Serial entrepreneur and investor Gary Vaynerchuk (also know as Gary Vee) was one of the first investors in companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Snap and VenmoVee was also an early investor in Uberbefore the company completed a highly anticipated IPO in May 2019.
What happened:Ride-sharing company Uber Technologies Inc. Uber is a leader in the sector that did not exist decades ago. The company’s initial public offering in May 2019 was one of the largest at the time.
Investors who bought Uber shares before the company went public could get their investment back
Vee invested in the company early, but not as early as he wanted.
“One of the biggest mistakes of my investing career was passing up the opportunity to invest in Uber twice in the angel round,” Vee said recently on his Facebook account.
Vee recalled being in the “room where Uber was invented” but ruling out investing in the company prematurely on two separate occasions.
The businessman was friends with Uber’s co-founders Travis Kalanick and Camp Garrett and recalled being in a room with Camp after giving a speech at LeWeb.
“Wouldn’t it be great if there was an app on your phone and you could just call a limo to pick you up right away?” Vee recalled Camp saying in a backstage room to a few people.
Vee said his first thought was that this seemed like a rich people’s problem. Months later, Vee met with Camp and was told that the concept had already been created and was called Uber Cab.
Uber co-founders Camp and Kalanick hired a chief executive and outsourced the creation of the company’s app while they worked on other projects.
“The main reason I didn’t invest was because it was a side project.”
While Vee did not invest in the angel funding rounds, he did invest in Uber before the company went public.
“Part of the reason I invested in the next round was because my brother AJ made the first Uber ride in New York City when the founder of Uber came and asked us to test it.”
It was at that moment that Vee learned the importance of what Uber was as a company.
“That was the moment I realized: Uber doesn’t sell transportation, Uber sells time.”
Vee said Uber offers an app that is seamless and creates less friction than other transportation methods.
“The number one value that is emerging in society is time… people value time above all else.”
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Because it is importantUber raised $8.1 billion in its 2019 IPO with shares priced at $45 each.
Vee previously recalled that if he had invested his usual $25,000 to $50,000 check into Uber when he first got the opportunity, the investment would be worth between $500 million and $800 million by the time of the IPO.
Here’s a look at how Uber’s stock has performed since going public, with a chart from Benzinga Pro.
Although he lost his initial Uber fortune, Vee has had several success stories with the early investments and companies he founded. Vee has also used the lost opportunity as a learning lesson.
“I regret not investing in the company, but I’m also glad the market punched me in the face,” Vee said, as reported by CNBC. “I deserved it and I’m even more motivated by it now. That’s why I take advantage of every opportunity I can.”
Vee also shared in 2016 that Uber was a company that shouldn’t have happened the way it did, but it’s an important lesson for entrepreneurs and business leaders.
“Everything from calculating tips to ordering cars on demand is now at your fingertips and the market has embraced that idea. When these technological changes happen, many companies get left behind because they are too comfortable with their current successes.”
At the time, Vee said he wakes up every morning and thinks about how he could exit the business, focusing on how other ventures could affect his finances.
“By thinking about what they could do, I can do it and innovate in my business.”
Vee said Uber’s co-founders put most taxis out of business and Airbnb co-founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia It was able to compete with hotel chains such as Hilton.
“They innovated where their traditional rivals did not. They were innovators who saw the white space in the changing Internet marketplace.”
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Photo: Vaynor Media, public domain
