Kalanick discovered another startup, CrowdFlower, which relegated menial business tasks to independent workers over the internet, by cold-calling its customer-support line and striking up a friendship with its CEO, Lukas Biewald. For two years, they spoke a few times a week, and Biewald was a frequent guest at the Jam Pad. ‘He helped me when he had no reason to,’ Biewald says. Kalanick was full of tips on how to deal with investors, hire top execs, and negotiate with prospective partners. ‘Lukas, everyone is going to give you advice,’ Kalanick told him. ‘Ask for the story behind the advice.
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