[ElComradio]

> You need to expand your view of meritocracy beyond just product/code. Expanding who you know, how much they like/admire you, and how much they want to work with you is part of meritocracy.

These things may very well be critical to success, but that's not what the term 'meritocracy' actually means as it is commonly used and understood.

"I hired hitwomen to slay all of my competitor's developers. We are now on top because of our company's longstanding culture of meritocracy."

Edit: Meritocracy is not synonymous with success. In the way you are going, all successful startups become meritocracies by virtue of being successful.