6 ms·

Upload: Lurid Lawsuit’s Quiet End Leaves Startup Barely Dented

52 points by corvallis 9y ago

SeanBoocock 9y ago
I often hear investors framing their investment decisions in terms of the team as much or more than the product. I would hope that investors recognize that the sort of alleged behavior and culture at Upload is both wrong and poisonous to building a company that can scale. Investors should do more due diligence and counseling around creating a healthy company culture lest any traction be undermined by becoming known as a bad actor, reducing your talent pool as a result, lawsuits, etc.
- comstock 9y ago
  Yes, but in my experience it's just talk. What they actually mean by "team" is have the founders previously founded a successful startup, or been involved in one. That's it. I'd love to hear other opinions, but that's my experience talking to VCs. They rarely ask detailed team questions, or get to know the team. They ask tech and market questions mostly...
  - jonnathanson 9y ago
    Team is basically code for what I will call the Three P's: pedigree, pattern, and proof. * Pedigree: Do you have a track record in this domain? Have you been involved in success stories before? If nothing else, do you check the requisite Stanford/Google/Facebook/Apple boxes? * Pattern: Does this team more or less resemble successful teams the VC has seen before? * Proof: Who is vouching for this team? Who else is interested in this deal?
    - uninterested 9y ago
      But... what about diversity? I mean, inclusion?
paladin314159 9y ago
> When asked about being mentioned in the suit, Mr. Gopman, who has drawn attention in tech circles before for criticizing homeless people, said he was not happy about it. “How am I going to get married some day if I have to explain that?” he asked. Upload declined to comment on its former employee. Really now?
neveroffensive 9y ago
Is anyone else over all this? I just can't seem to care anymore. Why can't people just do their jobs and go home? Why is it so important for a work environment to be "socially safe"? The definition of social safety is arbitrary anyways. The assertion that sexual comments could be so pervasive you can't do your job is utterly absurd in my opinion. Then again maybe I'm just incapable of seeing past my male perspective...
- staticautomatic 9y ago
  It's great that you were able to answer your own question.
  - neveroffensive 9y ago
    I see your point, but why is my perspective the wrong one?
    - solidsnack9000 9y ago
      It comes down to whether people have a reasonable expectation of sexual conduct at work. If the answer is no, then if it makes someone uncomfortable you have to drop it. This is not the same as every kind of thing that can make someone uncomfortable. Should people reasonably expect to have their performance reviewed at work? Yes. So if it makes them uncomfortable, too bad...
      - neveroffensive 9y ago
        I know it's not what you meant, but obviously unwanted physical sexual conduct is immoral/illegal. In regard to verbal sexual conduct I would say it is certainly undesirable in a work environment. I wouldn't allow it for a second if I ran a company, but this isn't my company. If Upload want's sexual conduct to be a part of their work environment, it's a dumb choice, but it's their choice. You can't brow beat society into being perfect, you can only give people basic rights and hope for the best. I'm sorry but I just don't think anyone has the right to be free from verbal harassment. I challenge you to even come up with a definition for verbal harassment that could be universally applicable.
KKKKkkkk1 9y ago
> Across the tech industry, sexual harassment appears to be ingrained. While the research is largely anecdotal and fragmentary, Chloe Hart, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Stanford University, said the subject came up often in 27 in-depth interviews she had with female engineers about their social interactions at work. This article is spinning a narrative that sexual harassment and discrimination in Silicon Valley are so widespread and endemic that we need a fresh start. All based on one sociology grad student's unpublished research. I'm not sure I share this view. Are Google, Facebook, Netflix so far beyond repair that we need a fresh start? From what I know of these companies, I would think that they actually treat women better than most other American companies, including the New York Times.

52 points by corvallis 9y ago

I often hear investors framing their investment decisions in terms of the team as much or more than the product. I would hope that investors recognize that the sort of alleged behavior and culture at Upload is both wrong and poisonous to building a company that can scale. Investors should do more due diligence and counseling around creating a healthy company culture lest any traction be undermined by becoming known as a bad actor, reducing your talent pool as a result, lawsuits, etc.

comstock 9y ago
Yes, but in my experience it's just talk. What they actually mean by "team" is have the founders previously founded a successful startup, or been involved in one. That's it. I'd love to hear other opinions, but that's my experience talking to VCs. They rarely ask detailed team questions, or get to know the team. They ask tech and market questions mostly...
- jonnathanson 9y ago
  Team is basically code for what I will call the Three P's: pedigree, pattern, and proof. * Pedigree: Do you have a track record in this domain? Have you been involved in success stories before? If nothing else, do you check the requisite Stanford/Google/Facebook/Apple boxes? * Pattern: Does this team more or less resemble successful teams the VC has seen before? * Proof: Who is vouching for this team? Who else is interested in this deal?
  - uninterested 9y ago
    But... what about diversity? I mean, inclusion?

paladin314159 9y ago

> When asked about being mentioned in the suit, Mr. Gopman, who has drawn attention in tech circles before for criticizing homeless people, said he was not happy about it. “How am I going to get married some day if I have to explain that?” he asked. Upload declined to comment on its former employee. Really now?

neveroffensive 9y ago

Is anyone else over all this? I just can't seem to care anymore. Why can't people just do their jobs and go home? Why is it so important for a work environment to be "socially safe"? The definition of social safety is arbitrary anyways. The assertion that sexual comments could be so pervasive you can't do your job is utterly absurd in my opinion. Then again maybe I'm just incapable of seeing past my male perspective...

staticautomatic 9y ago
It's great that you were able to answer your own question.
- neveroffensive 9y ago
  I see your point, but why is my perspective the wrong one?
  - solidsnack9000 9y ago
    It comes down to whether people have a reasonable expectation of sexual conduct at work. If the answer is no, then if it makes someone uncomfortable you have to drop it. This is not the same as every kind of thing that can make someone uncomfortable. Should people reasonably expect to have their performance reviewed at work? Yes. So if it makes them uncomfortable, too bad...
    - neveroffensive 9y ago
      I know it's not what you meant, but obviously unwanted physical sexual conduct is immoral/illegal. In regard to verbal sexual conduct I would say it is certainly undesirable in a work environment. I wouldn't allow it for a second if I ran a company, but this isn't my company. If Upload want's sexual conduct to be a part of their work environment, it's a dumb choice, but it's their choice. You can't brow beat society into being perfect, you can only give people basic rights and hope for the best. I'm sorry but I just don't think anyone has the right to be free from verbal harassment. I challenge you to even come up with a definition for verbal harassment that could be universally applicable.

KKKKkkkk1 9y ago

> Across the tech industry, sexual harassment appears to be ingrained. While the research is largely anecdotal and fragmentary, Chloe Hart, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at Stanford University, said the subject came up often in 27 in-depth interviews she had with female engineers about their social interactions at work. This article is spinning a narrative that sexual harassment and discrimination in Silicon Valley are so widespread and endemic that we need a fresh start. All based on one sociology grad student's unpublished research. I'm not sure I share this view. Are Google, Facebook, Netflix so far beyond repair that we need a fresh start? From what I know of these companies, I would think that they actually treat women better than most other American companies, including the New York Times.