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She seems pretty clear in her own mind to me. I'm not saying she's right, but it seems to me this is the essence of her argument: "Groupon clone after Groupon

by jdp23 15y ago

She seems pretty clear in her own mind to me. I'm not saying she's right, but it seems to me this is the essence of her argument: "Groupon clone after Groupon clone, yawn… yet another social media dashboard, a cloud-based enterprise solution or, worse still, another photo sharing app; I’ve heard pitch after pitch of the same technology and keep wondering why all these highly intelligent, well educated youngsters, many of whom have been educated in the best universities in the world (Stanford, Yale and Harvard) are not putting their brains to good use by solving real-world problems. Instead they’re building technology to solve trivial issues – like apps that show where to spot your nearest tofu cupcake and share it with your friends. I’ve come to the conclusion that entrepreneurship in the Valley has become productized, as organizations like Y Combinator attempt to marginalize, commoditize or manufacture a process that is inherently risky."

diego 15y ago
What's ironic is that the very tools she's using to complain are a product of the Silicon Valley. The blog itself runs on WordPress and pushes all its posts on Twitter. If it wasn't for the Silicon Valley model we may not be hearing her.
- lysol 15y ago
  What you're pointing out doesn't really discount her point. There can be countless Groupon clones and photo sharing apps that blow hard and still be gems like Twitter and Wordpress.
  - ultrasaurus 15y ago
    So her argument is that we should try to only make successful products?
    - justincormack 15y ago
      No, potentially world changing products. Most of which will fail. As most vc funded companies fail the failure is ok. She is complaining that the potential upside is too low due to lack of ambition to really change things radically.
    - EricBerglund 15y ago
      Really I think her point is best summed up by "It’s never about the technology or impact it’s having, it’s about the game of entrepreneurship; getting users, funding and exiting as quickly as you can." Her complaint seems to be that startups aren't trying to be successful businesses, they're trying to be successful startups, which aren't necessarily the same thing.
    - pedalpete 15y ago
      I think it goes without saying that you should try to only make successful products, but I think what is being argued here is that many of the companies she is seeing are just 'follow the leader' type companies. Groupon was successful, so we'll do the same thing. There are a few social metrics companies doing well, so we'll jump into that market and see what happens. What the author, I think, is saying, and what I believe personally is that if you do the same things that others are doing, you're guaranteed to have lots of competitors to duke it out with. Strike out and do something unexpected, find a market or make your own. It seems that many people think that creating a copy of another company with 'better design' or 'feature x' is innovating, but it isn't. Innovate in technology, business model, anything, but be innovative. The reason she mentions the companies she mentions is that it is easier to remember the innovators than the copy cats (and often the innovators have greater success).
pg 15y ago
It seems to me that the passage you quote could as well have been offered to support my point as to contradict it. Though as long as we have it here, it's pretty self-refuting that she treats all "cloud based enterprise solutions" as being effectively identical. That would be like someone writing an article a few decades ago and treating all startups making silicon chips as effectively identical.
- arctangent 15y ago
  I think you're right. I've never worked in a startup but my understanding is that their purpose is to discover profitable business models, not to put the world to rights. If your tofu-cupcake-locations-sharing app takes off and lots of people use it then you've found a way to add value to people's lives and make yourself some dollars. That's what capitalism is all about, right? I'm fortunate enough to have graduated from a very good university and I can tell you that the majority of people I knew there didn't leave and dedicate their lives to an altruistic quest to improve the world. Lots of them left to be bankers and consultants, whereas only a few went into academia. There's always a tradeoff between how selfless you're prepared to be and how much money you need to take home to cover your own needs. There's nothing wrong with making money so long as you're not stealing it. And let's not forget that the more money you have the more money you're able to give away to good causes.
  - rockarage 15y ago
    I agree with most of what you said, but I think you are trying to assert that academia is altruistic ? Academia is not altruistic. The Universities are in the billion dollar education business. They are just labeled non-profit yet they make hundred of millions collectively in TV contracts but none of that is used to help the poor communities and families many of their athletes come from. They are no better than bankers and consultants, or entrepreneurs trying to make a buck.
    - arctangent 15y ago
      I was suggesting that individuals who choose an academic life over a more profit-seeking life are making a more altruistic decision. I agree with you that collections of academics (i.e. universities) often act in predatory ways - this is true of any sufficiently large group of people with a common interest: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_psychology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_psychology
OzzyB 15y ago
You say clone, I say refined. You say derivate, I say enhanced. etc. Sure, on the surface most things are clones or derivate in nature, but that's just the surface. Is the iPhone just another phone? Is OSX just another operating system? Is MongoDB just another database? Well sure, they are, but a "solved problem" doesn't mean we should just call it a day and pack up. If we did I'd be writing this comment on my Window 3.1 "super computer" :)

