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> Customers want value. If a feature will save them $5 a month, they'll trade with martians if they have to. You're out of your mind if you think that white me

> Customers want value. If a feature will save them $5 a month, they'll trade with martians if they have to. You're out of your mind if you think that white men who golf don't have a leg up for all things B2B.

stretchwithme 16y ago
you're out of your mind if you think they won't cross the street if they can make a million more.
- michaelchisari 16y ago
  Things aren't that simple, we're not just dealing with people selling a proven, viable product, we're dealing with how venture capital is acquired and funding secured, especially for ideas which are risky or unproven, which "disruptive" technologies inherently are. There's the concept of social capital, and how social networks and cultural bias affect that for founders. It's true that a non-privileged founder who builds the ultimate money-saving, world-changing technology will have a harder time being ignored, but we should never be so willing to handwave such obvious homogeny amongst the elite.
  - stretchwithme 16y ago
    Even the dumb, biased people with money have to compete with smart investors that leave no stone, black or white, unturned in their search for opportunity. Hegemony is simply not there. There is competition in venture capital and against venture capital. It only takes a minority of investors to make an investment. And most of them are quite used to dissenting and thinking for themselves.
    - trustfundbaby 16y ago
      > Even the dumb, biased people with money have to compete with smart investors that leave no stone, black or white, unturned in their search for opportunity You might be surprised at how untrue that turns out to be. Investors are focused on winning ... and to do that they'll usually go with what fits the prototype of a winner ... much the same way NFL teams pick quarterbacks (right height, right throwing motion, etc) People aren't just going to throw thousands of dollars after minorities just because there might be a Google there somewhere ... they're going to go where the hits are coming ... MIT, San Francisco, Harvard ... places that many minorities are not.
      - xiaoma 16y ago
        > MIT, San Francisco, Harvard ... places that many minorities are not. Have you been to San Francisco? It's one of the most diverse places on the planet. And it's not only in terms of race but also language, culture, religion and sexual practices.
        trustfundbaby 16y ago
        Yes I have.
        trustfundbaby 16y ago
        > San Francisco Yes I have ... didn't see that many black folks when I was there.
        xiaoma 16y ago
        Diversity doesn't narrowly equate to the number of black people you encounter during visits. According to Wikipedia, San Fransisco is 7.3% black, 31.3% asian, 14.0% hispanic and a total of 35.6% of the residents are from outside the US. It also has the highest ratio of gay/lesbian individuals of anywhere in the US at 15.4%. That is a LOT of minorities and a lot of diversity no matter how you slice it and downmodding me won't change the fact.
- trustfundbaby 16y ago
  Sure they will ... the problem is they typically don't think the average black/latino kid is going to make them that million, if he isn't playing professional sports
mikx 16y ago
You're out of your mind if you think that a pair of hippies could build the world's biggest tech company. It's always an uphill battle no matter who you are. The world isn't fair; disregard it and startup anyways.
- stretchwithme 16y ago
  yeah, the last thing you want to do is buy into the notion that the world is aligned against you. Its a self fulfilling prophecy and we do people a disservice propagating the idea.
  - trustfundbaby 16y ago
    Yet ... many many minority kids grow up with that mindset, and just telling them they're wrong is not going to get them to change their mindset ... in fact it will only make them more defensive and angry at you. You know what could be productive? Acknowledging that there are more things stacked against them than the average white kid, for example, but that life is kind of like that. So since nobody rises to low expectations ... they need to set high standards for themselves and fight like hell to achieve those expectations because even though the odds aren't in their favor ... what used to be a 20 foot concrete wall now is nowadays only a little hurdle ... they just have to actually jump
    - stretchwithme 16y ago
      Well, I'm not in the business of telling minority kids they are wrong. I'm just advocating that we don't reinforce the idea that achievement requires that you must be approved of by the mainstream. It does not. Dozens of other things are more important. Let us focus on those.
      - michaelchisari 16y ago
        Recognizing the myriad factors involved in social capital, social networks, and cultural bias should not be misconstrued as reinforcing privilege. In practice, it's exactly the opposite.
mdda 16y ago
The article focussed on how the creators of "Facebook," "Google," "MySpace," "BEBO," "Twitter." don't look like the students. You may be right about the golfing set & B2B, but you're adding your own spin. I just came back from a 'Wall Street' conference down in Orlando : The delegates there came in all shapes, sizes, genders, nationalities and hues. Far more so than the people getting off the plane to go to Disneyland, IMHO.

