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=== Bird ===
=== Bird ===
VanderZanden founded [[Bird (company)|Bird]] in the summer of 2017. The company deployed its first scooters that September, before raising a $15 million [[Series A round]] of financing in February, 2018.<ref name="Loizos 2018">{{cite web |last=Loizos |first=Connie | title=This former Uber (and Lyft) exec just raised $15 million for his controversial e-scooter startup: Bird | website=TechCrunch | date=2018-02-13 | url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/13/this-former-uber-and-lyft-exec-just-raised-15-million-for-his-controversial-e-scooter-startup-bird/ | access-date=2018-06-01}}</ref> In October of 2018, Bird released its latest edition of the scooter, Bird Zero, which was designed and built in partnership with Okai.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://social.techcrunch.com/2018/10/04/bird-unveils-custom-electric-scooters-and-delivery/|title=Bird unveils custom electric scooters and delivery|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-07}}</ref> As of 2019, the company is now in 120 cities across the globe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://social.techcrunch.com/2019/02/03/bird-ceo-on-scooter-startup-copycats-unit-economics-safety-and-seasonality/|title=Bird CEO on scooter startup copycats, unit economics, safety and seasonality|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201902/will-yakowicz/bird-electric-scooter-travis-vanderzanden-2018-company-of-the-year.html|title=14 Months, 120 Cities, $2 Billion: There's Never Been a Company Like Bird. Is the World Ready?|last=Yakowicz|first=Will|date=2018-12-10|website=Inc.com|access-date=2019-07-03}}</ref> The company is valued at $2 billion and has taken in $415 million in funding. To date, Bird has provided more than 10 million rides. The company currently receives $1.27 on every Bird ride taken, which is inclusive of all costs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/22/technology/bird-scooters-valuation.html|title=Bird Is Said to Raise New Funding at $2.5 Billion Valuation|last=Griffith|first=Erin|date=2019-07-22|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-07-31|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> VanderZanden was a speaker at [[TechCrunch|TechCrunch's]] Disrupt SF in October 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://social.techcrunch.com/2019/09/25/bird-ceo-travis-vanderzanden-to-talk-scooters-unit-economics-and-multibillion-dollar-valuation/|title=Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden to talk scooters, unit economics and a multi-billion-dollar valuation at Disrupt SF|website=TechCrunch|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-06}}</ref>
VanderZanden founded [[Bird (company)|Bird]] in the summer of 2017. The company deployed its first scooters that September, before raising a $15 million [[Series A round]] of financing in February, 2018.<ref name="Loizos 2018">{{cite web |last=Loizos |first=Connie | title=This former Uber (and Lyft) exec just raised $15 million for his controversial e-scooter startup: Bird | website=TechCrunch | date=2018-02-13 | url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/13/this-former-uber-and-lyft-exec-just-raised-15-million-for-his-controversial-e-scooter-startup-bird/ | access-date=2018-06-01}}</ref> In October of 2018, Bird released its latest edition of the scooter, Bird Zero, which was designed and built in partnership with Okai.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://social.techcrunch.com/2018/10/04/bird-unveils-custom-electric-scooters-and-delivery/|title=Bird unveils custom electric scooters and delivery|website=TechCrunch|date=4 October 2018 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-07}}</ref> As of 2019, the company is now in 120 cities across the globe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://social.techcrunch.com/2019/02/03/bird-ceo-on-scooter-startup-copycats-unit-economics-safety-and-seasonality/|title=Bird CEO on scooter startup copycats, unit economics, safety and seasonality|website=TechCrunch|date=3 February 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201902/will-yakowicz/bird-electric-scooter-travis-vanderzanden-2018-company-of-the-year.html|title=14 Months, 120 Cities, $2 Billion: There's Never Been a Company Like Bird. Is the World Ready?|last=Yakowicz|first=Will|date=2018-12-10|website=Inc.com|access-date=2019-07-03}}</ref> The company is valued at $2 billion and has taken in $415 million in funding. To date, Bird has provided more than 10 million rides. The company currently receives $1.27 on every Bird ride taken, which is inclusive of all costs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/22/technology/bird-scooters-valuation.html|title=Bird Is Said to Raise New Funding at $2.5 Billion Valuation|last=Griffith|first=Erin|date=2019-07-22|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-07-31|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> VanderZanden was a speaker at [[TechCrunch|TechCrunch's]] Disrupt SF in October 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://social.techcrunch.com/2019/09/25/bird-ceo-travis-vanderzanden-to-talk-scooters-unit-economics-and-multibillion-dollar-valuation/|title=Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden to talk scooters, unit economics and a multi-billion-dollar valuation at Disrupt SF|website=TechCrunch|date=25 September 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-06}}</ref>


During the COVID-19 mass layoff of Bird employees, VanderZanden was criticized for not informing employees in person about their dismissal, rather, delegating the task to the company's Chief Communications Officer.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/23/21231802/bird-electric-scooter-company-workplace-culture-layoffs|title=Bird layoffs|website=TheVerge|date=23 April 2020|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref>
During the COVID-19 mass layoff of Bird employees, VanderZanden was criticized for not informing employees in person about their dismissal, rather, delegating the task to the company's Chief Communications Officer.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/23/21231802/bird-electric-scooter-company-workplace-culture-layoffs|title=Bird layoffs|website=TheVerge|date=23 April 2020|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-23}}</ref>

Revision as of 02:46, 17 January 2023

Travis VanderZanden
VanderZanden speaking in 2019
Born1979 (age 45–46)
Appleton, Wisconsin, USA[1]
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (BBA)
University of Southern California (MBA)
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forFounder of Bird
Notes

Travis VanderZanden (born 1979) [3] is an American businessman and the founder and current CEO of Bird, a scooter sharing service. Before founding Bird, VanderZanden was Chief Operating Officer at Lyft, then VP of International Growth at Uber.

Education

VanderZanden graduated from Appleton North High School in 1997,[1] he later attended University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire from 1997 to 2002, receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the USC Marshall School of Business in 2007.

Career

Early career

VanderZanden worked as a product manager at Qualcomm.[citation needed] After leaving Qualcomm, he was Chief Revenue Officer for Yammer from 2009 to 2011, then left to co-found Cherry, an on-demand car-wash service. He was CEO of Cherry until 2013, when the company was acquired by Lyft, and he was brought on as Chief Operating Officer.[4] He left Lyft for Uber in October 2014. Lyft later sued him for allegedly breaking his confidentiality agreement, and the lawsuit was settled for undisclosed terms, with VanderZanden denying any wrongdoing.[5][6] VanderZanden then left Uber in October 2016.[7]

Bird

VanderZanden founded Bird in the summer of 2017. The company deployed its first scooters that September, before raising a $15 million Series A round of financing in February, 2018.[8] In October of 2018, Bird released its latest edition of the scooter, Bird Zero, which was designed and built in partnership with Okai.[9] As of 2019, the company is now in 120 cities across the globe.[10][11] The company is valued at $2 billion and has taken in $415 million in funding. To date, Bird has provided more than 10 million rides. The company currently receives $1.27 on every Bird ride taken, which is inclusive of all costs.[12] VanderZanden was a speaker at TechCrunch's Disrupt SF in October 2019.[13]

During the COVID-19 mass layoff of Bird employees, VanderZanden was criticized for not informing employees in person about their dismissal, rather, delegating the task to the company's Chief Communications Officer.[14]

Personal life

In 2020, VanderZanden purchased a home in Bel air formerly owned by Trevor Noah.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b "How Bird scooters CEO Travis VanderZanden went from Appleton to the head of a company valued at $2 billion". www.postcrescent.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.(subscription required)
  2. ^ "Travis VanderZanden - CEO & Founder - Bird". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  3. ^ https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/the-electric-scooter-invasion-is-underway-bird-ceo-travis-vanderzanden-leads-the-charge/&ved=2ahUKEwiCtsWqv9rsAhUFi6wKHef_CnsQFjADegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw1mIw1Bzf0q3ZxaG7ntLjVu&ampcf=1 [dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Lyft Acquires Cherry, Prepares for Lyft-off in Seattle". Lyft Blog. 2013-03-26. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  5. ^ Kosoff, Maya (2014-10-06). "Uber Has Hired The Former COO Of Its Biggest Competitor". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  6. ^ Levine, Dan (2016-06-28). "Uber, Lyft settle litigation involving top executives". U.S. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  7. ^ Carson, Biz (2016-09-30). "The only executive to hold a high-ranking position at both Uber and Lyft is leaving Uber". Business Insider. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  8. ^ Loizos, Connie (2018-02-13). "This former Uber (and Lyft) exec just raised $15 million for his controversial e-scooter startup: Bird". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  9. ^ "Bird unveils custom electric scooters and delivery". TechCrunch. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  10. ^ "Bird CEO on scooter startup copycats, unit economics, safety and seasonality". TechCrunch. 3 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
  11. ^ Yakowicz, Will (2018-12-10). "14 Months, 120 Cities, $2 Billion: There's Never Been a Company Like Bird. Is the World Ready?". Inc.com. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  12. ^ Griffith, Erin (2019-07-22). "Bird Is Said to Raise New Funding at $2.5 Billion Valuation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  13. ^ "Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden to talk scooters, unit economics and a multi-billion-dollar valuation at Disrupt SF". TechCrunch. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  14. ^ "Bird layoffs". TheVerge. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  15. ^ Mcclain, James (2021-01-26). "Bird CEO Travis VanderZanden Paid $21.7 Million for Trevor Noah's Bel Air Mansion". Dirt. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
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