"Their existence is one of the lamer aspects of SV culture that rarely gets mentioned." On the contrary, I think that that's one of laymen's first assumptions

"Their existence is one of the lamer aspects of SV culture that rarely gets mentioned." On the contrary, I think that that's one of laymen's first assumptions about C-level positions at startups. I think that most people hear "tech startup" and still think "~2000 era dotcom, doing nothing but living on a cushion of imaginary or scammed cash." When I tell non tech people I work at a tech related startup, I am almost always given a look or a remark which requires me to say "oh ho ho, its not what you think! It's not like that!" almost a decade later. (The other time I get that sort of look/remark is when I mention that it's also a video game company, but no ho ho, we don't make games where you endlessly decapitate hookers.)