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It didn't seem to me that he was complaining about founders selling companies quickly so much as employees flitting from one to the other so fast. In my experi

by pg 15y ago

It didn't seem to me that he was complaining about founders selling companies quickly so much as employees flitting from one to the other so fast. In my experience, founders in the Valley are more likely to have the confidence to turn down acquisition offers than founders outside it. All the examples you list are Valley startups.

staunch 15y ago
I also think he was reflecting on some of Steve Jobs' views. Jobs had repeatedly bemoaned the flip mentality and respected Zuck a lot for not selling. I got the feeling that made a big impression on him and has soured him a bit to a portion of SV culture.
ghshephard 15y ago
He's absolutely correct about employees flitting from one to another quickly - that is a valley culture thing. Part of that is because there are so many opportunities in the valley - There are probably a hundred plus companies that I could reasonably expect to find gainful employment as an network infrastructure manager in the valley. It's also considered completely reasonable behavior to work at a company for 3-5 years, and then move onto the next one. It's not so much about employees being short sighted, it's about enhancing your experience base, contacts, and chances to find at least one company that does well in the stock market and bring some value to your options. It's a catch-22 for technology companies - on the one hand, they have to work pretty hard (or offer a lot of money) to hold onto their employees past that five year mark. On the flip side, the reason they have to work so hard to do so, is because there are so many employees ready to change companies - including coming to work for theirs.
- GFischer 15y ago
  "It's also considered completely reasonable behavior to work at a company for 3-5 years, and then move onto the next one." I believe this is the norm outside the Valley as well. I'm trying to find a blog post about how, after 3 years at the same job, the challenge diminishes and it makes more sense to switch (if management doesn't recognize the need for growth).

by pg 15y ago

staunch 15y ago

I also think he was reflecting on some of Steve Jobs' views. Jobs had repeatedly bemoaned the flip mentality and respected Zuck a lot for not selling. I got the feeling that made a big impression on him and has soured him a bit to a portion of SV culture.

ghshephard 15y ago

He's absolutely correct about employees flitting from one to another quickly - that is a valley culture thing. Part of that is because there are so many opportunities in the valley - There are probably a hundred plus companies that I could reasonably expect to find gainful employment as an network infrastructure manager in the valley. It's also considered completely reasonable behavior to work at a company for 3-5 years, and then move onto the next one. It's not so much about employees being short sighted, it's about enhancing your experience base, contacts, and chances to find at least one company that does well in the stock market and bring some value to your options. It's a catch-22 for technology companies - on the one hand, they have to work pretty hard (or offer a lot of money) to hold onto their employees past that five year mark. On the flip side, the reason they have to work so hard to do so, is because there are so many employees ready to change companies - including coming to work for theirs.

GFischer 15y ago
"It's also considered completely reasonable behavior to work at a company for 3-5 years, and then move onto the next one." I believe this is the norm outside the Valley as well. I'm trying to find a blog post about how, after 3 years at the same job, the challenge diminishes and it makes more sense to switch (if management doesn't recognize the need for growth).