when silicon valley went hollywood

“I found it slightly disrespectful

him going through the pitch deck

and making his own judgments”

“I found it slightly disrespectful

him going through the pitch deck

and making his own judgments”

WTF Is Going On?

When Silicon Valley Went

Hollywood

And What It Means For You

Hollywood

The Other California Industry Cluster

Industry Cluster

A geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers

and associated companies and institutions in a single field

Nickelodeons

1905 - Movies Go to the Masses

Product consumed by millions

Movie Studios

Thomas Edison in New York

• Formed a Patent monopoly for movie cameras and film

Hollywood – Escape From New York

• Escape patent trolls/get great scenery

• Become “the cluster” for film making

Narrative and Stars

1910 – Star Envy and Stories

• Actors no longer anonymous

• Became a brand

Hollywood – Gossip

Hollywood – Hangers On

• Pr agents/publicists

• Damage control pr, lawyers to get out of jail

• Party planners/brokers

• Lawyers

• Parents, boyhood friends

• Ex pro players/security

• Personal manager/handlers

• Body trainers

• Rich kid's investing

• Kids of the famous

• Dog walkers

• Assistants, assistants of assistants

• Old kid stars out of work

• Guild employees

• Journalists/bloggers

• Failed models who tried become actors

• "C" list actors, radio personalities

So What?

Technology – Defense and Silicon

Of interest to other technologists

Silicon Valley Culture Wins

• Escape east coast culture/get great scenery

• Become “the cluster” for technology innovation

From Technology to

Computer Products

• Consumed by tens of millions

•Loved by a tech niche

• A tool for others

From Computer Products to

Consumer Product

• Consumed by hundreds of millions

• Understood by everyone

Narrative and Stars

Star Envy and Stories

• CEO’s no longer anonymous

• Became a brand

So What?

Our Time as Industry of

just Hard Workers is Over

Silicon Valley – Another Industry

with a “Star Ecosystem”

• Gossip press

• Gatekeepers

• Herd effect in products

• Fad investing

• Poseurs

• Hangers-on

• Auteurs

• Hard workers

Valley Gossip

Why Do It?

• Ego

• Ego

• Ego

• Vanity Metrics

• Attract talent

• Get funding

• Drive customer demand

Silicon Valley – No Longer Just

“Those Who Do”

• Founders with “Ideas”

• MBA’s who just need

coders

• PR agencies

• Party planners

• Lawyers

• Patent Trolls

• Rich kid's investing

• Wanna-be Angels & VC’s

• Family of the famous

• Gossip bloggers

• Conference junkies

• Real Estate agents

• Parents, boyhood friends

Don’t Get Distracted by the Noise

• Build a great product

• Find customers who grab it out your hand

• Build something really big

Summary

• We’ve gone from technical obscurity to Hollywood

• Ecosystem now has more unproductive people

• They think your job is easy

• Recognize and Avoid them

• Build something amazing