1. New VC-backed startup enters the scene
2. People flock to it
3. They discover it’s a surveillance capitalist (and still have no clue what that is)
4. They’re shocked (because, see 3)
5. It’s too late, they’re too big and they’ve exited
6. Goto 1
@aral Point 5 without the exit is also a possibility but a rare one. For example Snap, TikTok and Zoom.
@desikn It’s still an exit, but an exit to the public with an IPO. In the VC game, your startup either goes under or it exits; there is no third option*
* VERY rarely (statistically insignificant), an org will manage to clear its debt by buying out their investors, etc. e.g., FastMail, for example, were bought by Opera but then became a thorn in their side but Opera couldn’t shut them down due to existing enterprise contracts and so they just let them go, clearing their debt in the process.
@aral That's Creepy... Uploading My List of Phone Friends? I Will NEVER Invite My Friends... GENERATING ANNOYING SPAM... These are MY FRIENDS and I Don't Do Stuff to Harm Them...