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> When will we acknowledge that one of the most noble pursuits Christ, this Superhero CEO bullshit has to stop. It is beyond absurd. Is the multi-hundred X inc
by _jal 5y ago
> When will we acknowledge that one of the most noble pursuits
Christ, this Superhero CEO bullshit has to stop. It is beyond absurd. Is the multi-hundred X income multiplier really insufficient, they need their egos stroked constantly, too?
I have co-founded a startup, and otherwise have worked at them for almost the entirety of my adult life. I know how much work, risk, and pain is involved.
But this apparent need for Glorification of the Supremely Worthy Job Creator nonsense is just cultish and gross.
- aerosmile 5y agoI wouldn't have chosen the term noble either, but remember there are some non-native English speakers here. Fundamentally, people don't start companies for social status reasons - if anything, social status is the reason not to quit your comfy executive job at a large tech company and instead have to work out of a co-working space. And since your own description of your professional career implies that your startup didn't make you a billionaire, I really don't understand why it was necessary to bring up the "multi-hundred X income multiplier" fallacy.
- andreilys 5y agoSociety would be better off glorifying entrepreneurs than instagram celebrities. Also most founders do not get a multi-hundred X income multiplier. Instead they fail and often go into debt. Yes there are some outsized winners, but the vast majority don’t. That’s why we should be elevating those individuals to promote a culture of risk-taking.
- Apocryphon 5y agoInstagram celebrities are just entrepreneurs of fame. Many have made entire fortunes by monetizing social media exposure.
- andreilys 5y agoSure and I’d rather society glorify those who decide to start things - mom & pop shops, new products, services, etc. than someone who takes photos of themselves to create an online persona that they go on to monetize.
- Apocryphon 5y agoThere's often a thin line. A lot of these influencers end up peddling products or services of their own- after achieving fame, it's best to diversify one's business. And the online persona do at the very least provide a service to the public: entertainment.
- triceratops 5y agoHey now, those Instagram celebrities are "influencers". They're entrepreneurs too. I don't think either is particularly worthy of "glorification". I'd reserve glory purely for people who help other people without much monetary reward.
- andreilys 5y agoSo someone like Henry Ford who helped popularize cars gets no glory, but someone who dedicates their life to running an orphanage for free does? Sure the latter is important, and we should talk about them too. But civilization progresses due to risk-takers like Ford who spot an opportunity and dogmatically pursue it.
- triceratops 5y ago> So someone like Henry Ford who helped popularize cars gets no glory, but someone who dedicates their life to running an orphanage for free does? Yeah that sounds about right to me. Ford got a ton of money, what's he need glory on top of that for?
- kortilla 5y agoBecause we don’t need to glorify pursuits that aren’t advancing society. I’d rather we had another newly minted billionaire employing 60k people with middle class jobs than one more man who helps old ladies cross the street for free.
- triceratops 5y agoIt's clear we have very different ideas about what "advancing society" is. I tend to think that people like MLK are the ones that advance society. The man helping old ladies cross the street is advancing society. Successful businesses advance the economy. A billionaire who employs 60k people hasn't done anything altruistic. It's a business, not a charity. The skills and time of those 60k people made the billionaire a billionaire. Why would I laud either side in a fair exchange? I might praise the skill and foresight of the billionaire. I might praise the skill and hard work of the workers. But neither is "advancing society". They're pursuing their own interests.
- Opt_Out_Fed_IRS 5y ago> Society would be better off glorifying entrepreneurs than instagram celebrities. How about that happens after they retire at 80? That would be a good balance. You glorify an entrepreneur and soon enough he'd be pushing BS vaporware products or using his cult of personality to raise endless equity at absurd valuation or outright scamming the government (Musk cough cough...conman cough cough)