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It's quite funny to read something like this, coming supposedly from a startup founder, a very market competitive field. The kind of adjectives he uses for empl

It's quite funny to read something like this, coming supposedly from a startup founder, a very market competitive field. The kind of adjectives he uses for employees as soon as they start acting like they are in a market too, it's like people should forget capitalism as soon as they start working for them. I mean there was a time when that made some kind of sense, in the old corporative world if you got a job in a good company you could expect to be set for life and end up with a nice pension after your work life. But with the current economy, the rising inequality, and the devaluation of most labor compared with capital, it's hard to play along when somebody tells you to pretend you aren't living in a market.

nostrademons 11y ago
The author is a VC, and one with a fairly good reputation in the field. The point of a market is to accommodate different preferences in a way that maximizes benefit to everyone. Some people are driven by money; others are driven by mission. His goal with this piece was to advise founders he works with how to attract more of the latter and less of the fewer; as an (unstated) side effect, this will also maximize the financial returns of him and the founders he works with. It's fine to be driven by money and to make decisions that maximize your personal wealth, but if you're going to do that, why judge people who are also trying to maximize their wealth?
- lmm 11y ago
  > It's fine to be driven by money and to make decisions that maximize your personal wealth, but if you're going to do that, why judge people who are also trying to maximize their wealth? I'm trying to maximize my wealth by playing fair, interacting with other organizations that have the same attitude. That's quite different from someone who's trying to maximize their wealth by exploiting people who aren't.
  - nostrademons 11y ago
    But it's a reality that there are other people out there who have a different attitude. Many (most?) of them are fully aware that there are other people out there who are primarily motivated by financial gain, and they don't care. They look out for the things they care about (oftentimes it's time with their family, a sense of purpose in life, a friendly work environment, etc.), while accepting that other people will be making a profit off of them. This isn't exploitation; it's trading something you value for something you don't. And Fred Wilson's advice here is how to provide the non-financial things that other people value so you actually have something to offer the folks who are not motivated by money. It's only an issue when someone thinks they are motivated by non-financial perks and then realizes later in life that they actually really do care about money most. People that know what they value and are confident in that can't be taken advantage of. So put some thought into that early in life and make decisions accordingly.
- x0x0 11y ago
  Because what he (and that ass Suster) are essentially saying is you should be mission driven/underpaid so that I can be a mercenary and be very well paid. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

nostrademons 11y ago

The author is a VC, and one with a fairly good reputation in the field. The point of a market is to accommodate different preferences in a way that maximizes benefit to everyone. Some people are driven by money; others are driven by mission. His goal with this piece was to advise founders he works with how to attract more of the latter and less of the fewer; as an (unstated) side effect, this will also maximize the financial returns of him and the founders he works with. It's fine to be driven by money and to make decisions that maximize your personal wealth, but if you're going to do that, why judge people who are also trying to maximize their wealth?

lmm 11y ago
> It's fine to be driven by money and to make decisions that maximize your personal wealth, but if you're going to do that, why judge people who are also trying to maximize their wealth? I'm trying to maximize my wealth by playing fair, interacting with other organizations that have the same attitude. That's quite different from someone who's trying to maximize their wealth by exploiting people who aren't.
- nostrademons 11y ago
  But it's a reality that there are other people out there who have a different attitude. Many (most?) of them are fully aware that there are other people out there who are primarily motivated by financial gain, and they don't care. They look out for the things they care about (oftentimes it's time with their family, a sense of purpose in life, a friendly work environment, etc.), while accepting that other people will be making a profit off of them. This isn't exploitation; it's trading something you value for something you don't. And Fred Wilson's advice here is how to provide the non-financial things that other people value so you actually have something to offer the folks who are not motivated by money. It's only an issue when someone thinks they are motivated by non-financial perks and then realizes later in life that they actually really do care about money most. People that know what they value and are confident in that can't be taken advantage of. So put some thought into that early in life and make decisions accordingly.
x0x0 11y ago
Because what he (and that ass Suster) are essentially saying is you should be mission driven/underpaid so that I can be a mercenary and be very well paid. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.