Kalanick: Elite founders are grandmasters; VCs are just enthusiasts checking in quarterly
Travis Kalanick · Excellence Is the Capacity To Take Pain | Travis Kalanick, Founder of Uber · Aug 16, 2026 · at 1:04:56
Travis Kalanick, co-founder and former CEO of Uber, discusses board dynamics and the fundamental information and skill disconnect between full-time operating founders and venture capitalists.
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“The way I think about it is an operator who's running a company is a, if they're good, is a grandmaster of chess. The VC, and by the way, that grandmaster of chess, this operator, entrepreneur, Is playing this chess match somewhere between 60 and 80 hours a week. And is like, really knows this thing. And it's like, knows many moves ahead and just sees things other people don't see and they're in it as well. And the VC is a chess enthusiast. And they check in on the chess match once every three months.”
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