The paragraph after is even more telling: This was a common theme when I spoke to people about Martin: he didn’t network in the normal way; instead, he was rut

The paragraph after is even more telling: This was a common theme when I spoke to people about Martin: he didn’t network in the normal way; instead, he was ruthlessly selective about who he wanted to befriend and charm. Soon enough, Dave and Martin were friends; on one occasion, Dave had just arrived at an SEO conference in San Jose and got a call from Martin at 2 AM: “Am I okay to sleep on your floor? So you can get me a free pass? Free bedroom?”—he expected a lot from his friends and in return he “was loyal – like no one else”. Also, the fact that he apparently made his fortune through SEO should if nothing else make people suspicious of him.