Watch a VC use my name to sell a con • Hacker News Board

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#271

Post by kylemathews » Tue, Nov 29, 2011, 11:07 PM UTC

grellas wrote: post #257

"Those who work hard make good" is a profoundly American theme that dates back to Horatio Alger and before - it can hardly be said to originate from a cabal of VCs trying to "put one over" on hapless founders and startup employees in Silicon Valley. No doubt Mr. Arrington adds his peculiarly abrasive touch to the debate (toughen up, don't whine, and let's applaud Zynga for what it did to its employees), but he did so…

The "American dream" is a perfect example of what jwz is talking about.

The american dream is "designed to help a small predatory class dominate a larger prey class" - http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2011/11/16/the-evolution-of-the-am...

Weaving myths to manipulate underlings to your advantage is a tradition old as time.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#272

Post by Duff » Tue, Nov 29, 2011, 11:14 PM UTC

Fliko wrote: post #267

rapind wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Farming today is completely different than it was 60+ years ago (especially before WWII) for 90% of farmers. I'd wager a large sum that most farmer's do not actually enjoy their job these days. Small independent sustainable farmers sure, too bad they represent such a small percentage of farming compared to the industrial food complex. Anyways, comparing farming today to what it was 60 years ago is apples to oranges.…

Small family farms represent 91% of all the farms in the US. 59% of food production in the US is in due thanks to large family farms. There are actually very few industrial food complexes in the US, although it is interesting to note that most of the food production is from these complexes. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/EIB12/EIB12c.pdf ?

Factor out the hobby farms and that number will tumble.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#273

Post by earl » Tue, Nov 29, 2011, 11:34 PM UTC

grellas wrote: post #257

"Those who work hard make good" is a profoundly American theme that dates back to Horatio Alger and before - it can hardly be said to originate from a cabal of VCs trying to "put one over" on hapless founders and startup employees in Silicon Valley. No doubt Mr. Arrington adds his peculiarly abrasive touch to the debate (toughen up, don't whine, and let's applaud Zynga for what it did to its employees), but he did so…

This isn't some highschool debate wankery. The arrington/jwz/arrington exchange is exactly as jwz characterized it: Arrington plus vcs in general selling a story to engineers that is pretty damn unlikely (a lottery, in fact) in order to enrich primarily themselves. jwz doesn't stand to benefit from people following his advice, while Arrington certainly does.

Further, the fact that you don't include Arrington giving advice that is quite probably not in the targeted recipients' best interests in order to advance the interests of both himself in particular and vcs in general as a "nefarious motive" is stupid.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#274

Post by Fliko » Wed, Nov 30, 2011, 1:06 AM UTC

Duff wrote: post #272

Fliko wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Small family farms represent 91% of all the farms in the US. 59% of food production in the US is in due thanks to large family farms. There are actually very few industrial food complexes in the US, although it is interesting to note that most of the food production is from these complexes. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/EIB12/EIB12c.pdf ?

Factor out the hobby farms and that number will tumble.

In 2003 it reports that small farms that have $10,000 - $249,999 in sales to be 34% of all farms (in 2003), which is still quite significant compared to the 4.8% that industrial complexes (1.7%) and very large family farms (3.1%) hold.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#275

Post by jebblue » Wed, Nov 30, 2011, 1:12 AM UTC

I couldn't stay on the web page for more than three seconds, all black.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#276

Post by s73v3r » Wed, Nov 30, 2011, 2:02 AM UTC

rapind wrote: post #209

antirez wrote: post #168

Humans are not designed to: 1) Stay long hours sitted, immobile. It ruins your health. 2) To provide a steady high quality output in creative disciplines (writing code qualifies) for more than a 4/5 hours a day (add to this the time to do breaks, install your updates, check news sites, fix the email client, and you'll reach the 7/8 hours per day figure). It makes sense in a startup to work hard in crucial weeks, you…

I respect your opinion Antirez, but I hear so much speculation about work habits that I have to ask you: Is this your opinion / experience, or is it based on some specific research / study you can point to? As a fellow developer I'd love this to be true, however a meme / fad started during my working career in rich cultures stating that hard work isn't rewarding or is unnecessary. I question this. My father taught me…

"My father taught me to work hard, as his father taught him, etc"

This is a very good lesson to learn. Make sure you take it to heart.

The thing to know, is: WHO are you working hard for? If the answer isn't yourself, then you have the wrong answer. Spending your effort and time working hard for the benefit of someone else is being scammed.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#277

Post by s73v3r » Wed, Nov 30, 2011, 2:25 AM UTC

corin_ wrote: post #136

felipemnoa wrote: post #8

>>Follow the fucking money. When a VC tells you what's good for you, check your wallet, then count your fingers. This is just gold.

It struck me more as simple than gold. If a VC that invested in a company gives them advice then obviously his goal is to make more money... but that goal will, in turn make you more money too. If you don't like the fact that a VC has the potential to make more money than you, the solution is to not take investment from one, not to ignore them after they take investment. Also remember that yes, they're not putting in…

"It struck me more as simple than gold. If a VC that invested in a company gives them advice then obviously his goal is to make more money... but that goal will, in turn make you more money too."

Not necessarily. Especially when talking about funding, the VCs are NOT out to help you or your business. They are out to make money. Sometimes those goals can coincide, but not often.

And seriously, the rest of that post is just an excuse for their bullshit. They have money. So fucking what? Why should that enable them to take most of the company, when it was your hard work that actually made it successful? I understand they need a return, but there is no reason why they should get the lion's share of the reward.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#278

Post by s73v3r » Wed, Nov 30, 2011, 2:31 AM UTC

prawn wrote: post #11

I'm glad he finished with a note for the people who actually get something out of hard work on their personal project because I doubt I'm alone in getting a lot of personal satisfaction in performing like that. It's not all the time that I pull an all-nighter or a couple of weeks of hard slog, but I often feel better for them. And I'd rather be doing that for myself on a side project or in the start-up lottery or wit…

"And I'd rather be doing that for myself on a side project or in the start-up lottery or within my own business than for someone else. If that isn't possible, then even for someone up the chain. If someone else (VC, client of mine, landlord, etc) also profits from this endeavour, so be it."

Other people profiting off your work is fine. But if you did the bulk of the work, why shouldn't you get the bulk of the reward? Why should some VC doucebag get the most of the company simply because they had money?

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#279

Post by s73v3r » Wed, Nov 30, 2011, 2:35 AM UTC

agentultra wrote: post #232

For the argument that "my father taught me to work hard...": If I get more done in an hour than you do, should I continue to work as many hours as physically possible just to get ahead? What if the experience I've gained over a decade of doing this allows me to do twice the work that you do in an hour? Simply working more hours is just a race to the bottom. There's nothing there. In fact I'd argue that it stifles the…

Working hard isn't simply working more hours.

Re: Watch a VC use my name to sell a con

#280

Post by s73v3r » Wed, Nov 30, 2011, 2:38 AM UTC

kamaal wrote: post #77

Oh, C'mon. So I'm not supposed to work hard and get rich because as a side effect that some one else also is? My dad is a cab driver. He really works his life off. Under absolutely dismal financial conditions he and may mom have given their whole lives to bring us out of poverty. They got me and my sister decent education. They did what every poor family in India does. They worked hard, saved money, invested it and g…

"So I'm not supposed to work hard and get rich because as a side effect that some one else also is?"

Way to not read the article. That's not what's being said at all. Nothing wrong with working hard, however, the person that should reap the primary benefit of that hard work should be YOU, not some VC or an employer. Furthermore, hard work does NOT mean spending every waking minute slaving away at something.