Thuan Pham

When the going was getting tough at Uber in 2017, Thuan Pham, former CTO @ Uber, says a shared drive to preserve what so many people had worked hard to create helped them persevere despite the challenges. “We have a duty to kind of preserve and protect it as much as we can,” Thuan recalls thinking at the time.

For more stories of Thuan’s time at Uber & the eng leadership skills he learned along the way, check out this latest ELC episode, which features his full session from ELC Annual… Show more

When the going was getting tough at Uber in 2017, Thuan Pham, former CTO @ Uber, says a shared drive to preserve what so many people had worked hard to create helped them persevere despite the challenges. “We have a duty to kind of preserve and protect it as much as we can,” Thuan recalls thinking at the time.

For more stories of Thuan’s time at Uber & the eng leadership skills he learned along the way, check out this latest ELC episode, which features his full session from ELC Annual 2023 Show less

“Hypergrowth and exponential stuff seems fun to talk about when you look at the numbers and the graphs, and the hockey sticks. But when you have to live it and actually make it happen, it is excruciating painful.”

Thuan Pham doesn’t mince words about his time as CTO of Uber: Meteoric growth is hard. For Uber, growth in the early days was practically exponential. They were adding markets a dozen at a time, rolling out new services, testing features, all on top of an incredibly complicated… Show more

“Hypergrowth and exponential stuff seems fun to talk about when you look at the numbers and the graphs, and the hockey sticks. But when you have to live it and actually make it happen, it is excruciating painful.”

Thuan Pham doesn’t mince words about his time as CTO of Uber: Meteoric growth is hard. For Uber, growth in the early days was practically exponential. They were adding markets a dozen at a time, rolling out new services, testing features, all on top of an incredibly complicated marketplace. What’s a simple tap to request a ride experience for the consumer requires systems for matching rider to driver, routing rides, determining dynamic pricing, and processing payments, paying drivers, and keeping the entire experience stable and secure.

In Thuan’s Equivalent to Magic podcast interview, he shares that there’s no avoiding having to make trade offs when you’re scaling as fast as Uber did in its early years. And, that no matter what, there will be massive failures from time to time. What counts is how you lead through and learn from those most challenging moments. Show less