> On top of that, the reason we've heard about the "most notorious" flameouts is because they actually knew something about marketing! Interesting point. I ne

> On top of that, the reason we've heard about the "most notorious" flameouts is because they actually knew something about marketing! Interesting point. I never thought of it that way. When a company is run by hackers, they usually only get publicity once they've created a product worthy of it. By that time, they're most of the way to success. Whereas when you have marketing guys at the top, the publicity comes when the company is less mature. So the perception that companies run by marketers flame out more often might be partially a result of selection bias.