We Don’t Talk Enough About Money In Silicon Valley, Revisited

Issues to Bear in mind As You and Your Mates Get Rich

“Giraffe cash.” That’s the phrase which caught with me from Erin Griffith’s NYTimes article this spring concerning the newest set of wealth creating occasions within the tech group. To cite,

For Palantir, a knowledge analytics firm that went public in September, Feb. 18 was “giraffe cash” day. That was the primary day that present and former staff may money out all of their shares after the corporate went public.

In a Slack channel for former staff referred to as Giraffe Cash — an obvious reference to wealth that may help informal giraffe possession — many anticipated their windfalls by sharing hyperlinks, largely in jest, to absurdly costly house listings and boats, one former worker mentioned.

I by no means heard about giraffes after Google’s IPO, though reportedly one early engineer did purchase a carnival-size ferris wheel. However that was again in 2004 and the trillions of {dollars} of wealth created since in startups, large tech corporations and crypto makes earlier questions of extravagance appear quaint.

We’re actually in a k-shaped financial system and for these lucky sufficient to be within the high arm of the Ok, it’s straightforward to learn from being in the correct place on the proper time.

So I needed to reshare a publish I wrote suggesting that we truly don’t discuss cash sufficient in Silicon Valley, at the very least not within the clear and wholesome ways in which enable us to think about its impression.

https://hunterwalk.medium.com/we-dont-talk-enough-about-money-in-silicon-valley-no-really-e9335367e733

Studying it again 3 1/2 years later it nonetheless rings true for me personally. We’re well-off and blissful, these assets having performed a major function in mitigating the dangers of the pandemic and the anxiousness of a disrupted world. I nonetheless fear concerning the pressure between wanting to supply my daughter extra experiences and luxuries than I had entry to as a baby, however not distorting her values or work ethic. Among the founders we backed in Homebrew’s first fund have realized — or will quickly understand — outcomes that can internet them a whole lot of hundreds of thousands and even perhaps billions of {dollars}. And I’m thrilled for them and their groups.

Extra not too long ago we launched an effort referred to as Screendoor to assist fund new rising enterprise capitalists from underrepresented populations. The thought being that there’s financial alternative on this section that’s not being captured right this moment, and there’s an opportunity to begin a virtuous cycle the place the investments they make will doubtless embody people of their networks, who can even rent individuals in *their* networks, and everybody succeeds collectively. These of us who’ve had entry to the correct hiring supervisor, or cap desk, or referral community have already put ourselves able to capitalize, however the pie may be expanded. It’s not about shortage, it’s about abundance.

Okay, please learn my earlier weblog publish and inform me what you suppose. I’m off to analysis how a lot it truly prices to privately personal a giraffe….