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No offense to Chamath (what I know of him, I think he's generally pretty smart and likable), but this is a bit of a stretch: > He said that investors pump mone

by mbesto 9y ago

No offense to Chamath (what I know of him, I think he's generally pretty smart and likable), but this is a bit of a stretch: > He said that investors pump money into “shitty, useless, idiotic companies,” rather than addressing real problems like climate change and disease. Palihapitiya currently runs his own VC firm, Social Capital, which focuses on funding companies in sectors like healthcare and education. http://www.socialcapital.com/portfolio/ http://www.socialcapital.com/portfolio/ 19 Enterprise software companies 10 Financial services companies 5 consumer companies including companies like this: https://www.bustle.com/about https://www.bustle.com/about These companies are focusing on "real problems"?

crpatino 9y ago
I am not sure what your point is. Do you mean that him being a (very well paid) hypocrite invalidates his criticism of social media? Or you just want to point out that his alternative is barely any better?
Kalium 9y ago
I'm increasingly convinced this sort of rhetoric is about advertising values to attract founders who care about alignment thereof rather than any real indication of their own investment choices. Social Capital isn't exactly focusing their money on getting poor kids from the hood into upper-quintile careers.
- meowface 9y ago
  So, (actual) virtue signaling?
monktastic1 9y ago
To save you a click: "NEW FORCE IN MEDIA ... Whether you’re searching for what’s happening in politics, what’s streaming this weekend, where to find size-inclusive clothing, ways to give back, or how much coffee to put in your coffee, we’re here to help you explore every topic that interests you." From http://www.bustle.com/about http://www.bustle.com/about
neerkumar 9y ago
And InstaEdu, within the education section, was that site where students would pay people to do their homework. It was just a place where students could cheat.
l4yao 9y ago
Your list isn't complete. In addition to what you mentioned, there are: 6 Education 3 "Frontier" 13 Healthcare That seems like a pretty healthy mix. By only providing select points of the complete picture, aren't you contributing to the problem he's describing?
- mbesto 9y ago
  I provided those data points because they represent more than half of the portfolio. I never said that SC didn't make investments in "real problems", I was making a point that they were also investing in companies that could be considered "shitty, useless, idiotic companies" and/or "weren't solving 'real problems'". > That seems like a pretty healthy mix. Yes, these guys are very good investors, no doubt. As a fellow capitalist I too would have made the same bets. But that has nothing to do with my point - which is the vision of the fund is inconsistent with what I would consider the vision of the majority of the companies that are invested in. > aren't you contributing to the problem he's describing? How so?
syshum 9y ago
>These companies are focusing on "real problems"? If you listen to the talk he says many times "Get the Money" then focus on the real problems The key here is you have to get the money first, then you have the power and resources to make social change and fix the real problems So his mix of investments does not have to 100% "real problems" like climate change, his (stated) goal is to get capital from those other projects and use that to fund other companies that focus on "Real Problems"
SmellyGeekBoy 9y ago
Incidentally, it was at this point in the story I went from "hey, this guy has a good point" to "hey, this is just a sales pitch for his VC firm". Oh well.

by mbesto 9y ago

crpatino 9y ago

I am not sure what your point is. Do you mean that him being a (very well paid) hypocrite invalidates his criticism of social media? Or you just want to point out that his alternative is barely any better?

Kalium 9y ago

I'm increasingly convinced this sort of rhetoric is about advertising values to attract founders who care about alignment thereof rather than any real indication of their own investment choices. Social Capital isn't exactly focusing their money on getting poor kids from the hood into upper-quintile careers.

meowface 9y ago
So, (actual) virtue signaling?

monktastic1 9y ago

To save you a click: "NEW FORCE IN MEDIA ... Whether you’re searching for what’s happening in politics, what’s streaming this weekend, where to find size-inclusive clothing, ways to give back, or how much coffee to put in your coffee, we’re here to help you explore every topic that interests you." From http://www.bustle.com/about http://www.bustle.com/about

neerkumar 9y ago

And InstaEdu, within the education section, was that site where students would pay people to do their homework. It was just a place where students could cheat.

l4yao 9y ago

Your list isn't complete. In addition to what you mentioned, there are: 6 Education 3 "Frontier" 13 Healthcare That seems like a pretty healthy mix. By only providing select points of the complete picture, aren't you contributing to the problem he's describing?

mbesto 9y ago
I provided those data points because they represent more than half of the portfolio. I never said that SC didn't make investments in "real problems", I was making a point that they were also investing in companies that could be considered "shitty, useless, idiotic companies" and/or "weren't solving 'real problems'". > That seems like a pretty healthy mix. Yes, these guys are very good investors, no doubt. As a fellow capitalist I too would have made the same bets. But that has nothing to do with my point - which is the vision of the fund is inconsistent with what I would consider the vision of the majority of the companies that are invested in. > aren't you contributing to the problem he's describing? How so?

syshum 9y ago

>These companies are focusing on "real problems"? If you listen to the talk he says many times "Get the Money" then focus on the real problems The key here is you have to get the money first, then you have the power and resources to make social change and fix the real problems So his mix of investments does not have to 100% "real problems" like climate change, his (stated) goal is to get capital from those other projects and use that to fund other companies that focus on "Real Problems"

SmellyGeekBoy 9y ago

Incidentally, it was at this point in the story I went from "hey, this guy has a good point" to "hey, this is just a sales pitch for his VC firm". Oh well.