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"Start up" companies need to also cut down their frivolous expenditures such as office deco, unhealthy snacks, company boondoggle trips...and a long list of par

"Start up" companies need to also cut down their frivolous expenditures such as office deco, unhealthy snacks, company boondoggle trips...and a long list of pareto tail items that if added can be a significant recurring cost to the business. It almost feels like when economy is good, instead of capitalizing on efficiency and perfection; the choice is instead to ship broken products and waste insane amounts of money - reminds me of pre-dotcom bubble when people were spending VC cash like there is no tomorrow. Use capital to increase business leverage. Employees are also at fault - startup folks demand such cool places to work because that's what everybody does. The effect compounds with no one looking at it from the bird's eyes perspective - not company leaders, not employees and not investors.

zemo 7y ago
really not sure what you're getting at and how this is connected to the pandemic. Contrary to what HN may peddle, "startup" is not an industry. Many startups are in industries that are doing extremely well right now. E.g., with people spending so much time inside, online entertainment in all its varieties is thriving.
- fermienrico 7y ago
  I am just speaking in general - nothing to do with this pandemic. If we look at the difference of company culture in say Munich, Boston, Osaka, etc vs. Silicon Valley; there is a huge amount of waste: Airbnb Office: https://www.google.com/search?q=airbnb+offices&client=firefox-b-1-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiWw_WOrcHoAhUEP30KHXp5AuAQ_AUoAXoECBYQAw&biw=1920&bih=921 https://www.google.com/search?q=airbnb+offices&client=firefo... I am sure there are exceptions but I am commenting on what I perceive as a person living in the silicon valley. "Start up" companies - meaning the unicorns - sink a lot of money into things to attract people. What they have a simple office and benefits, provide more pay to the employees or invest back into the company to increase leverage? I also heard that Airbnb CEO was grilled by the board for all this spending, quoting WSJ [1] > Executives were grilled at a board meeting late last year on why overheads such as its head office and employee expenses had been allowed to balloon, outpacing even the then-rapid growth in revenue. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbnb-racks-up-hundreds-of-millions-in-losses-due-to-coronavirus-11584723498 https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbnb-racks-up-hundreds-of-mil... This seems to be a pattern in silicon valley. Get a ton of VC money, spend it on nice stuff because profitability is 10 years down the line.

zemo 7y ago

really not sure what you're getting at and how this is connected to the pandemic. Contrary to what HN may peddle, "startup" is not an industry. Many startups are in industries that are doing extremely well right now. E.g., with people spending so much time inside, online entertainment in all its varieties is thriving.

fermienrico 7y ago
I am just speaking in general - nothing to do with this pandemic. If we look at the difference of company culture in say Munich, Boston, Osaka, etc vs. Silicon Valley; there is a huge amount of waste: Airbnb Office: https://www.google.com/search?q=airbnb+offices&client=firefox-b-1-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiWw_WOrcHoAhUEP30KHXp5AuAQ_AUoAXoECBYQAw&biw=1920&bih=921 https://www.google.com/search?q=airbnb+offices&client=firefo... I am sure there are exceptions but I am commenting on what I perceive as a person living in the silicon valley. "Start up" companies - meaning the unicorns - sink a lot of money into things to attract people. What they have a simple office and benefits, provide more pay to the employees or invest back into the company to increase leverage? I also heard that Airbnb CEO was grilled by the board for all this spending, quoting WSJ [1] > Executives were grilled at a board meeting late last year on why overheads such as its head office and employee expenses had been allowed to balloon, outpacing even the then-rapid growth in revenue. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbnb-racks-up-hundreds-of-millions-in-losses-due-to-coronavirus-11584723498 https://www.wsj.com/articles/airbnb-racks-up-hundreds-of-mil... This seems to be a pattern in silicon valley. Get a ton of VC money, spend it on nice stuff because profitability is 10 years down the line.