Trending On Hacker News?

I had no idea. I just now saw this. And this blog post is from a while ago.

Greplin: The First Y Combinator Company To Get Me Excited

Rich Kids

Cover of Slumdog Millionaire [Blu-ray]I have taken to dropping by Hacker News near daily after Fred Wilson made the point a few days ago. Today I came across this blog post.

Michael Church: Yes, rich kids already won the career game. Here’s why.: Americans like to believe that the modern workplace, like school, is a meritocracy........ Americans prefer to believe that, among those who do work, side-by-side in the same environment, it’s a fair competition. To their chagrin, they observe that their co-workers from wealthy backgrounds advance three times as fast ..... People in offices are out for themselves, not trying to preserve (or to combat) the social status quo. Rather, this is a subconscious and irresistible force, and it comes from one root cause: rich kids don’t fear the boss. ...... The middle-class kid spends the bulk of his time trying not to offend, not to behave in a way that might jeopardize the job he worked so hard to get and could not easily replace if he lost it. He doesn’t invite himself to meetings, avoids contact with high-ranking executives, and doesn’t offer suggestions when in meetings. Thanks to the fear he experiences on a daily basis, he’s seen as “socially awkward” and “mousy” by higher-ups. Nothing recommends him, and he will not advance. ...... Middle-class kids generally fuck up their first few years of the career game in one of two ways. Either they fear authority tremendously, which is crippling from a career perspective and renders them devoid of creative energy, or they show an open distaste for managerial authority, described by the wealthy as having a proletarian “chip” on one’s shoulder, and fail to advance on account of the dislike they thus inspire. ..... The rich kid, on the other hand, relates even to the highest-ranking executives as equals, because he knows that they are his social equals. He’ll answer to them, but with an understanding that his subordination is limited and offered in exchange for mentoring and protection. He views them as partners and colleagues, not judges or potential adversaries. Perhaps this is counterintuitive, but most of his bosses like this. (Most bosses aren’t assholes and don’t like to be feared, at all. In fact, they’d be happy to forget that they are bosses.) His career advances fast. ......He’s neither a cowering weakling
Image via Wikipediawho crumbles at the sight of authority, nor an obnoxious brat whose sense of entitlement and dislike for managerial authority limit his progress prematurely. He respects others and himself and has an uncanny air of effortless “coolness” (by which I mean freedom from anxiety) that enables him to actually get things done. ....... the majority of rich kids who are well-behaved and decent are valued more highly when their circumstances are discovered. ...... This advantage held by the wealthy, more prominent on the East Coast and outside of technology, is nearly impossible to compete against in most companies. ....... I would advise those who are sufficiently talented to work in technology, which tends to be more meritocratic than other industries, and to avoid old-style business. Beyond that, I know of no solution.

I found this blog post amusing. I am someone who has never had a "job." You know, where you show up eight in the morning wearing a tie? I have never done that. I did note the ode to the technology sector. In a startup, it is not about if you are rich, it is about if you are hungry. For me rich and poor is a global thing. For me it is about dollar a day people and self made billionaires.

Hackers/Founders MeetUp: Last Thursday Each Month

I met the Norwegian Sindre Aarsaether at the last NY Tech MeetUp. He put an invite to the Hackers/Founders MeetUp on my Facebook wall. I signed up, I showed up. This was only the sixth Hackers/Founders MeetUp in New York. It has been growing fast. They are not listed on MeetUp.com, or at least the New York one is not. And it is curious they do it on the last Thursday of each month. The NY Tech MeetUp is on the first Tuesday of each month. I felt a sense of competition. But that does not apply to me. To me the two add to each other. The NY Tech MeetUp's biggest down point is that it collects 500 wonderful people in a room and lets them go to waste. Perhaps it is too big, but I have always wondered about the others in the room. At the Hackers/Founders MeetUp all the people that show up are the attraction. There is no other attraction. I guess you can argue the NY Tech MeetUp tries to get some of that at the after party, but my experience has been most people prefer to skip the after party.

Hackers and Founders (Mountain View, CA) - Meetup.com
Anyvite | Hackers Founders NYC Meetup #4
Anyvite | Hackers Founders NYC Meetup #1

Image via CrunchBase

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