tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2460005.post3671648750348475045..comments2023-11-05T04:28:29.961-08:00Comments on Adventures in Capitalism: Sexism in tech is a problem of the majority, and has to be solved by the majorityChrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00927628412285314176noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2460005.post-60165779861502820762013-10-04T09:45:47.756-07:002013-10-04T09:45:47.756-07:00Anonymous,
Your comments are spot on. VCs will i...Anonymous,<br /><br />Your comments are spot on. VCs will invest in anything they think will make money and isn't clearly illegal.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00927628412285314176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2460005.post-41799769893364913542013-09-10T16:23:26.462-07:002013-09-10T16:23:26.462-07:00The "app" and presentation were the prod...The "app" and presentation were the products of grown men, actual adults, one at the ripe old age of twenty-eight.<br /><br />I'm gobsmacked at the suggestion that us adults have to remind other adults not to do such things in public conferences, things most normal people would be mortified to undertake. As if the real problem here were just a lack of peer pressure. <br /><br />But it's not an issue of peer pressure; it's a matter of incentives.<br /><br />These guys knew what they were doing. They knew that the early stage market presently values "silly" ideas, because even if they're sexist or bizarre they can blow up quickly and create real "value." A bombastic, high-confidence, funny "pitch" can go a long way towards typecasting you as a founder willing to swing for the fences. It was presented as a joke in hindsight after the blowback, but that's beside the point. This wasn't just bad behavior, it was intentional marketing, branding oneself.<br /><br />When the startup culture is based on the premise that virtually any idea, no matter how sleazy or inane, can be fundable and potentially huge, then don't be surprised when people take the bait.<br /><br />For example, look at Snapchat. It's well-documented that it was the product of very real boorish, frat-boy sexism, not to mention deplorable "hallway user testing" on the homeless. It's worth hundreds of millions of dollars now.<br /><br />The solution to this kind of sexism isn't just peer pressure from adults, it's changing how we value ideas and how social value is factored into such valuations.<br /><br />I'll conclude with the following thought experiment: imagine if Titstare were launched and it got traction. A number of VCs are then interested in it. How do you convince them not to invest, because it's the wrong thing to do?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com