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I was going to write that comment, but you were quicker. Thanks, I absolutely agree. I would also say that the motivation for buying into that coffee meeting i

by Udo 13y ago

I was going to write that comment, but you were quicker. Thanks, I absolutely agree. I would also say that the motivation for buying into that coffee meeting is puzzling. If someone can afford that ridiculous price tag they're pretty successful to begin with. Chances are, Tim Cook won't have anything meaningful to offer to that guy/girl besides the bragging rights of having met with Tim Cook. It's kind of embarrassing to be that person. Even if I had that kind of money and a desperate wish to meet Tim Cook (why?), I wouldn't want the press to find that out. Cook clearly doesn't need the money (edit: nor does he need to raise it this way for charity). So he either does it for ego, or he actually wants to help other people's businesses. Is this his idea of "giving back to the community"? If so, he should consider doing an office hour once a week for startup founders or something.

martin_ 13y ago
Cook doesn't need, or get the money. He did it for charity - I don't think we need to come to conclusions as to what else he can contribute to the community. As for his motives, who knows.. Perhaps it's just for the PR.
sliverstorm 13y ago
IMO you're either right on that it's just about the bragging rights, or the person who bought the meeting once had a youthful crush on Apple. I've been known to do things that make very little sense as a "gift" to boyhood me.
travisp 13y ago
>If someone can afford that ridiculous price tag they're pretty successful to begin with. Chances are, Tim Cook won't have anything meaningful to offer to that guy/girl besides the bragging rights of having met with Tim Cook. This seems to be an odd thing to say. The wealthy have nothing else meaningful to gain or learn? Bill Gates had nothing meaningful to gain from reaching out to Steve Jobs? Is the only reason you could want to meet with Tim Cook because you want him to help your business? I assume that Tim Cook is probably an extraordinarily interesting man with many great insights. I think there are many reasons beyond "bragging rights" an already successful person could have to want to meet him.
- olympus 13y ago
  >I assume that Tim Cook is probably an extraordinarily interesting man with many great insights. He probably won't say anything more than you could get from an MBA at University of Phoenix (which costs a smidgen less than $610,000). While I'm sure he's an intelligent man, I wouldn't assume that he's anything more than just a skilled businessman. If you're looking for managerial advice he's probably a good person to talk to, but I wouldn't call him interesting or say he has many great insights. So yeah, it's probably just bragging rights or having something to pitch to Apple.
  - pazimzadeh 13y ago
    I guess you can say that about anyone if you don't provide any evidence. Olympus, I'm sure you are an intelligent man, but I wouldn't assume that you're anything more than the average HN reader. I wouldn't call you interesting or say that you have many great insights. But seriously, you don't think the CEO of Apple has insights about tech and where it's going?
    - olympus 13y ago
      Let me start by saying that I don't dislike Tim Cook, but to me he's just another rich guy running a company, not a tech visionary [1]. I certainly don't offer anything more than the average HNer but the difference is that I don't auction off coffee dates with myself. To answer your question, no, I don't really think that Tim Cook has insights about tech and where it's going. He's a competent businessman, but he doesn't offer $610,000 worth of insight unless you're pitching a business deal. He is a businessman who works in the tech industry. He doesn't do tech, he does management. He has an M.B.A. He does hiring and firing [2]. He isn't ambitiously driving Apple in new directions, he has his hands full holding onto what Steve created. He isn't responsible for creating any revolutionary products. The only thing I would think he could speak with knowledge on is Apple's product launch plans for the next few years. Beyond that, he has no idea where tech is going more than the average HNer. [1] I would regard Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, as tech visionaries because of the companies they created. I would regard Tim Berners-Lee, Linus Torvalds and Dennis Ritchie as visionaries because they created 'backbone' technologies that we still rely on today. [2] Firing Scott Forstall is the most significant event of Cook's tenure as CEO.
eclipticplane 13y ago
Just to throw it out there, since we don't know won: it may just be a cool experience for the winner. If I had piles of cash, and didn't have to worry about making more piles of cash, I'd consider it a pretty cool experience. I'd likely be giving that or more to charities anyway; if I can get some time with the leader of one of the most profitable countries in the world, why not?

by Udo 13y ago

martin_ 13y ago

Cook doesn't need, or get the money. He did it for charity - I don't think we need to come to conclusions as to what else he can contribute to the community. As for his motives, who knows.. Perhaps it's just for the PR.

sliverstorm 13y ago

IMO you're either right on that it's just about the bragging rights, or the person who bought the meeting once had a youthful crush on Apple. I've been known to do things that make very little sense as a "gift" to boyhood me.

travisp 13y ago

>If someone can afford that ridiculous price tag they're pretty successful to begin with. Chances are, Tim Cook won't have anything meaningful to offer to that guy/girl besides the bragging rights of having met with Tim Cook. This seems to be an odd thing to say. The wealthy have nothing else meaningful to gain or learn? Bill Gates had nothing meaningful to gain from reaching out to Steve Jobs? Is the only reason you could want to meet with Tim Cook because you want him to help your business? I assume that Tim Cook is probably an extraordinarily interesting man with many great insights. I think there are many reasons beyond "bragging rights" an already successful person could have to want to meet him.

olympus 13y ago
>I assume that Tim Cook is probably an extraordinarily interesting man with many great insights. He probably won't say anything more than you could get from an MBA at University of Phoenix (which costs a smidgen less than $610,000). While I'm sure he's an intelligent man, I wouldn't assume that he's anything more than just a skilled businessman. If you're looking for managerial advice he's probably a good person to talk to, but I wouldn't call him interesting or say he has many great insights. So yeah, it's probably just bragging rights or having something to pitch to Apple.
- pazimzadeh 13y ago
  I guess you can say that about anyone if you don't provide any evidence. Olympus, I'm sure you are an intelligent man, but I wouldn't assume that you're anything more than the average HN reader. I wouldn't call you interesting or say that you have many great insights. But seriously, you don't think the CEO of Apple has insights about tech and where it's going?
  - olympus 13y ago
    Let me start by saying that I don't dislike Tim Cook, but to me he's just another rich guy running a company, not a tech visionary [1]. I certainly don't offer anything more than the average HNer but the difference is that I don't auction off coffee dates with myself. To answer your question, no, I don't really think that Tim Cook has insights about tech and where it's going. He's a competent businessman, but he doesn't offer $610,000 worth of insight unless you're pitching a business deal. He is a businessman who works in the tech industry. He doesn't do tech, he does management. He has an M.B.A. He does hiring and firing [2]. He isn't ambitiously driving Apple in new directions, he has his hands full holding onto what Steve created. He isn't responsible for creating any revolutionary products. The only thing I would think he could speak with knowledge on is Apple's product launch plans for the next few years. Beyond that, he has no idea where tech is going more than the average HNer. [1] I would regard Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, as tech visionaries because of the companies they created. I would regard Tim Berners-Lee, Linus Torvalds and Dennis Ritchie as visionaries because they created 'backbone' technologies that we still rely on today. [2] Firing Scott Forstall is the most significant event of Cook's tenure as CEO.

eclipticplane 13y ago

Just to throw it out there, since we don't know won: it may just be a cool experience for the winner. If I had piles of cash, and didn't have to worry about making more piles of cash, I'd consider it a pretty cool experience. I'd likely be giving that or more to charities anyway; if I can get some time with the leader of one of the most profitable countries in the world, why not?