Most of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest passed on the deal, just as they had with Airbnb. They said no because Ryan Graves wasn’t experienced enough or because the two founders weren’t involved enough or because they saw the concept as an extravagant indulgence for wealthy urbanites. Some said no because they had worked with the combative Travis Kalanick before at his previous companies and didn’t want to deal with the aggravation again; others because they knew the company was going to run headlong into a hostile tangle of city and state transportation laws.
