Discussion
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Andrew Chen
@andrewchen · Uber
Hi All - Andrew here! I write about mobile, metrics, and growth at http://andrewchen.co. I also work at Uber on the Supply Growth team, where I head up their efforts on driver signups and referral programs.
I'm an advisor/investor for tech startups including AngelList, AppSumo, Barkbox, Cardpool (acq. by Safeway), Dropbox, Frankly (TSX.V:TLK), Gravity (acq. by AOL), Grovo, Kiva, Product Hunt, Qualaroo, Qik (acq. by Skype), Secret, Wanelo, and ZenPayroll.
Previously, I was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Mohr Davidow Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based firm with $2B under management. Prior to MDV, I was director of product marketing at Audience Science, where I started up the ad network business that today reaches over 380 million uniques. I also co-authored a patent on personalized advertising. Happy to be answering your questions today! Fire away :)
Craig Hunter
@craighunter_ · General Manager, Ritual
@andrewchen Your ad supported Uber post was amazing. Hypothetically, how does this get better (or worse) with autonomous cars?
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Andrew Chen
@andrewchen · Uber
@craighunter_ Good question. I'd think that self-driving cars will make transportation even more ubiquitous, which gives any kind of in-car ad network a lot more interesting since there will be more reach, better targeting, etc. Ultimately this might lead the way to free transportation, where advertisers pay, if the revenue is high enough and the automation is good enough. Who knows though? That's the great thing about tech.
Daniel Fitzpatrick
@dancyfits · App developer
@andrewchen @craighunter_ Love the idea. But I just got a flash of Black Mirror S1E2. I feel like ads in auto-autos would facilitate more widespread use of eye-tracking type software. I can already hear Siri telling me that I have to look at the screen or pay 50 bitcoin. Complacency, people; don't let those conflabbit admen get too carried away!
randy addy
@randy_addy · artist
@dancyfits @andrewchen @craighunter_ eye tracking ,body language, facial and smell yep whole 9 yards Remedy?
Derrick Show
@drkshow · product, startx
@andrewchen @craighunter_ really enjoyed the read too! For driver partners, I still see the need for them to actually operate the autonomous cars in next 5 years. But 10 yrs out, who knows? Uber might need to start owning / operating their own autonomous cars. Then, its on the driver partners to re-evaluate if its worth their time to drive.
Ryan Hoover
@rrhoover · Founder, Product Hunt
Hey, Andrew! What's on your homescreen and which app do you often use that few people may have heard of?
Jonny Miller
@jonnym1ller · Cofounder @Maptia
Hey @andrewchen – long time fan of your writing and marketing philosophies. What’s one thing that has surprised you since running Uber’s referral program? Can you share any interesting findings from your team’s experiments there?
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Andrew Chen
@andrewchen · Uber
@jonnym1ller I think the biggest learning is that Uber's offering to drivers is really unique and compelling. Insane product/market fit, which makes everything related to growth so much easier. Ultimately, Uber lets anyone turn their car into an ATM- when they need more money, they just drive. They can pick any hours they want, and it's better than any hourly work that's out there. So once you have an offering that's super badass, programs like referrals just work. Of course, there's much much more than you can do once it's working- that's all about running up the score. But it's nice to have strong fundamentals.
simpleERB
@simpleerb · ceo, simpleERB.com
@andrewchen @jonnym1ller doesn't "when they need more money, they just drive" - contradict - "Don't sell your time for a living" ? (see other comment)
Thomas Stöcklein
@tomstocklein · FoundersFundersFuture.com
What does a typical work week at Uber look like for you?
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Andrew Chen
@andrewchen · Uber
@tomstocklein I work on product at Uber, so I've chosen to organize my team's progress around two-week sprints. We do a kickoff at the beginning of the sprint where I talk through our part of the business (driver acquisition), why it's important, key metrics, etc. Then we talk through the projects and why we're doing them, and do Q&A. Then throughout the week, while the product team is building, I'm involved in the next sprint cycle, and a bunch of other projects. At the end of the week (halfway through the sprint), we review all the data from experiments we're running. Then the next week, we close out the sprint and do a demo at the end with a ton of beer, cupcakes, and cookies. Ultimately I'm in a lot of meetings during the day, but it's a lot of fun to work on products that are changing the world
Michael Lyons
@michaellyons_us
@tomstocklein, good question ^^ - adding to it, @andrewchen I like the two week sprints to keep a high tempo. How does your team collaborate with the other growth teams at Uber? Do metrics differ or overlap? Do you have an integrated growth strategy between teams or does each head build and direct their own team efforts however they see fit?
Preet
@preetnation · BlueLight, also enjoy QS and Parkour
@andrewchen @tomstocklein great answer and super interesting
Gabriel Reynard
@gabrielreynard · Business Lover ✌
Hi @andrewchen
Any life tips about career? Your trajectory is inspiring for a lot of people, what we should study/do to become successful like you did?
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Andrew Chen
@andrewchen · Uber
@gabrielreynard Some random thoughts on this. Learn to be T-shaped... be good at a bunch of stuff, but then have a clear superpower where you're world class. To be world class at something, you'll have to work on a single thing night and day for years. Spend time writing and reflecting, more than reading, and more than reading tweets. It's good to blend your work and your hobbies- that says you enjoy your work enough to do it all the time. Don't sell your time for a living? http://andrewchen.co/new-college...
Phuc Kien Nguyen
@phuckiennguyen · Founder, Fonk
@andrewchen what are the 5 key metrics that a mobile social network app should track first?
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Andrew Chen
@andrewchen · Uber
@phuckiennguyen You should pick your strategy, then pick the KPIs that reflect them. Picking 5 generic metrics isn't that interesting. More here: http://andrewchen.co/know-the-di...
Jonathan Korn
@jkkorn · Product Owner @ PlayKids
Hey Andrew!
What's the path to becoming a great product designer/manager ?
Are there skills you find are underrated?
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Andrew Chen
@andrewchen · Uber
@jkkorn Being a great product designer and a great product manager are totally different, of course. But I think it's good to have 0 to 1 experience, and try to build something from scratch, and spend years trying to do that. That teaches you deep skills that are hard to learn any other way. If you spent a good chunk of your career doing that, then that'd be cool. Then working in a big, complex team like Uber can be super interesting because you learn a ton of skills around communication, management, organization, and working in a dynamic/hypergrowth environment. A lot of the top product leaders at Uber have significant (and often failed) startup experience because it's important to be humbled but also have the skills to keep going.
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Andrew Chen
@andrewchen · Uber
@tomstocklein I don't believe in bucket lists :) If you have goals you should just do them. What's the point of having a list that's long and full of shit that you don't actually care enough to do right away?
Darren Hunter
@beautifulnz · Partner Ziln and CityTime TV
Hi Andrew, whats the best way to market a travel app to a global audience in your opinion apart from Facebook ads? Cheers.
Drew Meyers
@drewmeyers · Co-Founder, Horizon
@beautifulnz What travel app are you working on?
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Andrew Chen
@andrewchen · Uber
@beautifulnz Build an amazing, differentiated travel app that retains users like nothing else. Then do all the basics well.
PET TV
@petinternettv
@drewmeyers @beautifulnz Video Travel app Citytime TV Cheers Darren