I wonder what ended up happening inside PayPal since this post.
Now that DM is gone, I am very bearish on PayPal. Good news is he can now openly mentor and advice entrepreneurs in the space.
Shower thoughts: Maybe I should write a full blog post with all the spicy stuff! (with GOT memes)
As for Bill Scott, its a 2 edged sword. I think he runs a good ship, and great guy if you are part of his team or enjoy his patronage or benefit his goals/vision. Him and his team understand technology, appreciate doing what they do. They are one of the forward looking tech teams at PP. But, it comes with usual red herrings though.
I know, but why couldn't he fix it? That is the real question.
the smartest move will be to move out, create a different world, and show them how its done. (Refer: Exit, voice, & Loyalty by Albert O. Hirschman). Hence I believe going to a better shore is in line with this spirit of california. Hope that helps.
The amount of friction within a company like Paypal I would imagine is quite high. Not even those at the top of companies like these can change things at the flick of a switch. Things move very slowly in large companies, this is why smaller startups are able to come along and shake things up so easily before being acquired. It is how it is.