[mpatachi]

If we start by defining a mean person as one looking for either win - lose or even more, no win - lose (aka, being mean for no reason), I think there are several points for which people are less mean in the startup world and being mean give you less chances to succeed. First of all, I believe that being in a startup is less about “fighting” for an existent market (where someone needs to loose in order for the other to win), but about creating new value and trying to capture the most of it. Founders are (should be) more inclined to think about win-win solutions so that the adoption is high. Secondly, compared to the corporate world, in a startup the focus in on creating value, versus protecting positions and internal politics. On the other side, public profiling and feedback incentivize founders to be at least careful about how they reflect to the world. Nonetheless, being at the beginning of a road, they are more inclined to be nice in order to attract and retain customers & employees. Without saying that there’s no meanness in the startup world, I would agree that the degree of kindness is higher here than into the corporate world.