4 ms·

So I got on Linkedin and checked out some of the profiles of people working there. Some of them have MBAs from MIT Sloan and Harvard. Not saying I'm not suscept

So I got on Linkedin and checked out some of the profiles of people working there. Some of them have MBAs from MIT Sloan and Harvard. Not saying I'm not susceptible to this, but group think / drinking your own Kool-Aid is something to be careful about as we engineers hop and skip through the startup minefield.

jandrese 9y ago
They got paid a steady paycheck. They produced the product the founder wanted. I wouldn't hold it against the engineers and developers. We can rag on the guy who engineered the juice pressing bit, but it very much looks like a junior guy right out of school who didn't have an adult in the room telling him that his $800 first effort was beautiful but needed to be redesigned to be under $50 in parts. Everybody needs that experience to understand how stuff works in the real world.
- AndyNemmity 9y ago
  Exactly. If you've worked in any startup, I'd imagine you've had the same experience, I sure have. When the founder wants something that doesn't make sense, you try to reason about it, you try to get other voices helping in a chorus that something doesn't work, but when the founder is the one with the money, the vision, and the ego, it can be impossible to move them off their idea regardless of the merits.
  - ryandrake 9y ago
    Exactly. He who has the gold makes the rules. I've seen this more times than I care to admit. It could be the silliest product in the world, with fatal flaws you can easily point to, doomed to failure, but he's the boss and you're not, and he doesn't want to hear "reasons". So, you go off and build it, keeping your resume up-to-date and ready...
muglug 9y ago
I imagine they signed on to work at a well-funded company with a pedigreed CEO in advance of the Businessweek article. Totally logical decision, especially if they have loans to pay off.
- xxSparkleSxx 9y ago
  Yes it is. But to me, I would look at a start-up full of Wharton, Stanford, and Harvard MBA's and would run! You need some business expertise for start-ups, but too much would be a huge red flag for me personally.
  - ffumarola 9y ago
    That doesn't seem well-reasoned

jandrese 9y ago

They got paid a steady paycheck. They produced the product the founder wanted. I wouldn't hold it against the engineers and developers. We can rag on the guy who engineered the juice pressing bit, but it very much looks like a junior guy right out of school who didn't have an adult in the room telling him that his $800 first effort was beautiful but needed to be redesigned to be under $50 in parts. Everybody needs that experience to understand how stuff works in the real world.

AndyNemmity 9y ago
Exactly. If you've worked in any startup, I'd imagine you've had the same experience, I sure have. When the founder wants something that doesn't make sense, you try to reason about it, you try to get other voices helping in a chorus that something doesn't work, but when the founder is the one with the money, the vision, and the ego, it can be impossible to move them off their idea regardless of the merits.
- ryandrake 9y ago
  Exactly. He who has the gold makes the rules. I've seen this more times than I care to admit. It could be the silliest product in the world, with fatal flaws you can easily point to, doomed to failure, but he's the boss and you're not, and he doesn't want to hear "reasons". So, you go off and build it, keeping your resume up-to-date and ready...

muglug 9y ago

I imagine they signed on to work at a well-funded company with a pedigreed CEO in advance of the Businessweek article. Totally logical decision, especially if they have loans to pay off.

xxSparkleSxx 9y ago
Yes it is. But to me, I would look at a start-up full of Wharton, Stanford, and Harvard MBA's and would run! You need some business expertise for start-ups, but too much would be a huge red flag for me personally.
- ffumarola 9y ago
  That doesn't seem well-reasoned