Transcripts For BLOOMBERG Bloomberg West 20141031 : vimarsan

Strategy to increase u. S. Sales growth and the Ceo Howard Schultz describes it as ecommerce on steroids. Theseeing development of Android Software using more than 70 of the world smartphones is leaving the company. Andy rubin will be creating an incubator. I spoke with a Silicon Valley recruiter about the shift. At a a lot of action startup level. A lot of companies doing really interesting things with relatively small amounts of capital. You dont need to be at google anymore to be at the cutting edge of innovation. Hiring steve schnell, the former Vice President of operations at rival lyft. Uber with two other executives. They said they left after disagreements with cofounders over how the company was being run. Lead, a spacecraft for sir Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic tourism operator crashed during a test flight in california Mojave Desert killing the copilot and injuring the pilot. An faa spokesperson says Ground Control lost contact just after 10 00 a. M. Local time. Following release from the white knight two jet that carried it aloft. In the last hour, Virgin Galactic ceo said Richard Branson was on his way to the crash site and is expected to arrive tomorrow morning. For more, i want to get to boeing assistant professor. F aeronautics and only worry child. Also with us editoratlarge cory johnson and leroy chow. Lots of information and speculation. Of speculation about what happened here. What do you think went wrong . What was goingke on from things i heard, it was a new powered flight with a new rocket fuel. I dont know if its related at all. You have to wait and see what the review turns up. There are so many things in these complex systems that can go wrong. These are some of the very best engineers and test pilots in the world. Even then, things can happen unpredictably. My guess is it might be related to the test of this new rocket fuel but it might not be. It might be Something Else in the system and they will have to go through the review to find out. The two pilots were some of the best in the space industry. Theyve been working on this project for many years. While customer let me know and what we dont. Walk us through what we know. Scaled started composites with some backing of paul allen from microsoft. This novel motion of how to solve the problem of getting the spacecraft off the ground and into space. And the notion was you would have a plane that would carry the spacecraft to it the thousand feet. Then the spacecraft would descend, basically be dropped by the plane and the rocket would fire and shoot in front of the plane carrying it and shoot that into space going straight. Then it would slowly descend because it would have an almost eadminton shuttlecock lik designed to reenter the earths atmosphere and land safely like an airplane. In order for that to happen, it would have to have features that no whether rocketship had ever had. It would be a lot lighter to be carried by a plane and a fuel thats a lot lighter as a result because it would have to power this spacecraft being carried by an only slightly larger plane. The experimentations around the fuel would just as important as the composite materials built to hold the passengers in this thing. Theres been a lot of criticism about the engine this particular spaceship was using, kerri. New engine. Ively Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic have been enthusiastic but there was a lot of criticism. They said that this engine was never going to get customers to space. What can you tell us about that . I assume its for good reason they keep the specifics of the designs close the home. I do know in the test and development process, you go through a bunch of different test to try to identify with the right combination is with the design to be the most efficient, be the most effect is. Most effective. Im guessing they were in the initial stages of testing with this. Maybe it wasnt the final design. Without knowing very detailed specifics about the design, its hard to say whether or not it has the potential to be the final design or not. Kerri, what can you tell me about the fuel and the types of fuel they are trying with this particular scale composite solution . How does it compare to other rockets . The rocket fuel there are different types. There are solids that earn. Thats what were talking about and then there are liquids that you mix and you have a reaction that causes the thruster. This is a solid plastic, a thermoplastic. I think thats what they were testing from what ive heard. When you are dealing with these kinds of propellants, theres a lot of uncertainty and how they will burn and if that structures housing them, the motors they are combined with. Again, i dont know a lot of specifics about the design. Play andat compares to kerosene in a traditional rocket . Many think about lighting a fire or combusting something, the different type of process to use these solid propellants. Kerri, quickly we talk a lot andhe show about jeff bezos blue origin, elon musk and spacex, sir Richard Branson and virgin. How big a deal is it for these guys . Does it mean that nasa could get back in the game . Very sad when there is loss of life but also in the space industry but also occupational Hazard Industries commercial product being developed in the united states. These things happen. This just happens to be very visible. Were going to have to leave it there. Assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics. We will be back with more bloomberg west. Im emily chang and this is bloomberg west streaming on your phone, tablet, bloomberg. Com and bloomberg tv. Another management shakeup on twitter. The vp of Consumer Product daniel graf has been