Quote Meritocracy Unquote
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Quote Meritocracy Unquote
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Re: Quote Meritocracy Unquote
#2> They have one test, the market has another.
This is actually one of the biggest things I appreciate from studying Marx: the reminder that 'use-value'[1] and 'exchange-value'[2] are two, separate things, and while I generally want things based on how I can use them, the market doesn't care about that at all.
Startups would be wise to heed Marx's words here, and remember this difference. Your job as a startup is to make money, which means producing something that has a high exchange-value. Don't let your own notions of use-value blind you to what the market cares about: exchange value. How many times have I said "That idea is stupid, I'd never use that" and then it became a smashing, overnight success? Too many to count.
1: Basically, "how useful is this thing to me?" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_value
2: Basically, "how much could I sell this for?" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchange_value
Re: Quote Meritocracy Unquote
#3> They have one test, the market has another. This is actually one of the biggest things I appreciate from studying Marx: the reminder that 'use-value'[1] and 'exchange-value'[2] are two, separate things, and while I generally want things based on how I can use them, the market doesn't care about that at all. Startups would be wise to heed Marx's words here, and remember this difference. Your job as a startup is to m…
>Don't let your own notions of use-value blind you to what the market cares about: exchange value.
This has been the key lesson of my career as a programmer and entrepreneur. Reading Marx made me a better capitalist.
I tell people that ask for book recommendations to read Marx all the time and they sneer at me even though they know I'm not a Marxist.
Re: Quote Meritocracy Unquote
#4> They have one test, the market has another. This is actually one of the biggest things I appreciate from studying Marx: the reminder that 'use-value'[1] and 'exchange-value'[2] are two, separate things, and while I generally want things based on how I can use them, the market doesn't care about that at all. Startups would be wise to heed Marx's words here, and remember this difference. Your job as a startup is to m…
>Don't let your own notions of use-value blind you to what the market cares about: exchange value. This has been the key lesson of my career as a programmer and entrepreneur. Reading Marx made me a better capitalist. I tell people that ask for book recommendations to read Marx all the time and they sneer at me even though they know I'm not a Marxist.
I'm aware of the existence of a business school which was until recently was majorly staffed by Marxists. That was basically their response as well. "We know capitalism better than anyone, all we do is study it."
I've found that it's a bit better to recommend "Value, Price, and Profit"[1] rather than Capital I because it gives you the gist of the most important part (the first three chapters) while being much smaller and a little less dry.
1: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1865/value-price-...
Re: Quote Meritocracy Unquote
#5A meritocratic society is a lot of meritocracies chained together, themselves needing to merit success. Each one can only work with their own inputs, and so rely on the outputs of the other organizations. If these organizations do not extend deeply and broadly enough back, then at some point the inputs of an organization won't be the ones that should be there. This needs to go back to families at some point. In a meritocracy, mothers and fathers have an obligation to ensure that the potential of their children is developed and expressed through participation in society. I believe the failure of so many parents to do this is responsible for the ineffectiveness of our supposedly meritous systems, organizations and industries.
Re: Quote Meritocracy Unquote
#6> They have one test, the market has another. This is actually one of the biggest things I appreciate from studying Marx: the reminder that 'use-value'[1] and 'exchange-value'[2] are two, separate things, and while I generally want things based on how I can use them, the market doesn't care about that at all. Startups would be wise to heed Marx's words here, and remember this difference. Your job as a startup is to m…
>Don't let your own notions of use-value blind you to what the market cares about: exchange value. This has been the key lesson of my career as a programmer and entrepreneur. Reading Marx made me a better capitalist. I tell people that ask for book recommendations to read Marx all the time and they sneer at me even though they know I'm not a Marxist.
How can I resist?
http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/9200000/Marxism-marx-...
Re: Quote Meritocracy Unquote
#7Something relevant to note, is that YC's two biggest successes got into YC at least in part because of personal relationships.
IIRC, Dropbox was recommended by former roommates and friends from MIT (Xobni guys?). Airbnb was recommended by Michael Seibel from Justin.tv, perhaps others.
In both cases it's possible that YC wouldn't have interviewed or perhaps accepted one or both of these companies if not for those recommendations.
Or perhaps wouldn't have accepted Dropbox without the MIT credentials.
Based on the stories the founders tell, YC was very skeptical of both ideas (but it's probably hard for them to judge).
The next question I think of is whether Airbnb would have succeeded without YC. I suspect not. As good as those guys were at staying alive even they had limits, which they seemed in danger of reaching at that point.
Dropbox had a better chance probably, since it was already very well received, but maybe they would have fumbled it without the YC help. Certainly they wouldn't have done quite as well.
If personal connections was the thing that pushed some of YC's big successes over the application/interview acceptance hurdle it's fair to conclude that they've probably missed out on some others that didn't have those connections.
Re: Quote Meritocracy Unquote
#8Something relevant to note, is that YC's two biggest successes got into YC at least in part because of personal relationships. IIRC, Dropbox was recommended by former roommates and friends from MIT (Xobni guys?). Airbnb was recommended by Michael Seibel from Justin.tv, perhaps others. In both cases it's possible that YC wouldn't have interviewed or perhaps accepted one or both of these companies if not for those reco…
Incidentally, here's Dropbox's YC application: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27532820/app.html
Re: Quote Meritocracy Unquote
#9I think you should turn up the contrast on your blog a little.
This isn't very readable: http://goput.it/kag.png
Edit: It's fixed, thank you.
Re: Quote Meritocracy Unquote
#10> They have one test, the market has another. This is actually one of the biggest things I appreciate from studying Marx: the reminder that 'use-value'[1] and 'exchange-value'[2] are two, separate things, and while I generally want things based on how I can use them, the market doesn't care about that at all. Startups would be wise to heed Marx's words here, and remember this difference. Your job as a startup is to m…
>Don't let your own notions of use-value blind you to what the market cares about: exchange value. This has been the key lesson of my career as a programmer and entrepreneur. Reading Marx made me a better capitalist. I tell people that ask for book recommendations to read Marx all the time and they sneer at me even though they know I'm not a Marxist.
I have no clue how people who don't understand Marxian political economy can understand things like the huge dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, and then the crash. Or the (sub-prime) real estate bubble. Or how the finance sector is growing, in GDP percentage wise and in power, relative to the economy which produces real commodities.
Then again, according to polls (and my experience), the majority of Americans believe "every word of the Bible is literally accurate", and that "the Virgin birth, the angelic proclamation to the shepherds, the Star of Bethlehem, and the Wise Men from the East" are "historically accurate". Over 70% believe in "God, Heaven, the resurrection of Christ, survival of the soul after death, miracles, the virgin birth, the devil and hell". If blindness to the way the world really works is so overwhelming with these fantasies, expecting people to understand how wealthy people discretely work the economic system is way, way beyond most people.