[mikeyouse]

Yep - a very common view/philosophy outside the Valley. For whatever reason, that's not the culture at all in SV. Actually "vouching" for someone is still gated by people's reputation, but introductions are understood to be less of a personal 'I think this person is worth hiring' and more of a 'You are both working on something interesting in a similar area, I think you should talk' or commonly, 'This person has some very weird but interesting ideas about something I know you're interested in'.

Random example but I was working with an algae biofuel company during the cleantech boom and we were having analysis problems as the equipment we were using kept fouling due to the harsh desert conditions where our ponds were. I was at a birthday party and obliquely mentioned that issue to a friend who had asked how it was all going and before I knew it, he'd called his former coworker who'd founded a company that successfully launched similar equipment to Mars which was obviously not user-serviceable so was built to be extremely robust. There was no 'ask' from anyone involved and nobody got richer from the exchange, but it was just a random occasion to connect people who might find each other interesting that was completely common in my SV experience.

[lotsofpulp]

I think the “Valley” is just sufficiently expensive and/or newly settled that the probability a person would be a net negative to introduce was low enough that there did not need to be as much gatekeeping as there is in the east.

If you were knowledgeable enough to move to the Valley, if you had the wealth and connections to move to the Valley, then you already passed some of the checks needed to be someone who would be a sufficiently good bet to introduce.

It might already be the case that the Valley has changed to be more similar to the East.

[cobbzilla]

I had negative wealth and no meaningful connections when I moved to the SF Bay, so you’re wrong on that.

But I did know to move there, so you’re right on that.

And yes, while the pay-it-forward culture is still very much alive and you can find it if you look, I don’t think it has the ubiquity today that it did back then. You’re also right that the culture has shifted a bit.

[lotsofpulp]

In the context of my comment, wealth would include one’s potential, which if young and driven, could make one’s “wealth” positive, or at least useful to someone else.

For example, if you were 80 years old when you moved, would you have still received the same introductions?

[cobbzilla]

For sure, there is a premium on youth, but I did meet many career-switch types who were older and equally accepted.