It's the people. Driven to do bad out of fear. Tech is capitalism at its best and worst, with the best being bad for a lot of people. Self imposed hardship and

It's the people. Driven to do bad out of fear. Tech is capitalism at its best and worst, with the best being bad for a lot of people. Self imposed hardship and self sacrifice is the name of the pursuit. Everyone is a chaser. You then have VCs and angels and business partners with immense leverage over these struggles, often struggling themselves. This brings out the bad in a lot of people. Cheating, backstabbing, and a general lack of integrity. Pervasive, regardless of status or level. I didn't understand this at all, but it turns out much of it is driven from fear, as most actions inevitably are. And it gets worse with rising stakes, so its worse at higher levels. Integrity is expensive. Kindness is expensive. Empathy is expensive. And competence is rare. So good meaning, goodhearted, friendly people fail to sustain their good nature when shit hits the fan. And shit is always hitting the fan. People will act good until they cannot afford to. Or think they can't. Until they're scared. And that's the saddest part. They think they have to cheat. They then witness others do it, and think its just the way. Not me we tell ourselves, but sooner or later, the ultimatum presents itself: be good or survive. And we've seen the fallen. Chances are we've been a victim of one. Or work for one. Or deal with one. Or sit next to one. And the one thing they're good at is survival. No wonder there are so damn many of them. Then what is the answer? Don't trust anyone. Ergo, integrity is the luxury most often enjoyed alone. But. If you enjoy your own company, then that's a start. If you have an incredible product or service, then that's a start. If you don't need anyone's help, then that's a start. And if you have a warm home you can return to, then that's a start. The one thing that will make your life easier is obvious. Kick ass. Just be so good, and run with it, or don't bother. That should be the motto of every entrepreneur. Or any endeavor, for that matter. You're jumping into a snake pit. That's a given. Bring a flamethrower, or don't bother. Every kick ass startup kicks ass. If your ass is being kicked, you're doing it wrong, and you're wrong. You'd be right to get out as soon as possible.