I am not disagreeing with your comment per-se. However, with regards to point 9, I feel it worth pointing out that Calacanis was clearly talking about the effi

I am not disagreeing with your comment per-se. However, with regards to point 9, I feel it worth pointing out that Calacanis was clearly talking about the efficiency of Google in the context of companies with the (man/brain/political/financial) power to drive social and technological change on a global scale. By their very nature, 2 person startups are far more efficient per employee than any large corporation. The per employee bit is important however. Small startups are wondrous things, given to us by people who are crazy and brave in equal measure. They are almost unquestionably the best means of catalysing change that I can think of - they're also going to have a really tough time driving change, which is one of the many reasons why such companies inevitably grow. Side note: I find that some on Hacker News are often so enamoured with the startup culture (obviously, considering the basis for the community) that large corporations end up getting demonized by contrast. People forget that the two cultures are not mutually exclusive.