You probably think of Uber as this giant, faceless machine that just exists. But it started with two guys shivering on a sidewalk in Paris, unable to find a taxi. Classic startup lore, right?
Honestly, the answer to who is the founder of uber isn't just one name you can slap on a plaque. It was a duo: Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick. While Kalanick became the face of the company—the "move fast and break things" guy who eventually got pushed out—the whole thing was actually Garrett Camp’s brainchild.
The $800 Cab Ride and the Paris "Aha!" Moment
It’s 2008. Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp are in Paris for the LeWeb tech conference. It’s snowing. They can’t get a cab. This wasn't just a minor annoyance; it was the spark. Camp had already been obsessed with the "taxi problem" back in San Francisco.
He had once spent $800 on a private driver for a New Year’s Eve night out and felt like there had to be a way to make that luxury accessible. He kept thinking: What if you could just tap a button on your phone and a car showed up?
Kalanick initially wasn't even the "founder" in the way we think. He was more of a "mega-advisor." Camp was the one who bought the domain UberCab.com and spent his own money developing the first prototype. He even brought in his friends Oscar Salazar and Conrad Whelan to build the actual app.
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Why the Name "UberCab" Had to Die
The company didn't start as the Uber we know. It was UberCab.
It was a black car service for the elite. You couldn't just hop in a random Toyota Prius. You were getting a high-end Mercedes or a Town Car. It was about "rolling in style."
- The Cease and Desist: In 2010, the San Francisco Metro Transit Agency sent them a "cease and desist" order. Why? Because they weren't a licensed taxi company but were using the word "Cab" in their name.
- The Rebrand: They dropped the "Cab" and became just "Uber."
- The Pivot: Kalanick eventually realized that the real money wasn't in luxury; it was in the mass market. That’s how we got UberX in 2012, which let regular people use their own cars.
Travis Kalanick: The Rise and Very Public Fall
If Garrett Camp was the architect, Travis Kalanick was the bulldozer. He took over as CEO in late 2010 from Ryan Graves (Uber's first employee and first CEO). Under Kalanick, Uber expanded like wildfire.
He didn't care about local laws. He basically told cities, "We’re here, deal with it." This "Greyball" era was intense. They used software to identify and block government officials who were trying to sting their drivers. It was a war.
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But that "win at all costs" culture eventually bit back. By 2017, the company was drowning in scandals—allegations of a toxic workplace, sexual harassment, and trade secret theft from Google’s Waymo. It got so bad that a group of major investors, led by Benchmark Capital, forced Kalanick to resign.
Where Are They Now?
It’s 2026, and the landscape has shifted.
Garrett Camp is still a billionaire, but he keeps a lower profile. He stayed on the board for a long time but eventually moved into a "board observer" role. He spends most of his time now with Expa, his startup incubator.
Travis Kalanick is completely out. He sold his entire stake in Uber years ago—walking away with billions—and started CloudKitchens. He’s still disrupting things, just with "ghost kitchens" instead of cars.
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Dara Khosrowshahi, the current CEO, has been the "adult in the room" since 2017. He’s the one who actually made Uber profitable, which seemed impossible for a decade.
What Most People Get Wrong
People often credit Kalanick as the sole founder because he was the loudest. But without Garrett Camp’s initial obsession and his cash, Uber doesn't exist. Kalanick was the guy who scaled it, but Camp was the guy who dreamt it.
Also, a guy named Douglas Bemis and even Ryan Graves are sometimes mentioned in early docs, but they weren't the "visionary" founders. Graves was essentially a guy who responded to a tweet from Kalanick looking for a "product manager" and ended up with a massive chunk of the company.
How to Apply the "Uber Founder" Mindset
If you're trying to build the next big thing, look at how these two worked. Camp found a personal pain point (no cabs in the rain). Kalanick brought the "fight" needed to take on the taxi monopolies.
- Solve your own problem: If you're annoyed by something, millions of others probably are too.
- Pick the right partner: You need a visionary (Camp) and an operator (Kalanick).
- Scale or die: They didn't stay a San Francisco black car app. They pivoted to UberX, Uber Eats, and freight.
Check the current Uber app settings to see how many of these "founder-era" features still exist—like the dynamic pricing (surge) that Kalanick fought so hard to keep. You can also look into Garrett Camp’s current projects at Expa if you want to see where the original "idea guy" is putting his money today.