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by samhuk 913 days ago
> Force startups to aspire to create an actual product rather

I'm getting on to 10 years in the software industry as an engineer at the moment and in my view this is one of its most disappointing and frustrating aspects.

The whole software start-up scene just feels saturated with FIRE-obsessed individuals who prefer just about anything (money, vacation, travel, fame, ...) over company, product, real building, craftsmanship, etc.

I legitimately hear phrases like "5th time's the charm for an exit and payout!" way too often. It frequently just exacerbates the consolidation of technology, knowledge, wealth, and often hurts innovation, let alone can result in the solid team(s) of engineers left out to dry (although some can be also gunning for the payout in the end too).

In my view, there are just too many sell-outs pawning off solid products and teams to the highest bidder. I wish it wasn't that way.

1 comments

Those things don't have to be mutually exclusive.

I taught myself to code in high school, and I like what I work on (robotics); it used to be a weekend hobby in college before it became my real job. I also like Michelin star dinners, travelling, live music, skiing, etc.

Expecting people in our industry to prefer "company, product, real building, craftsmanship" over getting paid is how we end up getting paid like nonprofit employees, EMTs, and other professions where people's desire to do good is exploited to drive down salaries.

Would you rather use a product that somebody treats as a vehicle to "Michelin star dinners, travelling, live music, skiing, etc.", or a product that somebody deeply cares about more than those things?

My point is not "care 100% about your job/company/product/idea and 0% about everything else", but rather striking a better balance.

To bring it back to the OP, selling Figma to Adobe was, in my view, part of an epidemic of SaaS companies valuing payout above creating a long-term sustaining business.