3 ms·

It wasn't made clear in the article, but Topher is Ron's son. Always good to see that nepotism is alive and well in "meritocratic" Silicon Valley.

skrebbel 10y ago
I've never seen anyone claim Silicon Valley is meritocratic, yet I've seen tens of people get worked up about it on Hacker News.
- w1ntermute 10y ago
  Oh, really? It's right in the article: > Topher : A founder’s grit and determination, not the environmental conditions, are the key factors in their success. Funny to hear that from a guy whose future was basically determined the day he was conceived.
  - birken 10y ago
    FYI you'll hear every VC say that right before they go off on their 3 week summer vacation. If Ron Conway wasn't working with his son then you'd mention how he made the classic silicon valley mistake of putting his career in front of his family. I mean c'mon, this isn't like handing the CEO role of a multi-faceted 2,000 person company to your son over other qualified applicants. Its a 3-person VC firm that Ron Conway founded and built. The guy wants to work with his son. Let it go.
  - dang 10y ago
    That's exceedingly uncharitable. First, it's not "right in the article" at all; the word "meritocratic" was yours, not theirs, and your reading of this text is pretty skewed. Second, he was talking about founders, not himself. Third, your comments come across as weirdly personal and off topic, which makes them unsubstantive and therefore bad comments for HN. Please don't post like that here.
pedalpete 10y ago
Why would you bother getting worked up about this (unless I am mistaking your tone). Sure, he is fortunate to be the son of Ron Conway and to have been in the position to work for/with his father but 1) Topher also CHOSE to be an angel investor. Not everybody wants to work for the family biz. 2) You could be an angel investor too. Maybe you need to have a rocket success of a start-up first, but if you have the aspiration, grit and a bit of luck, you can do it too. If you're complaining that Topher had it handed to him and you have to work for it. Be thankful that you CAN work for it. In an earlier age, upward mobility was much more challenging. Today, where the CEO of Microsoft grew up the child of a Civil Servant in India, I think if you're complaining that it's to hard, you aren't recognizing the opportunity in front of you. Quit your whining and get back to work.

skrebbel 10y ago

I've never seen anyone claim Silicon Valley is meritocratic, yet I've seen tens of people get worked up about it on Hacker News.

w1ntermute 10y ago
Oh, really? It's right in the article: > Topher : A founder’s grit and determination, not the environmental conditions, are the key factors in their success. Funny to hear that from a guy whose future was basically determined the day he was conceived.
- birken 10y ago
  FYI you'll hear every VC say that right before they go off on their 3 week summer vacation. If Ron Conway wasn't working with his son then you'd mention how he made the classic silicon valley mistake of putting his career in front of his family. I mean c'mon, this isn't like handing the CEO role of a multi-faceted 2,000 person company to your son over other qualified applicants. Its a 3-person VC firm that Ron Conway founded and built. The guy wants to work with his son. Let it go.
- dang 10y ago
  That's exceedingly uncharitable. First, it's not "right in the article" at all; the word "meritocratic" was yours, not theirs, and your reading of this text is pretty skewed. Second, he was talking about founders, not himself. Third, your comments come across as weirdly personal and off topic, which makes them unsubstantive and therefore bad comments for HN. Please don't post like that here.

pedalpete 10y ago

Why would you bother getting worked up about this (unless I am mistaking your tone). Sure, he is fortunate to be the son of Ron Conway and to have been in the position to work for/with his father but 1) Topher also CHOSE to be an angel investor. Not everybody wants to work for the family biz. 2) You could be an angel investor too. Maybe you need to have a rocket success of a start-up first, but if you have the aspiration, grit and a bit of luck, you can do it too. If you're complaining that Topher had it handed to him and you have to work for it. Be thankful that you CAN work for it. In an earlier age, upward mobility was much more challenging. Today, where the CEO of Microsoft grew up the child of a Civil Servant in India, I think if you're complaining that it's to hard, you aren't recognizing the opportunity in front of you. Quit your whining and get back to work.