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Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by alexnewman on Thursday November 28, 2019 @09:34AM (#21657610)
Easy dumb money like SoftBank is the greatest enemy of innovation and progress. Just take a look at the first deck. Companies like Uber, Softbank, WeWork all having trouble with funding is an important step in our economy
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by papito on Thursday November 28, 2019 @11:10AM (#21658292)
Dumb money makes you complacent and lazy. Every problem looks like a nail. Just add more money and stir, with a splash of arrogance.

Some hardship and tight money leads to innovation and creative thinking.

Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by chvid on Thursday November 28, 2019 @10:47AM (#21658098)
Dear commenters on HN. Don't bite or spite the hand that is feeding you. The recession will come soon enough.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by saiya-jin on Thursday November 28, 2019 @11:01AM (#21658207)
I'd claim that most folks here aren't directly in this area and couldn't care much. The mostly quiet majority I would call us. And recession? It won't be started by this but bigger forces. A correction might be even healthy for most in long term.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by ben_jones on Thursday November 28, 2019 @11:13AM (#21658325)
I respectfully disagree, I think there is a massive trickle down economics affect going on even if it’s just local. The auxiliary companies selling into startups is HUGE from recruiting agencies, design firms, the gig economy, local tax revenues, commercial real estate, law and accounting services, one medical offices, and much much more. When VC funding slows down a lot of these places will shutter (because few people in management ever prepare for a downturn).
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by semiotagonal on Thursday November 28, 2019 @12:07PM (#21658783)
I don't think a smaller number of dumb startups will have much negative impact, considering the huge numbers of highly paid employees the giant "fang companies" have.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by dboreham on Thursday November 28, 2019 @04:46PM (#21660390)
Except when the FAANG company revenue turns out to be driven by the same fake money faucet.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by lotsofpulp on Friday November 29, 2019 @07:36AM (#21663967)
What fake money faucet? The big tech companies have tons of paying customers, and tons of net income increasing at tremendous rates with tremendous moats.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by alexnewman on Sunday December 01, 2019 @09:26AM (#21675599)
Huge portions of advertisements are being shown to bots without detection. I'd guess google's ad sales are 25% overblown given my analysis of it's bot detection products.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by alexnewman on Friday November 29, 2019 @12:30AM (#21662279)
I don't spite or hurt SoftBank. I'm just pointing out the emperor has no clothes and is investing poorly. Bad investments by those with wealth hurt those without the most.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by bumblebee4 on Thursday November 28, 2019 @05:44PM (#21660663)
Why? If it is easy to take it, let clever people take it to have the resources for real innovations.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by thetruthwillout on Thursday November 28, 2019 @10:17AM (#21657866)
On the other hand, you can think of dumb money like SoftBank as desparate money and the jobs it creates as workfare in everything but name. Lots of people who would otherwise not get the chance, are getting paid and stuffing their resumes working for these places. These doomed companies are essentially allowing investors to pay for the training of employees who will be adding value to the not-doomed companies that will come after.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by CalChris on Thursday November 28, 2019 @10:55AM (#21658160)
Workfare. I agree it provides employment but it also bids up salaries. Moreover, anti-unicorns like WeWork make it more difficult for real startups motivated by survival and profit.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by mrkstu on Thursday November 28, 2019 @11:58AM (#21658724)
Considering past conspiracies to restrain information workers salaries, this may just be restoring some of the missed natural growth. The FAANG companies aren't having any problems keeping up with the Softbank funded companies.
Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by ppf on Thursday November 28, 2019 @11:42AM (#21658585)
>allowing investors to pay for the training of employees who will be adding value

Putting on my most cynical hat, what value is there in flashy web frameworks and marketing hacks?

Re:After WeWork, SoftBank’s Startup Bookkeeping Draws Scrutiny by AlexandrB on Thursday November 28, 2019 @11:49AM (#21658647)
Then it would be better to put the dumb money to work fixing/improving infrastructure or doing something else useful. As it stands, some of this looks like one great, big broken window parable[1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window