I hope no one is gullible enough to believe this. This is bond villain stuff and most certainly does not apply to "tech" as a category. I even worked in Finance and never heard of this kind of behavior.
> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because everyone’s hobby talk was incomprehensible to me. Sailing. Indoor rock climbing. Building robots. Golfing. Sourcing and collecting antiquities. Adult soccer leagues. All I heard was money. Money. Money.
The poorest people in the world play soccer and sports. My parents collected antiques on minimum wage. The biggest antiquers I've known were college students. And as for sailing, most people don't sail on their own boats, they pitch in their physical labor in exchange for getting to participate in the hobby. That's free, you just have to be physically active.
> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I was afraid to seek mentorship from anyone above me, convinced that even asking would seem like bothersome begging. I watched the people around me network effortlessly, assured of favors and good words put in. I could only think in terms of what I could offer and how I could survive; they were thinking on the next level where they never had to wonder if they were good enough. They were to the business-class manner born, at least.
This has nothing to do with poverty. My cousin grew up poorer than I did and is the most arrogant, direct, and demanding person you'll ever meet. If the job pays $100k he'd ask for $500k.
> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because when I talked about paying off my student loans, people expressed their utter shock that my parents hadn’t put me through Berkeley. Were Mom and Pop simply opposed to public school? Did they disagree with my choice of major?
No one said that. Literally no one is shocked that anyone else has student loans. This is more bond villain hyperbole.
> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because they thought I was kidding when I said I had a GED.
Well yeah, but this has nothing to do with poverty. You were irresponsible enough to drop out of high school and people are rightfully shocked that you're responsible enough to hold a tech job.
> I knew I was the only poor person at my tech startup because I forgot my charger once and absolutely nobody had one old enough to be compatible with my phone.
Everyone knows this is the opposite. We've all seen poor people in brand new shoes and with the latest iPhone and watch. People in poverty actually have the newest phones. That's part of what keeps them in poverty, irresponsible purchasing habits. Meanwhile most tech people I know have far older devices when it comes to smart phones.
I stopped reading here. This isn't serious. OP is a professional victim who is outright misrepresenting things.