> That said it really helps if you're already hanging around at a party with a CEO of a big, in the news, growing startup and thus have insider access to tell him exactly what you think after a few drinks.
Sigh.
I know Travis personally. I met him years ago, before Uber was even a twinkle in his eye, and he was running his last company, Red Swoosh.
There's no "insider" here. I graduated high school, turned 18, and moved to the Valley in 1999. I stayed there for the next 10 years. My parents are not technical and I'm from a small town in Indiana.
I did not get a college degree and I did not go to a prestigious university. I knew no one when I moved there. Eventually, years later, as the startup community coalesced and we all recovered from the pit of despair that was 2001-2002 in the Valley, people started having parties.
I went to socialize. I met many of the "heavy hitters" you see today. And I built a successful tech company with many of them as customers.
Yeah, the articles love to talk about Stanford grads and whatnot. Maybe they had it easier than me. I don't know. What I do know is I came out there with nothing but guts and a car (that literally exploded on me a year later) and...most importantly...no belief that I couldn't succeed or that I wouldn't make it.
It does take guts to pack your shit and sleep on the floor for a while, but eventually it does pay off. I'm running my second successful tech company now, this time in Austin, where again I know most of the folks in the startup community. Not because I'm some sort of "insider", but just because I went out there and met everyone, and I asked them for advice.
There's nothing stopping you, or anyone else reading this, from doing the same. Can't afford a ticket to the Valley, or don't want to deal with immigration laws? Find a booming startup metropolis somewhere else and get to know the people there. Startups are global now and it's a beautiful thing. But don't buy into the negative media hype.
I am happy for you. It sounds like you've worked hard and done some great stuff. That said I have no idea what your reply has to do with my comment. The anecdote in the parent is a story about an ex-IDEO employee encountering a big name startup CEO at private tech industry party. Noting that there's a high level of insiderness in the anecdotes doesn't mean that it is not possible to accomplish a great deal without first becoming an insider.
Really your short bio of your self makes a better "most people won't" anecdote than the original post.
I don't think my comment was overly cynical. I don't mean to tell anyone they are incapable of accomplishing things and I definitely don't believe that you have to start out privileged to make an impact on the world.
Sigh.
I know Travis personally. I met him years ago, before Uber was even a twinkle in his eye, and he was running his last company, Red Swoosh.
There's no "insider" here. I graduated high school, turned 18, and moved to the Valley in 1999. I stayed there for the next 10 years. My parents are not technical and I'm from a small town in Indiana.
I did not get a college degree and I did not go to a prestigious university. I knew no one when I moved there. Eventually, years later, as the startup community coalesced and we all recovered from the pit of despair that was 2001-2002 in the Valley, people started having parties.
I went to socialize. I met many of the "heavy hitters" you see today. And I built a successful tech company with many of them as customers.
Yeah, the articles love to talk about Stanford grads and whatnot. Maybe they had it easier than me. I don't know. What I do know is I came out there with nothing but guts and a car (that literally exploded on me a year later) and...most importantly...no belief that I couldn't succeed or that I wouldn't make it.
It does take guts to pack your shit and sleep on the floor for a while, but eventually it does pay off. I'm running my second successful tech company now, this time in Austin, where again I know most of the folks in the startup community. Not because I'm some sort of "insider", but just because I went out there and met everyone, and I asked them for advice.
There's nothing stopping you, or anyone else reading this, from doing the same. Can't afford a ticket to the Valley, or don't want to deal with immigration laws? Find a booming startup metropolis somewhere else and get to know the people there. Startups are global now and it's a beautiful thing. But don't buy into the negative media hype.