by jdp23 15y ago

diego 15y ago

What's ironic is that the very tools she's using to complain are a product of the Silicon Valley. The blog itself runs on WordPress and pushes all its posts on Twitter. If it wasn't for the Silicon Valley model we may not be hearing her.

lysol 15y ago
What you're pointing out doesn't really discount her point. There can be countless Groupon clones and photo sharing apps that blow hard and still be gems like Twitter and Wordpress.
- ultrasaurus 15y ago
  So her argument is that we should try to only make successful products?
  - justincormack 15y ago
    No, potentially world changing products. Most of which will fail. As most vc funded companies fail the failure is ok. She is complaining that the potential upside is too low due to lack of ambition to really change things radically.
  - EricBerglund 15y ago
    Really I think her point is best summed up by "It’s never about the technology or impact it’s having, it’s about the game of entrepreneurship; getting users, funding and exiting as quickly as you can." Her complaint seems to be that startups aren't trying to be successful businesses, they're trying to be successful startups, which aren't necessarily the same thing.
  - pedalpete 15y ago
    I think it goes without saying that you should try to only make successful products, but I think what is being argued here is that many of the companies she is seeing are just 'follow the leader' type companies. Groupon was successful, so we'll do the same thing. There are a few social metrics companies doing well, so we'll jump into that market and see what happens. What the author, I think, is saying, and what I believe personally is that if you do the same things that others are doing, you're guaranteed to have lots of competitors to duke it out with. Strike out and do something unexpected, find a market or make your own. It seems that many people think that creating a copy of another company with 'better design' or 'feature x' is innovating, but it isn't. Innovate in technology, business model, anything, but be innovative. The reason she mentions the companies she mentions is that it is easier to remember the innovators than the copy cats (and often the innovators have greater success).

pg 15y ago

It seems to me that the passage you quote could as well have been offered to support my point as to contradict it. Though as long as we have it here, it's pretty self-refuting that she treats all "cloud based enterprise solutions" as being effectively identical. That would be like someone writing an article a few decades ago and treating all startups making silicon chips as effectively identical.

arctangent 15y ago
I think you're right. I've never worked in a startup but my understanding is that their purpose is to discover profitable business models, not to put the world to rights. If your tofu-cupcake-locations-sharing app takes off and lots of people use it then you've found a way to add value to people's lives and make yourself some dollars. That's what capitalism is all about, right? I'm fortunate enough to have graduated from a very good university and I can tell you that the majority of people I knew there didn't leave and dedicate their lives to an altruistic quest to improve the world. Lots of them left to be bankers and consultants, whereas only a few went into academia. There's always a tradeoff between how selfless you're prepared to be and how much money you need to take home to cover your own needs. There's nothing wrong with making money so long as you're not stealing it. And let's not forget that the more money you have the more money you're able to give away to good causes.
- rockarage 15y ago
  I agree with most of what you said, but I think you are trying to assert that academia is altruistic ? Academia is not altruistic. The Universities are in the billion dollar education business. They are just labeled non-profit yet they make hundred of millions collectively in TV contracts but none of that is used to help the poor communities and families many of their athletes come from. They are no better than bankers and consultants, or entrepreneurs trying to make a buck.
  - arctangent 15y ago
    I was suggesting that individuals who choose an academic life over a more profit-seeking life are making a more altruistic decision. I agree with you that collections of academics (i.e. universities) often act in predatory ways - this is true of any sufficiently large group of people with a common interest: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_psychology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_psychology

OzzyB 15y ago

You say clone, I say refined. You say derivate, I say enhanced. etc. Sure, on the surface most things are clones or derivate in nature, but that's just the surface. Is the iPhone just another phone? Is OSX just another operating system? Is MongoDB just another database? Well sure, they are, but a "solved problem" doesn't mean we should just call it a day and pack up. If we did I'd be writing this comment on my Window 3.1 "super computer" :)