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I think Silicon Valley has the exact same proportion of Machiavellian executives and opportunist entrepreneurs as every other industry. The only difference is
by zwaps 6y ago
I think Silicon Valley has the exact same proportion of Machiavellian executives and opportunist entrepreneurs as every other industry.
The only difference is that part of the marketing of a SV company inevitably includes the claim to "make the world a better place" and to "be different" in some way.
Beyond this marketing claim, there is very little difference.
I also don't think that the cabal of financial services in NYC are the real constraint.
Instead, SV firms have found that users != customers is a good business model. It works, as long as the users can be convinced they are customers to some degree.
This business model is not ethically clean, yet very profitable.
And here is the example: Robinhood markets itself precisely as I have said above. Heck, even the name!
In reality, its customer is Citadel, and its product is early data on user trades.
One could say: It does the exact opposite of what its marketing would suggest - Taking profits from small investors and giving them a large hedge fund.
So really, SV is just as "bad".
- notahacker 6y ago> I think Silicon Valley has the exact same proportion of Machiavellian executives and opportunist entrepreneurs as every other industry. > The only difference is that part of the marketing of a SV company inevitably includes the claim to "make the world a better place" and to "be different" in some way. Beyond this marketing claim, there is very little difference. This. The reason why the "good" side isn't outsmarting everyone else is because most entities that claim to be disrupting "bad guys" either aim to sell to the "bad guys" they're "disrupting" or mimic their practices with a thin veneer of difference or do worse stuff of their own. Same goes for other less organised recent events. What got sold as "getting revenge on Wall St" is a bunch of novice traders convincing each other it's really worth it even if they lose money as Citadel racks up enormous profits on market making and the 470 institutional funds invested in GME see a bump to their portfolio.