew Ariana Huffington was on the board for Uber and she was played by Uma Thurman. Kyle Chandler acted as Bill Gurley who was initially invested in the company and tried to control Travis and his egocentric management style. Half the time I am rooting for him and there are times I was expecting the company to fail. Bill Howe and Elizabeth Shue played Travis's parents. Travis was such a momma's boy, every time he was battling and losing he would cry to either his mom or to Huffington. Damon Gupton (David Drummond) and Chelcie Ross (David Borderman) we're also added to the board of directors and all the members eventually ousted Travis from his own company. Ben Feldman acted as Larry Page along with David Krumholtz as Sergei Brin the co-creator of Google. There were plenty of good actors with small roles from Fred Armisen, Bill Harper as Eric Holder, John Michael Higgins, and Hank Azaria as Tim Cook. Mark Cuban had a cameo playing himself. Overall great series that is better than Billions and definitely learned a few things along the way. Definitely check it out, very entertaining and never boring.