> As for why he does not name Valve directly, Geldreich tells one person that he did not use "the V word" specifically to avoid press. Trying to avoid press, o

> As for why he does not name Valve directly, Geldreich tells one person that he did not use "the V word" specifically to avoid press. Trying to avoid press, only to have said press knocking on his door and asking for an interview. Classy. That being said, it doesn't surprise me a bit. I worked on a startup for a year or so that touted a flat structure. I was lucky to be in the in-group and in the end, our decisions (A couple other senior engineers + me, plus the founders themselves) were the only ones that mattered. Not gonna lie, it was a rather enlightening and profitable period in my life, and when I parted ways I made sure I did so in good terms, but it still leaves me with a slight bad taste in my mouth. Had I not been a childhood friend of one of the co-founders, I'd probably have gotten treated like nothing, or worse yet, not hired at all. Later on I found out the company had gone bankrupt and the founders had parted ways, probably fishing for that buyout or that VC money they never got. Every once in a while I correspond with the friend that let me in, but we try not to talk about our time in the company.