4 ms·

Am I the only one who is a bit offended by the cleavage shot on a post about looking for a CTO? Not by the cleavage shot itself, but by the idea that she thinks

Am I the only one who is a bit offended by the cleavage shot on a post about looking for a CTO? Not by the cleavage shot itself, but by the idea that she thinks it might help her get a CTO. Now that I think about it though, sadly, it might.

lucian1900 15y ago
From the title and picture, at first I thought she was looking for a date.
sp332 15y ago
edit: She changed her Facebook profile picture to that photo about 4 days before the article was posted. She's also made it her Twitter avatar (@marenkate). So I guess it's not a joke, and it's not about getting a CTO. That's just how she represents herself online.
- maren 15y ago
  it is how i represent myself online & off - just me being me, nothing racy or sexual intended.
spudlyo 15y ago
I wasn't offended per se, but it did make me think a bit about sexual politics in the workplace. I know my technical soul mate is out there somewhere – it’s just a process of kissing enough geeky frogs to get to the geeky prince charming i.e. technical co-founder of my dreams. Ew. Really? Obviously she can use her hotness to get geek boys to rally to her cause, but ultimately shouldn't it be the strength of her ideas that sells the position?
- sliverstorm 15y ago
  It's not like every great idea is immediately obviously great. I could have sworn one of the values in this community was tireless drive when nobody else believes in your company, doing whatever need be done to make it a success? How is what she's doing (if that's what she's doing) particularly different? Especially considering I bet there's at least a couple founders on here who have occasionally turned on the charm to help reel in female investors.
  - spudlyo 15y ago
    Perhaps it's not that different than how charismatic folks routinely get people to help them. I realize it's supposed to come off as a funny piece that reads like an online dating profile, but it does feel like pandering to me. I guess I was more offended by it than I first thought.
    - maren 15y ago
      Crap, it's getting more offensive the more you think about it? :(
- maren 15y ago
  That line was a joke... I like to try and be clever in my writing but obviously it often falls flat :) The strength of the position is how far we've got without a CTO - product shipped, iterations made, sales & traction - not me or my poor attempts at humor.
maren 15y ago
First off, that's just a cool picture I like. I didn't even notice any cleavage until you mentioned it - sorry - wasn't meant to offend. I wouldn't be offended if a guy had buff arms in a picture or his shirt opened a little & you could see his abs - the picture was meant to represent me (someone my CTO would be spending a lot of time with) and I simply liked it - thought it looked cool w/ the Instagram lens I chose to use. Again, apologies if it offended you.
- Aloisius 15y ago
  No no. I just scanned the text and saw the image and jumped to conclusions. That said, if I saw a startup founder posing in any sort of check-out-my-body way in order to convey the culture of the company, I would find it entirely unprofessional. Well unless it was an exercise company I suppose. A little unsolicited advice from a technical founder on his fourth startup? What I look for in co-founders first and foremost is their ability to execute, not culture. In a small startup, everyone shapes culture. I'm looking for someone who is respectable enough to bring into a VC, looks like they're on top of their game, is fearless, is absolutely passionate about their idea, can convince other people that their idea is great and has some sense of what they're doing. Good luck with your search!

lucian1900 15y ago

From the title and picture, at first I thought she was looking for a date.

sp332 15y ago

edit: She changed her Facebook profile picture to that photo about 4 days before the article was posted. She's also made it her Twitter avatar (@marenkate). So I guess it's not a joke, and it's not about getting a CTO. That's just how she represents herself online.

maren 15y ago
it is how i represent myself online & off - just me being me, nothing racy or sexual intended.

spudlyo 15y ago

I wasn't offended per se, but it did make me think a bit about sexual politics in the workplace. I know my technical soul mate is out there somewhere – it’s just a process of kissing enough geeky frogs to get to the geeky prince charming i.e. technical co-founder of my dreams. Ew. Really? Obviously she can use her hotness to get geek boys to rally to her cause, but ultimately shouldn't it be the strength of her ideas that sells the position?

sliverstorm 15y ago
It's not like every great idea is immediately obviously great. I could have sworn one of the values in this community was tireless drive when nobody else believes in your company, doing whatever need be done to make it a success? How is what she's doing (if that's what she's doing) particularly different? Especially considering I bet there's at least a couple founders on here who have occasionally turned on the charm to help reel in female investors.
- spudlyo 15y ago
  Perhaps it's not that different than how charismatic folks routinely get people to help them. I realize it's supposed to come off as a funny piece that reads like an online dating profile, but it does feel like pandering to me. I guess I was more offended by it than I first thought.
  - maren 15y ago
    Crap, it's getting more offensive the more you think about it? :(
maren 15y ago
That line was a joke... I like to try and be clever in my writing but obviously it often falls flat :) The strength of the position is how far we've got without a CTO - product shipped, iterations made, sales & traction - not me or my poor attempts at humor.

maren 15y ago

First off, that's just a cool picture I like. I didn't even notice any cleavage until you mentioned it - sorry - wasn't meant to offend. I wouldn't be offended if a guy had buff arms in a picture or his shirt opened a little & you could see his abs - the picture was meant to represent me (someone my CTO would be spending a lot of time with) and I simply liked it - thought it looked cool w/ the Instagram lens I chose to use. Again, apologies if it offended you.

Aloisius 15y ago
No no. I just scanned the text and saw the image and jumped to conclusions. That said, if I saw a startup founder posing in any sort of check-out-my-body way in order to convey the culture of the company, I would find it entirely unprofessional. Well unless it was an exercise company I suppose. A little unsolicited advice from a technical founder on his fourth startup? What I look for in co-founders first and foremost is their ability to execute, not culture. In a small startup, everyone shapes culture. I'm looking for someone who is respectable enough to bring into a VC, looks like they're on top of their game, is fearless, is absolutely passionate about their idea, can convince other people that their idea is great and has some sense of what they're doing. Good luck with your search!