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I did that the last time you posted this comment. What I found was even sadder. Some (many?) of the companies are what I would call "hustles" -- keto drinks, ho
by gniv 3y ago
I did that the last time you posted this comment. What I found was even sadder. Some (many?) of the companies are what I would call "hustles" -- keto drinks, home-made cosmetics. Their success I suspect lies on the initial effort put into networking and marketing. (There's nothing wrong in that, of course, it's just not interesting from a tech-startup pov.)
- stuartjohnson12 3y agoI'm not sure this is the case. My perception is that the majority of the things that get funded are legitimate tech companies working on genuinely interesting of products. For example, take the 2023 list: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230208005685/en/Thiel-Foundation-Announces-Next-Thiel-Fellow-Class https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230208005685/en/Thi... All of these are real tech companies. What's less real about the hustle is the fact I picked a random entry off the list and checked his instagram, and sure enough there's a photo of him taking flying lessons as a teenager. Check the company stage and sure enough he's already raised just under $7M after being backed by Y Combinator 2 years prior. Cool guy, smart guy, clearly worked hard and built something valuable. I don't hold it against him in the slightest. I don't hold it against YC or the program managers for the TF either - they clearly picked the guy most likely to build a billion dollar company. But did the Fellowship make him a winner? Absolutely not.
- gniv 3y agoI don't doubt it. Me I noticed things like Sunniva, Simple Sugars, Smart Sweets.
- stuartjohnson12 3y agoFair enough.