> We know Mark Zuckerberg did not build Facebook to get rich. His vision of “making the world more open and connected,” is Facebook’s real raison d’être.
Sounds like ex post facto rewriting history bullshit to me.
You start companies to make money (otherwise you'd start a non-profit). You may or may not have other reasons for starting the company. However saying that you didn't want the money after you become rich is false modesty and a form of social signalling.
Founders may or may not want to change the world - but they unequivocally want to make a lot of money regardless of their other reasons.
Indeed, most of these other reasons should be classified under the "reality distortion field" umbrella.
These are used so that founders can say "Come with me and help me change the world!" - when what they really mean to say is "Come make me filthy rich and get paid less for pleasure of doing so you ingracious B player!".
Psychological arbitrage is a real factor in start-ups and a lot of social negotiation. Be careful when dealing with others and remember - everyone is trying to screw you in some form or another (see Facebook founder fight over rights to stock).
Trust no one (this is a PR piece and I'm 100% biased).
There are exceptions; Elon Musk clearly started SpaceX because he couldn't afford to develop the technology at a non-profit. Similarly it is common for well-off people who are retirement age to start a business that has no possibility of making any significant money just to have something to do.
Sounds like ex post facto rewriting history bullshit to me.
You start companies to make money (otherwise you'd start a non-profit). You may or may not have other reasons for starting the company. However saying that you didn't want the money after you become rich is false modesty and a form of social signalling.
Founders may or may not want to change the world - but they unequivocally want to make a lot of money regardless of their other reasons.
Indeed, most of these other reasons should be classified under the "reality distortion field" umbrella.
These are used so that founders can say "Come with me and help me change the world!" - when what they really mean to say is "Come make me filthy rich and get paid less for pleasure of doing so you ingracious B player!".
Psychological arbitrage is a real factor in start-ups and a lot of social negotiation. Be careful when dealing with others and remember - everyone is trying to screw you in some form or another (see Facebook founder fight over rights to stock).
Trust no one (this is a PR piece and I'm 100% biased).