That sounds like it might have to do with the bullies taking the rejection of the things they care about as unimportant as a personal attack. Which makes sense

That sounds like it might have to do with the bullies taking the rejection of the things they care about as unimportant as a personal attack. Which makes sense: anyone who came here and said, "who cares about start ups? I work at a huge conglomerate corporation and we do just fine!" would get piled on pretty quick. Those who interact with people as though their interests were worth being interested in are possibly less likely to provoke retaliation. People who are single-minded may not realize that the connotation to the people around them is insulting, but it doesn't mean it's not.