Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

That's how VCs and certain founders have been portrayed by mass media and even on HN for many years.


And people don't question these portrayals? That's the surprising part.


When's the last time you saw a critical appraisal of any senior YC people on this forum? For a long time, Wilson, Andreesen and other marquee names in the VC world were treated with similar deference on HN.

Fawning media startup profiles and hagiographies are one of the reasons why Theranos, WeWork, and many smaller companies are able to thrive and even attract new investment and customers.


> When's the last time you saw a critical appraisal of any senior YC people on this forum?

There was a post a couple of months ago asking what's the secret behind Sam Altman's excellent aptitude when it comes to grifting. Those weren't the exact words, but that was the general attitude of the post. But that post was part of the few exceptions that confirm the rule.

Found the post [1]

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34471720


A lot of being repeatedly told to take the most charitable interpretation of peoples words and action. Hoping that folks are more than their animal instincts.

Naive, eh?


To be fair, we're on a forum that was originally called "Startup News," created by a billionaire venture capitalist and run by a startup incubator. People do question the SV narrative, but this is still the lobby where all the people who drink the Kool-Aid hang out.


When maia arson crimew's site got linked here, she put a notice on top of her airline database hacking article with some disparaging commentaries about HN. Sure it may be a bit harsh for some people but she has got a point. This place is not immune to groupthink but in fact may actually be worse than forums with more diverse topics.


I think anyone who watched Silicon Valley has a more nuanced view of the VC industry than is being asserted here. And U.S. media coverage of tech in recent years has been overwhelmingly negative.

That being said HN is one of the last great (mostly-)unmoderated forums on the internet. I personally think U.S. media has been almost unfairly negative about the whole thing.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: