9 ms·

Across furtive videocons, junior VCs wait for the layoffs to begin

72 points by e2e4 7y ago

xwowsersx 7y ago
Serious question, is this normal for TC or journalism in general? > We are actively reporting this; feel free to reach out to me or other staffers at TechCrunch if you have tips here. Seems wildly unprofessional/sloppy to me.
- kevingadd 7y ago
  It's very common lately for online press when it comes to breaking news. I see it from many outlets not just TC
- sgrove 7y ago
  I believe their entire credibility model is largely based on this, as per the TechCrunch founder himself at Startup School back in 2008 https://youtu.be/HbUnatPfSgg?t=238 https://youtu.be/HbUnatPfSgg?t=238 (the whole talk is certainly a trip back in time!) I remember listening to that and thinking, "So.... the info I have on close friends and business is valuable, and I should potentially sell it out to TC in order to curry favor." I wasn't in SVBA at the time, and even then I felt that it didn't quite match the spirit of the valley (I still believe that to be the case, having been here for 10+ years now).
- manfredo 7y ago
  Requests for people with firsthand accounts are things I see from reputable sources like the Economist, and the New York Times. So I don't think it's particularly unprofessional - maybe asking for "tips" is less professional than "we welcome hearing your accounts of the events". That said, I don't hold Tech Crunch in very high regard. I take most of their reporting with a grain of salt, and assume most articles are exaggerated to attract more attention.
- simtel20 7y ago
  The only thing that makes a journalist a journalist is having sources. Any reasonable solicitation for those sources is professional and appropriate.
- blawson 7y ago
  The BBC has (and has been made fun of for having) a text box at the bottom of a lot of their articles requesting input from readers on how they are impacted: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51949243 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51949243 Making fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP-rkzJ6yZw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP-rkzJ6yZw
- hbosch 7y ago
  No, not really. Reporting on real-time events, rather than past events, generally relies heavily on tips and sources to fully develop a story.
- pjc50 7y ago
  How else are reporters supposed to find this stuff out?
  - u801e 7y ago
    A lot of articles these days source their material from various social media posts. There are some articles where the vast majority of the content comes from embedded Twitter posts.
seibelj 7y ago
Pre-2008 financial crisis we didn't have the iPhone, no app stores, cloud hadn't truly taken off, and my graduating class of 4000 students had only 30 computer science majors. The 2010's were such a golden age for software developers in terms of salaries, employers bending over backwards, never ending funding, etc. etc. Many young tech workers are "children of the summer" and never known any dark days. Although this will be painful, it will also teach people a lot of lessons. A lot of weaker talent, sketchy business models, and fast money investors are going to wash out and the industry will emerge stronger.
- bdcravens 7y ago
  > A lot of weaker talent, sketchy business models, and fast money investors are going to wash out and the industry will emerge stronger. Sounds like 2002. (In other words, been there, done that, got through it by working for "boring" companies)
  - Ididntdothis 7y ago
    In 2002 I realized that I wasn’t the hotshot I thought I was. I bet a lot of people will learn that soon too.
    - bdcravens 7y ago
      For sure. I really worry about the one-trick ponies that know one front-end framework and have had no shortage of opportunities. (In the early 2000s, I knew a lot of ColdFusion devs who honestly weren't cut out to be programmers, but the ease of the language enabled them to earn king's ransoms ... until the jobs dried up and it became a buyer's market)
      - dillonmckay 7y ago
        Funnily enough, the shop I am in uses Coldfusion and Python, but CF is used on the more important, heavily trafficked apps. Do you remember the guy teaching AOL server and placing them in jobs? https://philip.greenspun.com/wtr/aolserver/introduction-1.html https://philip.greenspun.com/wtr/aolserver/introduction-1.ht... After the dotcom bust, people with cash seemed to turn to real estate, but I don’t think that is an option this turn. The real of ‘physical’ is a liability.
pbiggar 7y ago
> Third, and this is rarer, some funds have made loans or real estate investments using their management fee income as a way to boost the salary returns of the general partners. They what?!?
- gumby 7y ago
  The management fee is just cash for the GPs and they can do with it what they want. In theory it's to run their business until investments cash out but notice how they always force the company they are investing to pay legal fees (i.e. take it immediately out of the LP's new investment)? They just treat it as their income.
  - dkersten 7y ago
    > notice how they always force the company they are investing to pay legal fees (i.e. take it immediately out of the LP's new investment) This always left a bad taste with me
    - gumby 7y ago
      I had an investor who had breakfast with me twice a month. He always picked up the tab. Then the firm (with a billion+ fund) sent the company an invoice every quarter. I had lunch with him the other day (before lockdown) and he paid. I’m no longer at that company so I wonder who might be billed.
      - sgrove 7y ago
        You're saying the firm retroactively invoiced the company for the lunch the investor had (and ostensibly paid for) with you?
        gumby 7y ago
        Yep, I assume he used his company card. What really got me is that breakfast at hobee's was something like $15 for the two of us. Crazy!
erik_landerholm 7y ago
This article reads like a bad gossip rag but instead of being about failing celeb marriages it’s less interesting.
- dehrmann 7y ago
  I miss Valleywag.
- mavsman 7y ago
  Couldn't agree more. > I have heard rumors — and they are just rumors, for now > We are actively reporting this; feel free to reach out to me or other staffers at TechCrunch if you have tips here. Basically, "I heard this thing, has anyone else heard it?" Also, what does that even mean that they're "actively" reporting it. It's like they're trying to give it more credence than the rumor it is.

