3 ms·

This is an incredibly naive view of how SV works. See e.g. http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/25/startups-and-the-big-lie/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/25/startups-

This is an incredibly naive view of how SV works. See e.g. http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/25/startups-and-the-big-lie/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/25/startups-and-the-big-lie/

pbreit 11y ago
Not as naive as yours is overly cynical.
- einarvollset 11y ago
  Perhaps, but experience does that ;)
  - pbreit 11y ago
    Well, I've been around the SV block once or twice.
dpiers 11y ago
I have a rather enlightened view of how SV works. I was the primary engineer on Uber's promotion and referral system for most of last year and ended up transferring to the internal audit team. I have a knack for risk identification and management. There is a difference between a well-run company with manageable burn that must raise capital to continue growing, and a company where the realistic prospects of a capital infusion are slim and the financial situation is dire. I used to work in the game industry, and both studios I worked at ended up gradually laying people off and eventually shutting down. Layoffs are the expectation for a struggling company - sudden shutdown is a sign of poor executive leadership.
- einarvollset 11y ago
  Honestly no offense intended; however, even if you're the VP of risk management for Uber currently - a company with 9K employees having raised $6.9B - that in no way what so ever gives you any insight as to the usual way in which young (series A say) companies operate. None. Zero. Zilch.
  - dpiers 11y ago
    I'm not arrogant enough to claim to be an expert, but I have had a decent number of experiences for someone my age. I grew up in a small family-owned sandwich shop (which failed in 06 after 20 years). I worked for multiple mid-sized game development studios before I moved to SF to work for a post-series A 13 person YC startup that I watched grow to 50 people. I spent some time at BitTorrent, which has had its share of financing and staffing fluctuations over the years. I've been a part of a number of companies as they've succeeded and failed, and I've learned the difference between doing so gracefully or incompetently.

This is an incredibly naive view of how SV works. See e.g. http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/25/startups-and-the-big-lie/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/25/startups-and-the-big-lie/

pbreit 11y ago

Not as naive as yours is overly cynical.

einarvollset 11y ago
Perhaps, but experience does that ;)
- pbreit 11y ago
  Well, I've been around the SV block once or twice.

dpiers 11y ago

I have a rather enlightened view of how SV works. I was the primary engineer on Uber's promotion and referral system for most of last year and ended up transferring to the internal audit team. I have a knack for risk identification and management. There is a difference between a well-run company with manageable burn that must raise capital to continue growing, and a company where the realistic prospects of a capital infusion are slim and the financial situation is dire. I used to work in the game industry, and both studios I worked at ended up gradually laying people off and eventually shutting down. Layoffs are the expectation for a struggling company - sudden shutdown is a sign of poor executive leadership.

einarvollset 11y ago
Honestly no offense intended; however, even if you're the VP of risk management for Uber currently - a company with 9K employees having raised $6.9B - that in no way what so ever gives you any insight as to the usual way in which young (series A say) companies operate. None. Zero. Zilch.
- dpiers 11y ago
  I'm not arrogant enough to claim to be an expert, but I have had a decent number of experiences for someone my age. I grew up in a small family-owned sandwich shop (which failed in 06 after 20 years). I worked for multiple mid-sized game development studios before I moved to SF to work for a post-series A 13 person YC startup that I watched grow to 50 people. I spent some time at BitTorrent, which has had its share of financing and staffing fluctuations over the years. I've been a part of a number of companies as they've succeeded and failed, and I've learned the difference between doing so gracefully or incompetently.