الاسم: ترافيس كالانيك

السن: 43 عامًا

الجنسية: أمريكي

اسم الشركة: Uber

الثروة: $3 billion

Marital status: أعزب

He grew up fascinated by modern technology and dreamed of conquering Silicon Valley. But his path to success was not paved with roses; it was lined with thorns that taught

Travis Kalanick, founder of global company Uber, believed in the importance of hard work and staying committed to his dreams and passions as a driving force for improving his life. How did he use an app to reach

إلى العالمية؟

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مرحلة الدراسة

Travis Kalanick was born on August 6, 1976, in Los Angeles, California, where he grew up with a passion for computers—a passion that led him to learn

programming in middle school.

Kalanick enrolled at the University of California to study computer engineering, then left in 1998 to join forces with his two friends, Michael Todd and Vissann Busam, to launch

his first entrepreneurial venture.

Travis, together with two colleagues, launched Scour, Inc., a company aiming to provide an internet search engine and file-sharing service.

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إفلاس مبكر

Despite the company’s relatively slow growth, it faced complaints from record labels and film studios alleging copyright infringement. As a result,

it was declared bankrupt in the early 2000s, and all of its assets were sold.

Travis did not give up after the bankruptcy. Instead, he bounced back in 2001 and founded Red Swoosh, which specialized in technology

and online sharing services.

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الفشل الثاني

The company succeeded in attracting many major clients, but in 2007 he had to sell it to Akamai Technologies for around $19 million.

Kalanick spent some time working in small-business and startup financing with his partner, Garrett Camp. But this time, despair got the better of him. He had turned 30,

and struggled because his aspirations did not match reality. He had failed to break into the famous Silicon Valley.

Travis suffered from a chronic crisis of confidence and became disheartened. He lost the desire to pursue his ambitions or move forward in life in general. But art’s message still has a magical effect

on people. He drew inspiration from the internationally renowned creative force Woody Allen, the director and philosopher behind the famous film Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Travis thought: “Allen was 70 years old, yet he succeeded in filmmaking and achieved great success worldwide. So why shouldn’t I work harder and accomplish more for the future?”

من العمل، وأحقق إنجازات للمستقبل؟!”

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فكرة “أوبر”

In 2008, while Travis and Camp were in the French capital, Paris, waiting for a taxi, inspiration struck: he came up with the idea for an app.

He worked tirelessly to bring the idea to life, launching Uber the following year.

Uber’s concept lets customers request and hire taxis through the company’s dedicated app. The service started with just three cars.

By 2012, the company had continued to expand into several cities. Within a few years, it had reached 66 countries and 360 cities worldwide.

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عزيمة وتنافسية

Travis Kalanick’s success did not go unnoticed. He earned a reputation for being highly competitive and was widely praised for using technology to advance

his business, harnessing smartphones and GPS to support his global app.

Kalanick remained determined to expand globally, particularly after his fierce competition with taxis prompted their drivers to organize large protests

in cities from Paris to London and Madrid, calling on governments to take action against “Uber” and regulate its service, which relies on

a group of foreign drivers to provide a competitive service without regulation.

“Uber” faced full or partial bans in some countries, including Thailand and the Netherlands, following court rulings against the company that accused it

of unfair competition.

Kalanick remained committed to expanding across Asia and worked hard to achieve that ambition. In 2013, he managed to grow significantly in China, but he faced

New challenges arose due to intense competition and government restrictions, until local rival Didi Chuxing acquired it in 2016.

Despite the new challenge Travis faced, he made determination and perseverance his guiding principles. He worked to launch the UberMOTO service in several Asian cities,

which focuses on providing motorcycle rides to its target customers.

Travis founded an investment fund in 2018 and made the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people, with a fortune of more than $3 billion.

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Lessons Learned:

الإصرار: Entrepreneurs show perseverance and determination, enabling them to overcome the difficulties and challenges they face.

عدم الاستسلام: Age does not hold people back from achieving great things and making their dreams a reality. Don’t let getting older discourage you—age is just an imaginary number that keeps increasing

With experience alone.

التأقلم: An entrepreneurial mindset adapts to its surroundings and strives to bring its best to compete strongly in the market.