replaced. They have appointed the former vp of product to oversee all twitter products, just one of many executive shuffles over the last year. Joining me now to discuss the shakeup in what it means, the former director of platform and now a partner at red Point Ventures with us via skype and sarah who covers twitter for us. I will start with you. I know youre very close with the folks at twitter still. What happened here . Why is this happening again . Daniel was brought in to be the vp of Consumer Product and it continues to be. Kevin was a longtime employee and [no audio] proven track record of continuing to execute and hes taking over to make sure revenue and Consumer Products are aligned and getting everything together in one cohesive strategy. Weekspoke with kevin last as twitter was making its big push to developers with new product. Take a listen to what he had to say about his vision for twitter. Has been synonymous with the consumer application and that will still be a major focus for us. That has not changed. The application reaches a recorder of the world and we built a vibrant and growing business around it but this is the next step for twitter, us becoming a key player in the mobile ecosystem going forward. That danielaying did not do anything wrong . That kevin weil was simply more wellpositioned to succeed . Them int see opposition to each other. Daniel was brought into do Consumer Product. Kevin has a great track record within twitter of continuing to build great products. He started out as a Data Scientist and build the entire revenue Product Organization from scratch. He took over platform and launched at fabric. They look at him as a great leader with great ground to help align the experiences across revenue platform and product to build one cohesive product. Daniel is [no audio] do exactly what he was brought in to do. And he will grow the organization and laid everything across. What are you hearing . Im hearing that the turnover is a surprise. If twitter had come out in the beginning of the year and said were going to shuffle through the ranks and come up with a new and make a focus cohesive, people would say, we get it. We understand. At some of these things have just been so surprising. The cfo changeover was a surprise to people. And the engineers that left just earlier this week, it keeps going and the market does not like to be surprised. Will thison now is continue . We all thought it was over when they got a new cfo. How problematic is a premier perspective that so many changes keep happening . I think whats important is making sure you get the team right to build the best thing you can and not react to what the market thinks you should be doing. In the end, thats what theyre focused on and what they think is the right move. They are not trying to react to what the market is telling them. Kevin is the right guy to lead that. Alex is running all of engineering and kevin will run product. Twitter needs to make some really bold decisions. Someone who is kind of an insider whos been there and has the respect of the entire company to make bold choices and lead people to expect where they were not going to go and i think hes the guy to do it. Costolo andith dick talked about the management evolution, what he calls it. Take a listen to what he had to say. Management teams grow and evolve and change over time and thats always the case. I love the team we have in place. We have developed tremendously does across the company. Whats been your impression of morale at twitter, culture right now as all of this has been happening . Around a want to rally solid direction. When you have a lot of changes in management, its hard to know without direction is. Of course, twitter says we have a plan. Weve hired daniel graf and its going to roll out to see these changes but weve yet to really see from the consumer side what that looks like. There has not been that much that weve noticed as users of twitter that has changed. It will happen. Until it does come a investors are still going to be a little skeptical of what goes on in twitter products. Costolo is incredibly well regarded and incredibly a lot of pressure on him right now. Why should we not be concerned about all of these changes happening at twitter . Theres lots of criticism that the product has not really involved. Why not . [no audio] the reason you still want to be excited about this is getting the right people in place for the team going forward. You heard him say this Earnings Report that he wants the teams execution to get faster. Those are guys youve seen on the revenue side that has grown and executed incredibly well. I think youre going to see a higher urgency level. They feel like they are the guys to go do that. Im not worried about the future. I think this is a really good move on their part. Where would you like to see the product go . Getting rid of usernames . What would you like to see twitter do in the next six to 12 months . Everyone has talked about it but i think its about growth. Twitter can be valuable to one billion plus users. Its realtime information on a mobile device. Thats valuable to everybody. The thing they need to cross is the chasm between hearing about twitter in truly understanding its value to you. I hope to see them really understanding on marketing and explaining that value and building a product around and delivering that as quickly as possible. If it were easy it would have been solved by now. Its about getting that involvement so all parts are moving towards that one effort. Ryan, alwaysr and great to have you on the show. Thank you. New Tech Products and services are launching all the time in San Francisco. How should the government be involved in regulating and protecting consumers . Thats just one topic we discuss