Many who are aware of the existence of Uber right now still have a lot of questions about the start-up and what it was like for both Travis Kalanick and Garret Camp. Looking at the empire Uber has now become, one would surely be right to guess that it wasn’t easy for the founders. Although Uber did not become a big deal until 2011, the real story behind the rise of this world-changing innovation started a few years before that. When they hear Uber, some quickly assume that they know what the startup is all about, but very few actually know the real background story of what happened before the rideshare revolution we are now witnessing. Uber is not only a private rideshare company. In fact, you could refer to Uber as a river of ever flowing ideas – with fresh ideas being added to the range of services frequently. Fast growing as it is, Uber has not stopped integrating new functionalities for drivers and passengers to ensure that commuting is the best experience it can be.

The story of Uber goes as far back as 2008. One would be right to have imagined that Travis Kalanick and Garrett faced the commonplace hassle of trying to get cabbies under the rain with heavy luggage. Perhaps having that first-hand experience of this trouble prompted the thought of trying to solve this global menace? Yet, the real story was that Kalanick, as at that time, had just sold Red Swoosh (his second start-up) in 2007 for $19 million and obviously had the cash to try again. So, at the 2008 LeWeb tech conference, he had a conversation with StumbleUpon founder Garrett Camp. Camp shared with him, the idea and plans for a luxury car service that was convenient and less pricier than the regular black cars. Kalanick took in the idea, and the two started out the company as ‘UberCab’ the following year. As the business evolved, they twirled what was originally a limousine service, into an on-demand rideshare service accessible for riders and independent drivers through a smartphone app called ‘Uber’ in San Francisco in 2010. Kalanick became CEO in December that same year .

Starting in May 2011, the company expanded into a new city each month including New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. In December 2011, the Uber app's coverage expanded to Paris. In May 2012, Uber launched a beta test in Philadelphia which they followed-up immediately with an official launch in the city that June. 2012 and 2013 featured a rapid expansion into overseas market. In 2012 it launched its services in Toronto, had a 90-driver launch in London, and another launch in Sydney – making Sydney Uber's first launch in the Asia Pacific region. In 2013, Uber launched in Singapore, and also started out their spread to Africa by launching in Johannesburg and Cape Town. In June 2014, Uber announced that it had raised $1.2 billion in funding, and it publicized an $18.2 billion valuation. Klout also ranked the San Francisco-based company as the 48th most powerful company in America in 2014. By the end of the just concluded 2015, Uber was estimated to be worth $62.5B.

We could not possibly start to mention how Uber grew their home in 300+ cities across 58 countries, but we believe that you now understand the humble beginning that saw a blueprint born out of one conversation become one of the greatest inventions ever.

About the team

Founded in 2014 by Malik Akande, a former Accenture employee, the Uberkit team is dedicated to helping Uber partner and entrepreneurs maximize their profits and ROI. For entrepreneurs looking to find out how much an Uber Black (Uber black car) or UberX partner makes (how much do Uber drivers make?), or how to start and grow their uber business, the various“Uber Kits” were designed.

-by Ola John