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The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

zdnet.com

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Re: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

#31

Post by fasteddie31003 »

drblast wrote: post #18

I fail to see the problem with this. Why is it bad to work for a large company? Do you know how ridiculously difficult it is to prove to an established business that "no, I don't have the specific experience you are looking for, but I can learn it in short order and I'll be one of your best employees," and then stand out from the 100 people behind you who say the exact same thing? It's also ridiculously difficult for…

Obviously not written by an entrepreneur. Some people can be satisfied by working for someone their whole lives, others can't.

Re: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

#32

Post by batista »

dasil003 wrote: post #4

> My advice to young engineers is don’t worry too much about your business idea and bootstrap your own venture with three pals. The first rule of selling your startup is don't act like are looking to sell your startup. If your startup has no chance of making any money, why would a big company pay you anything more than market salary to work for them? If you want to get paid a lot for your startup you have to be serio…

If your startup has no chance of making any money, why would a big company pay you anything more than market salary to work for them?

Because, as TFA says, they don't buy your startup for its business potential, but for the proven engineering talent.

Re: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

#33

Post by arikrak »

Investors are often bothered by talent acquisitions since they get small returns when they're hoping for big winners. So that article's claim is probably false. However, I wondered why it was worthwhile for the big companies to acquire for talent, since they're paying a lot more than standard salaries for people who might leave after 2 years. The article claims they don't want the status quo disrupted, but that doesn't really make sense, unless the startup is creating a product that will directly compete with them.

Re: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

#34

Post by batista »

curtisholmes wrote: post #22

> A giant Internet company such as Amazon can leverage the output of a software engineer far more efficiently than a startup Really? I doubt that. I would imagine software engineers could be much more efficient without the drag of a large company

A single, simple, frontpage change can mean millions of new revenue for Amazon, say.

It means squat in some obscure little startup.

Re: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

#35

Post by kjhughes »

Foremski totally missed the real "dirty little secret" regarding acquisitions.

Acquisitions are really about control and ownership: Control of IP, control of customer relationships, control of planning, ownership of growth potential. It's placing a bet that ownership is strategically beneficial. Sometimes there's a defensive component.

"We bought them for their talent" is the cover story. It maintains the secrecy of the real value the acquirer believes it sees. It sounds better too.

And we tech folk eat it up. It plays into our egos.

But think about it. Technical talent is actually fairly fungible above a certain competency level. You know you or a handful of your friends could build most products you see. It's the decisions about what to build, how to build it, when it got built, and how the market responded that are all bundled up in a company's existence at a point in time. It's this bundle that's being bought. Not talent.

Re: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

#36

Post by enjo »

AznHisoka wrote: post #28
drblast wrote: post #18

I fail to see the problem with this. Why is it bad to work for a large company? Do you know how ridiculously difficult it is to prove to an established business that "no, I don't have the specific experience you are looking for, but I can learn it in short order and I'll be one of your best employees," and then stand out from the 100 people behind you who say the exact same thing? It's also ridiculously difficult for…

Most people do a startup to get out of a large company.. not to get into a large company.

In my experience most people involved in Startups are trying to make big money.

Re: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

#37

Post by drblast »

fasteddie31003 wrote: post #31
drblast wrote: post #18

I fail to see the problem with this. Why is it bad to work for a large company? Do you know how ridiculously difficult it is to prove to an established business that "no, I don't have the specific experience you are looking for, but I can learn it in short order and I'll be one of your best employees," and then stand out from the 100 people behind you who say the exact same thing? It's also ridiculously difficult for…

Obviously not written by an entrepreneur. Some people can be satisfied by working for someone their whole lives, others can't.

It's not like anyone is forcing these people to sell the company. You have the option.

If you're a whole-hearted entrepreneur, then don't sell.

Otherwise, a startup is a great way to get some experience, prove your value, and get a great job afterward.

If the option to sell to a large company who wants talent didn't exist, the downside to startups would be significantly greater.

Re: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

#38

Post by tsunamifury »

brown9-2 wrote: post #16

This theory seems to assume that the startup founders have no say in being "talent acquired" by the big corporation. Being angry at Apple or Twitter for buying a company and shutting down their operations seems misplaced - why not be angry at the founders that agreed to do this?

Important note: If you are a founder who has taken venture capital, you may not have a real choice in the matter.

Re: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

#39

Post by brown9-2 »

tsunamifury wrote: post #38
brown9-2 wrote: post #16

This theory seems to assume that the startup founders have no say in being "talent acquired" by the big corporation. Being angry at Apple or Twitter for buying a company and shutting down their operations seems misplaced - why not be angry at the founders that agreed to do this?

Important note: If you are a founder who has taken venture capital, you may not have a real choice in the matter.

I am curious though how often the other shareholders are able to force the founders into a sale against their will. Is this common / documented? Seems doubtful that a Big Co would go into a talent acquisition if the talent wasn't on board.

Re: The 'Startup Boom' is a disguised jobs fair for big corporations

#40

Post by SudarshanP »

Here is a suggestion for those who build a statup for getting acquired as a team. Build a start up centered around an opensource project that is awesome but not necessarily profitable. A Big$ company could acquire the group. They get a bunch of top quality programmers. Your creation wont be sunset. The opensource project may develop a life of its own at least through forking. At least it is better than creating a project that will be terminated on acquisition or lack of business model.
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