[westicle]

Something which has always disturbed me about the community is the macabre fascination with funding and exits.

Obviously these are healthy steps in the progression of some businesses, but at times it seems HN focuses on them to the exclusion of whether a startup actually contributes something worthwhile. It is probably arguable that those things represent a reasonable proxy for the value created (or expected to be created) by the business. Then again, there are plenty of funded (and acquired) business models which are based on cynical exploitation of the less-educated for the benefit of the business owner, at a net cost to society as a whole.

If an SV entrepreneur-type is more focused on getting funded or making an exit than creating net value to society, I think it is fair to draw ethical comparisons with the WS banker-type.

[ramchip]

I'm not sure I can agree. Sometimes there is an emphasis on acquisition, but companies that sound overvalued or negative to society tend to be disliked on HN as well. Groupon, for instance, gets flak in about every thread that mentions it.