Are there any concrete evidence that the earlier culture were truly superior? They had an initial technology lead because their founders were engineers who were

Are there any concrete evidence that the earlier culture were truly superior? They had an initial technology lead because their founders were engineers who were experts in their field and they were early movers in a rapidly expanding blue ocean. If the company starts failing the moment the founders and original employees are gone, it is not fair to pin all the blame on the new management.