stretchwithme 16y ago

you're out of your mind if you think they won't cross the street if they can make a million more.

michaelchisari 16y ago
Things aren't that simple, we're not just dealing with people selling a proven, viable product, we're dealing with how venture capital is acquired and funding secured, especially for ideas which are risky or unproven, which "disruptive" technologies inherently are. There's the concept of social capital, and how social networks and cultural bias affect that for founders. It's true that a non-privileged founder who builds the ultimate money-saving, world-changing technology will have a harder time being ignored, but we should never be so willing to handwave such obvious homogeny amongst the elite.
- stretchwithme 16y ago
  Even the dumb, biased people with money have to compete with smart investors that leave no stone, black or white, unturned in their search for opportunity. Hegemony is simply not there. There is competition in venture capital and against venture capital. It only takes a minority of investors to make an investment. And most of them are quite used to dissenting and thinking for themselves.
  - trustfundbaby 16y ago
    > Even the dumb, biased people with money have to compete with smart investors that leave no stone, black or white, unturned in their search for opportunity You might be surprised at how untrue that turns out to be. Investors are focused on winning ... and to do that they'll usually go with what fits the prototype of a winner ... much the same way NFL teams pick quarterbacks (right height, right throwing motion, etc) People aren't just going to throw thousands of dollars after minorities just because there might be a Google there somewhere ... they're going to go where the hits are coming ... MIT, San Francisco, Harvard ... places that many minorities are not.
    - xiaoma 16y ago
      > MIT, San Francisco, Harvard ... places that many minorities are not. Have you been to San Francisco? It's one of the most diverse places on the planet. And it's not only in terms of race but also language, culture, religion and sexual practices.
      - trustfundbaby 16y ago
        Yes I have.
      - trustfundbaby 16y ago
        > San Francisco Yes I have ... didn't see that many black folks when I was there.
        xiaoma 16y ago
        Diversity doesn't narrowly equate to the number of black people you encounter during visits. According to Wikipedia, San Fransisco is 7.3% black, 31.3% asian, 14.0% hispanic and a total of 35.6% of the residents are from outside the US. It also has the highest ratio of gay/lesbian individuals of anywhere in the US at 15.4%. That is a LOT of minorities and a lot of diversity no matter how you slice it and downmodding me won't change the fact.
trustfundbaby 16y ago
Sure they will ... the problem is they typically don't think the average black/latino kid is going to make them that million, if he isn't playing professional sports

mikx 16y ago

You're out of your mind if you think that a pair of hippies could build the world's biggest tech company. It's always an uphill battle no matter who you are. The world isn't fair; disregard it and startup anyways.

stretchwithme 16y ago
yeah, the last thing you want to do is buy into the notion that the world is aligned against you. Its a self fulfilling prophecy and we do people a disservice propagating the idea.
- trustfundbaby 16y ago
  Yet ... many many minority kids grow up with that mindset, and just telling them they're wrong is not going to get them to change their mindset ... in fact it will only make them more defensive and angry at you. You know what could be productive? Acknowledging that there are more things stacked against them than the average white kid, for example, but that life is kind of like that. So since nobody rises to low expectations ... they need to set high standards for themselves and fight like hell to achieve those expectations because even though the odds aren't in their favor ... what used to be a 20 foot concrete wall now is nowadays only a little hurdle ... they just have to actually jump
  - stretchwithme 16y ago
    Well, I'm not in the business of telling minority kids they are wrong. I'm just advocating that we don't reinforce the idea that achievement requires that you must be approved of by the mainstream. It does not. Dozens of other things are more important. Let us focus on those.
    - michaelchisari 16y ago
      Recognizing the myriad factors involved in social capital, social networks, and cultural bias should not be misconstrued as reinforcing privilege. In practice, it's exactly the opposite.

mdda 16y ago

The article focussed on how the creators of "Facebook," "Google," "MySpace," "BEBO," "Twitter." don't look like the students. You may be right about the golfing set & B2B, but you're adding your own spin. I just came back from a 'Wall Street' conference down in Orlando : The delegates there came in all shapes, sizes, genders, nationalities and hues. Far more so than the people getting off the plane to go to Disneyland, IMHO.