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My current employer and my last were both 25+ year-old quietly successful private tech companies. In both cases there was a strong commitment to product quality

My current employer and my last were both 25+ year-old quietly successful private tech companies. In both cases there was a strong commitment to product quality in order to maintain our reputation and long-term customer relationships whereas the public companies I worked at were focused on chasing the next quarter to satisfy "the shareholders". Every once in a while I'm tempted to work for a public company again since I might be able to earn slightly more, but after working for adults for so long it'd be hard to go back to a place where my responsibilities to users and shareholders are misaligned.

scarface_74 3y ago
Out of all the major tech companies - Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Tesla, Nvidia, etc. can you honestly say any of them are short term focused. Well it would be a stretch to say that Google has any focus.
- sirwhinesalot 3y ago
  Yes, all of them, though not to the same extent. Microsoft and Amazon are probably the worst. Consider all the layoffs recently. Microsoft is hellbent on destroying windows if it means growth in the ads market. Amazon has let its store become a total cesspit, and look at the bullshit they pulled with prime. Youtube has 30 ads in a 3 minute video these days.
- asoneth 3y ago
  Yes. Many of those companies have made choices that trade reputation and/or relationships built up over years to increase a quarterly profit margin. Whether that is sacrificing product quality, sunsetting well-loved products/services only to spin up similar efforts in the future, treating long-term employees poorly, burning through developer goodwill through high fees or API churn, etc. When I think about the value of long timeframes I don't just mean having a good R&D dept or throwing money at moonshots, I mean building up and maintaining goodwill with employees, customers, users, partners, developers, and regulators. Of course many private companies are run by profit-maximizing jerks and some public companies have patient shareholders who trust the company's management. But in general I have had better experiences working for an engaged owner who I can meet face-to-face over working for a crowd of shareholders and venture capitalists for whom the company is just another financial instrument in their portfolio.
  - scarface_74 3y ago
    Out of the companies I named - Apple is over 45 years old and is still creating new market defining products - Microsoft has been around for 45+ years and didn’t stay one of the most valuable companies for 25 years by not thinking long term - Amazon Retail is a nothing burger as far as profitability . The future is AWS. (Former AWS employee. I have no love for the company). They have also invested in the long term and still people overwhelmingly shop at Amazon. - Google has always been a rudderless shit show led by executives with the attention span of a crack addled flea - Tesla - I hate to admit it. But they built one of the few hardware based tech startups and you don’t become Tesla with a short term focus. Consumers love Apple and Amazon and Microsoft’s true customers - OEMs - have had a good relationship with MS post the DOJ lawsuit it seems. Shareholders seem to trust the management of those companies as they have pivoted
    - asoneth 3y ago
      I agree that public companies can be successful, have long-term plans, or satisfy stakeholders so evidence of success or longevity or happy customers is not a counterargument. But think of recent decisions that Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, or Tesla have made recently. Are they generally made with the best interests of employees, customers, users, partners, developers, and regulators in mind? Or do they only satisfy those other constituencies insofar as doing so increases profits for shareholders? Ultimately the trust and goodwill they build up is just another asset to leverage to make more money for shareholders. If tomorrow they run the numbers and conclude that the most profitable course of action is to spend down some of that goodwill and screw over employees, customers, users, partners, developers, and/or regulators in exchange for slightly higher profits then they will do that.

scarface_74 3y ago

Out of all the major tech companies - Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Tesla, Nvidia, etc. can you honestly say any of them are short term focused. Well it would be a stretch to say that Google has any focus.

sirwhinesalot 3y ago
Yes, all of them, though not to the same extent. Microsoft and Amazon are probably the worst. Consider all the layoffs recently. Microsoft is hellbent on destroying windows if it means growth in the ads market. Amazon has let its store become a total cesspit, and look at the bullshit they pulled with prime. Youtube has 30 ads in a 3 minute video these days.
asoneth 3y ago
Yes. Many of those companies have made choices that trade reputation and/or relationships built up over years to increase a quarterly profit margin. Whether that is sacrificing product quality, sunsetting well-loved products/services only to spin up similar efforts in the future, treating long-term employees poorly, burning through developer goodwill through high fees or API churn, etc. When I think about the value of long timeframes I don't just mean having a good R&D dept or throwing money at moonshots, I mean building up and maintaining goodwill with employees, customers, users, partners, developers, and regulators. Of course many private companies are run by profit-maximizing jerks and some public companies have patient shareholders who trust the company's management. But in general I have had better experiences working for an engaged owner who I can meet face-to-face over working for a crowd of shareholders and venture capitalists for whom the company is just another financial instrument in their portfolio.
- scarface_74 3y ago
  Out of the companies I named - Apple is over 45 years old and is still creating new market defining products - Microsoft has been around for 45+ years and didn’t stay one of the most valuable companies for 25 years by not thinking long term - Amazon Retail is a nothing burger as far as profitability . The future is AWS. (Former AWS employee. I have no love for the company). They have also invested in the long term and still people overwhelmingly shop at Amazon. - Google has always been a rudderless shit show led by executives with the attention span of a crack addled flea - Tesla - I hate to admit it. But they built one of the few hardware based tech startups and you don’t become Tesla with a short term focus. Consumers love Apple and Amazon and Microsoft’s true customers - OEMs - have had a good relationship with MS post the DOJ lawsuit it seems. Shareholders seem to trust the management of those companies as they have pivoted
  - asoneth 3y ago
    I agree that public companies can be successful, have long-term plans, or satisfy stakeholders so evidence of success or longevity or happy customers is not a counterargument. But think of recent decisions that Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, or Tesla have made recently. Are they generally made with the best interests of employees, customers, users, partners, developers, and regulators in mind? Or do they only satisfy those other constituencies insofar as doing so increases profits for shareholders? Ultimately the trust and goodwill they build up is just another asset to leverage to make more money for shareholders. If tomorrow they run the numbers and conclude that the most profitable course of action is to spend down some of that goodwill and screw over employees, customers, users, partners, developers, and/or regulators in exchange for slightly higher profits then they will do that.