It's not going to wear off until things are restructured. As it is, there's the story of the occasional person who makes it big on an IPO that goes out, which stimulates the rest of the start-up "community" to go off and flog the next great thing, trying to get a cadre of twenty to one hundred people to give up their lives for a few years so that perhaps four or five of them can cash out and have the vaunted bundle of "f you" money, if for a few months, until the IRS comes and audits them, taking most of it, if not all, away, and the cycle begins anew.
From what I can gather, startup culture is a weird toxic mix of aggression, advertising hucksterism, cheesy motivational-speak, masculinity, and a pseudo-belief in letting the free market determine value.
I wonder what "restructuring" you have in mind though? It seems stronger wealth redistribution and higher taxes could be one form of structural change that might eliminate get--rich-quick schemes.
Yeah. One of the biggest things I've learned about startup culture is this:
Even if you want to do a startup, avoid "startup culture" and the "startup scene" like the plague. Just build something, launch it, and market it, and ignore all that noise.
Not calling your thing a startup at all can be a good start. Call it a project, or a business, or whatever.
This is the first I've heard of the IRS retroactively taking most of the proceeds from selling stock. Is this a real threat? How should you protect yourself?