with San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon when bloomberg west returns. Welcome back to bloomberg west. San francisco is a hotbed for innovation and a testing ground. Sometimes those new services need regulation and scrutiny to protect consumers and existing industries. District attorney George Gascon has been on both sides of these debates looking into the practices of Ridesharing Companies like uber and lyft and to protectitch built consumers. Joining me now to talk about the overlap between tech and politics, San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon. Thanks for joining us. I want to start with uber because its such a hot topic. You investigated with the Los Angeles County da. Background checks for drivers, ridesharing, how the money is split. Whats the status on your warning to these companies and your investigation . We are in the process of negotiations so a lot of things i cannot talk about. The reason why this became public is one of the companies provided the letter that we sent to the media and therefore it became public. The concerns we have are the following. We want to make sure that the new Business Models are successful, but we want to make sure that occurs while we protect the consumer. One of the areas of concern is safety for the writers. But theyround checks claim they have the best in the industry. After intensive investigation, we dont believe thats accurate. We want to make sure that there is truth in advertising. If you are relying on that information as a consumer, there information should be accurate betheir information should accurate. Ensuring business is done safely, the reason my airports control access for a variety of Public Safety issues, more on the extreme to terrorism and the lowerlevel things like traffic flow, access to the terminals. Have not necessarily been following those regulations. What should the background check be . What should they not have been doing . They need to do their best requiring fingerprints, looking deeply into a persons background. A delay not do that . A very limited computerbased check giving them five to seven years. They are not required by law to do the other. Ist they are required to do if they say they are doing the best, do the best. So drop the claim they are the best . They can do that or up the standard. A sixyearold girl was tragically hit and killed by an alleged uber driver. The driver was a partner and did not involve a vehicle or provider doing a trip on the system but the family has sued in a wrongful death lawsuit. Whats the status of that investigation . Thats a criminal investigation and we are looking at driver behavior. Its ongoing. This speaks to one of the areas of concern for us that has been somewhat ameliorated but i do not think it is fixed. Is this a Technology Company or transportation . Can it be both . Are ais but if you Transportation Company your liability to the public increases for the entire operational cycle. Facilitator,ly a which they claim right now, then the driver is the old one really liable. And therefore you have issues about Insurance Coverage to protect the public. Let me change topics to airbnb, a big employer. If the company changing the way that the cities communities run. Theyre being filled with people renting out. What is your role as da to keep neighborhoods the same as they are . Our City Attorney has taken the lead on this looking at it civilly. He and his department have the ability to do some of this work so we have sort of allowed him to take the lead on this process. Working for the mayor and the board of supervisors. We are just taking a wait and see approach. San francisco District Attorney George Gascon. Great to have you here on bloomberg west. Thanks for stopping by. You are watching bloomberg west where we focus on innovation, technology, and the future of is this. How do you take it data and make it sexy and usable . You could create a plug and play interface that looks like facebook. Their technology caught the eye khosla ventures. I will start with you. You have such a long history of investing in so many start ups. What attracted you to thought spot . Or two, every decade you need to reinvent all technologies and Business Intelligence is very old. Has gottenrization everyone used to the Google Search box. More,hough it cost a lot its a lot less responsive to users. That is what thoughtspot changed. It gave everyone a search box just like google buzz. Its a very different experience. Described as it google for Business Intelligence. Is that the right way to think about this . Thoughtspot it is a search designed for numbers. Traditionally Business Users had to rely on i. T. And then they d the data from the reports. With bloomberg west you can with thoughtspot you can interact realtime. You can ask questions and get immediate answers just like you find flights on a kayak or the weather on google. Financial data, marketing data, sale data on the fly. People really want right sized information. They dont want weeks and weeks. Who are some of your customers . Large enterprises. We are focused on scale making it easy but at the same time, keeping it scalable. When you talk about accessibility, thats great. On the other side of the coin is security and scalability. They have some large volumes of data and a large number of users. Butg able to provide these meeting scalability and manageability needs is sort of a key focus of thoughtspot. So much has been made about the potential of big data that we have yet to see it become truly usable. Its difficult to go through all of that information. Ig data been overhyped or have we not figured it out yet . We are learning how to use it. Thoughtspot is a classic way of turning data into insights. You dont actually nee