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Forbes 30 under 30 in 2012

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Re: Forbes 30 under 30 in 2012

#81

Post by petercooper »

eranation wrote: post #75

As someone 35 years old, I wonder - how many successful co-founders are there between 30-40? are there any statistics on that? What is the histogram by age for top 1000 startups? (any metric marking what "top" means will do) And congratulations by the way to all the people on the list, instead of hurting my ego and discouraging me, I see this as a way to motivate me to make it to a 40 under 40 list (I'm sure there is…

how many successful co-founders are there between 30-40?

Historically, at least, it'd be most. In Gamers at Work, Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari) even noted that he was seen as being a "young" founder in Silicon Valley being in his 30s in the 1970s. What we're seeing nowadays with 20-somethings is relatively new.

Re: Forbes 30 under 30 in 2012

#82

Post by petercooper »

dotBen wrote: post #76

Just remember this list is not based on meritocracy, most/all these people will have publicists and/or their startups will have "good" PR firm representation. If you secretly wish you were on this list but don't have the above then you are doing it wrong.

Also true of many awards for companies, like "[$someMagazine]'s 10 Top Companies in Biotechnology". There are even cases where companies have to pay to be considered for such awards. I think a lot of people know that too but the awards are still considered reasonably prestigious.

Re: Forbes 30 under 30 in 2012

#83

Post by joshfraser »

dotBen wrote: post #76

Just remember this list is not based on meritocracy, most/all these people will have publicists and/or their startups will have "good" PR firm representation. If you secretly wish you were on this list but don't have the above then you are doing it wrong.

No, but most of these founders are from an incubator like TechStars or YC. The lists are usually created by reaching out to a few key people and asking for recommendations.

Re: Forbes 30 under 30 in 2012

#84

Post by larrys »

michaelochurch wrote: post #44

This thread has made me think less of Hacker News. All of it. The hate posts were pretty petty, but the fawning is pretty gross as well. We wonder why there's so much ageism. It's because age obsessions stem from this "cool list" narcissistic nonsense. But this is a prejudice all of us will face, because we're all (well, almost all, and with luck) going to be old some day. The sign of maturity is to see something lik…

"Some magazine made a list somewhere"

Lists like this for magazines and are obviously a well thought out strategy to build circulation. This year the Forbes list has even been expanded into more categories so more people can have a feather in their cap. Press releases will be issued and every small town newspaper in america repeats the info about how some person made the list in Forbes. And here on Hacker News (note pg comment on this thread with congratulations confirming the authority and importance of all of this) as well as blogs and other news site that need some fresh material.

The one question that isn't answered anywhere, that I can find, is who are the "panel of expert judges" that helped the Forbes people with the choices? That's certainly relevant.

Re: Forbes 30 under 30 in 2012

#85

Post by sk5t »

tedunangst wrote: post #39
untog wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very true, but doesn't that mean she belongs on the 30 under 30 list a few years ago, not 2012?

Only if you believe she is less influential than she used to be.

She seems to have pretty well dropped off the radar in the second half of 2012. I'm hard-pressed to think of any very culturally influential rising stars in female pop--the standouts seem to be on flat or downward trajectories.

Re: Forbes 30 under 30 in 2012

#86

Post by larrys »

HorizonXP wrote: post #29
sprash wrote: post #23

Mostly kids of rich fucks... go figure.

I can assure you, one of my good friends is on that list, and he is far from being a child of some rich fuck. Temper your attitude, this is a significant accomplishment for these people. There's no need to be malicious against them for their success.

"this is a significant accomplishment for these people"

What is the accomplishment in your mind? What they did? Or?

Because it seems like you are saying the fact that they were picked for a list by (let me repeat myself here) a panel of unnamed expert judges is an accomplishment?

Re: Forbes 30 under 30 in 2012

#88

Post by pg »

michaelochurch wrote: post #44

This thread has made me think less of Hacker News. All of it. The hate posts were pretty petty, but the fawning is pretty gross as well. We wonder why there's so much ageism. It's because age obsessions stem from this "cool list" narcissistic nonsense. But this is a prejudice all of us will face, because we're all (well, almost all, and with luck) going to be old some day. The sign of maturity is to see something lik…

The sign of maturity is to see something like this, neither be impressed nor upset/resentful, and just move on.

If that's what you think, why didn't you?

Re: Forbes 30 under 30 in 2012

#89

Post by hellojames »

bcoates wrote: post #63
mnicole wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems odd to me that they highlighted Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, etc. under Music when there are plenty of successful internet-/self-created acts that are much more impressive in talent and ability to market. Seems unfair to people who don't have millions of dollars and dozens of handlers. When I think 30 Under 30, I think people I don't know that are pushing the industry forward, not people that are sh…

Justin Bieber isn't exactly in my musical demographic, but wasn't he some sort of Internet-famous YouTube thing before he was real-world famous? Or is that just the usual puff piece fake backstory?

Via Wikipedia:

As he grew up, Bieber taught himself to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet. In early 2007, aged 12, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford and was placed second. Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family and friends to see. She continued to upload videos of Bieber singing covers of various R&B songs, and Bieber's popularity on the site grew. Chris Hicks, Bieber's A&R at Island/Def Jam, explained Bieber's huge online following to HitQuarters, stating: "He was doing something different. He was an attractive white kid singing very soulful R&B hits. That set him apart immediately from anyone in his range because no one was covering or singing these kind of records."

FWIW, I don't like Bieber's music. But I respect him as a performer and moreso as a socially responsible figure (e.g. participates a lot in the Make-a-Wish foundation, donates a lot of his money to charities)

Re: Forbes 30 under 30 in 2012

#90

Post by edanm »

pg wrote: post #88
michaelochurch wrote: post #44

This thread has made me think less of Hacker News. All of it. The hate posts were pretty petty, but the fawning is pretty gross as well. We wonder why there's so much ageism. It's because age obsessions stem from this "cool list" narcissistic nonsense. But this is a prejudice all of us will face, because we're all (well, almost all, and with luck) going to be old some day. The sign of maturity is to see something lik…

The sign of maturity is to see something like this, neither be impressed nor upset/resentful, and just move on. If that's what you think, why didn't you?

Do you consider these lists interesting? Are you happy when you see YC names in this article?
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