72 points by e2e4 7y ago

Serious question, is this normal for TC or journalism in general? > We are actively reporting this; feel free to reach out to me or other staffers at TechCrunch if you have tips here. Seems wildly unprofessional/sloppy to me.

kevingadd 7y ago
It's very common lately for online press when it comes to breaking news. I see it from many outlets not just TC
sgrove 7y ago
I believe their entire credibility model is largely based on this, as per the TechCrunch founder himself at Startup School back in 2008 https://youtu.be/HbUnatPfSgg?t=238 https://youtu.be/HbUnatPfSgg?t=238 (the whole talk is certainly a trip back in time!) I remember listening to that and thinking, "So.... the info I have on close friends and business is valuable, and I should potentially sell it out to TC in order to curry favor." I wasn't in SVBA at the time, and even then I felt that it didn't quite match the spirit of the valley (I still believe that to be the case, having been here for 10+ years now).
manfredo 7y ago
Requests for people with firsthand accounts are things I see from reputable sources like the Economist, and the New York Times. So I don't think it's particularly unprofessional - maybe asking for "tips" is less professional than "we welcome hearing your accounts of the events". That said, I don't hold Tech Crunch in very high regard. I take most of their reporting with a grain of salt, and assume most articles are exaggerated to attract more attention.
simtel20 7y ago
The only thing that makes a journalist a journalist is having sources. Any reasonable solicitation for those sources is professional and appropriate.
blawson 7y ago
The BBC has (and has been made fun of for having) a text box at the bottom of a lot of their articles requesting input from readers on how they are impacted: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51949243 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51949243 Making fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP-rkzJ6yZw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP-rkzJ6yZw
hbosch 7y ago
No, not really. Reporting on real-time events, rather than past events, generally relies heavily on tips and sources to fully develop a story.
pjc50 7y ago
How else are reporters supposed to find this stuff out?
- u801e 7y ago
  A lot of articles these days source their material from various social media posts. There are some articles where the vast majority of the content comes from embedded Twitter posts.

seibelj 7y ago

Pre-2008 financial crisis we didn't have the iPhone, no app stores, cloud hadn't truly taken off, and my graduating class of 4000 students had only 30 computer science majors. The 2010's were such a golden age for software developers in terms of salaries, employers bending over backwards, never ending funding, etc. etc. Many young tech workers are "children of the summer" and never known any dark days. Although this will be painful, it will also teach people a lot of lessons. A lot of weaker talent, sketchy business models, and fast money investors are going to wash out and the industry will emerge stronger.

bdcravens 7y ago
> A lot of weaker talent, sketchy business models, and fast money investors are going to wash out and the industry will emerge stronger. Sounds like 2002. (In other words, been there, done that, got through it by working for "boring" companies)
- Ididntdothis 7y ago
  In 2002 I realized that I wasn’t the hotshot I thought I was. I bet a lot of people will learn that soon too.
  - bdcravens 7y ago
    For sure. I really worry about the one-trick ponies that know one front-end framework and have had no shortage of opportunities. (In the early 2000s, I knew a lot of ColdFusion devs who honestly weren't cut out to be programmers, but the ease of the language enabled them to earn king's ransoms ... until the jobs dried up and it became a buyer's market)
    - dillonmckay 7y ago
      Funnily enough, the shop I am in uses Coldfusion and Python, but CF is used on the more important, heavily trafficked apps. Do you remember the guy teaching AOL server and placing them in jobs? https://philip.greenspun.com/wtr/aolserver/introduction-1.html https://philip.greenspun.com/wtr/aolserver/introduction-1.ht... After the dotcom bust, people with cash seemed to turn to real estate, but I don’t think that is an option this turn. The real of ‘physical’ is a liability.

pbiggar 7y ago

> Third, and this is rarer, some funds have made loans or real estate investments using their management fee income as a way to boost the salary returns of the general partners. They what?!?

gumby 7y ago
The management fee is just cash for the GPs and they can do with it what they want. In theory it's to run their business until investments cash out but notice how they always force the company they are investing to pay legal fees (i.e. take it immediately out of the LP's new investment)? They just treat it as their income.
- dkersten 7y ago
  > notice how they always force the company they are investing to pay legal fees (i.e. take it immediately out of the LP's new investment) This always left a bad taste with me
  - gumby 7y ago
    I had an investor who had breakfast with me twice a month. He always picked up the tab. Then the firm (with a billion+ fund) sent the company an invoice every quarter. I had lunch with him the other day (before lockdown) and he paid. I’m no longer at that company so I wonder who might be billed.
    - sgrove 7y ago
      You're saying the firm retroactively invoiced the company for the lunch the investor had (and ostensibly paid for) with you?
      - gumby 7y ago
        Yep, I assume he used his company card. What really got me is that breakfast at hobee's was something like $15 for the two of us. Crazy!

erik_landerholm 7y ago

This article reads like a bad gossip rag but instead of being about failing celeb marriages it’s less interesting.

dehrmann 7y ago
I miss Valleywag.
mavsman 7y ago
Couldn't agree more. > I have heard rumors — and they are just rumors, for now > We are actively reporting this; feel free to reach out to me or other staffers at TechCrunch if you have tips here. Basically, "I heard this thing, has anyone else heard it?" Also, what does that even mean that they're "actively" reporting it. It's like they're trying to give it more credence than the rumor it is.