I guess the key point is: a lot of people are using "fail fast" as an excuse for behaviors that previous generations would consider frankly irresponsible, if not unethical, and I think the general element of scumbaggery that we've seen in technology of late is a result of this absurd ideology.
Very unethical and irresponsible behavior has been around a long time. Internet Bubble v1.0 had a world of crap going on, with much bigger dollar-numbers for the investments.
I was born in 1983, so I missed the first Bubble, but I believe you. I worked for someone (also a total sleaze) who had a late-1990s startup and once spent close to $2 million (out of about $15m on hand) on a launch party. Over 10% of working capital on a party before a product existed. So I'm well-acquainted with the fact that there was at least some sleaze in the first bubble.
I guess I'm crestfallen because I thought, at least over the past decade, that most of the sleaze would be in finance. I'm finding that not to be so.
I don't care about being a billionaire "master of the universe" as long as I don't have to be within 500 meters of the type of slime that does care about that shit. I just want to fucking work, to solve hard problems, to add value to the world, and to make enough money to have a good life. If I get rich, great. If I solve important problems and don't get rich, fine. That was the appeal of "tech" over finance, but now I see that the same sleaze has crept into our world too, and I want it out.
Here’s some shit I’ve either seen, or been credibly informed of, in the past 24 months, most of which was never in the news: no-poach agreements, attempted blacklisting of whistleblowers, a rescinded job offer based on a rumor that suggested PTSD, abuse of process within large companies, extortion of ex-employees, gross breaches of contract, frivolous lawsuits, threats of frivolous lawsuits, price fixing among venture capitalists, bait-and-switch hiring tactics, retaliatory termination, and fraudulent, no-product startups designed to embezzle angel investors.
