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Daniel Penny Gets Hired by Andreessen Horowitz
- jeffbee 2y agoWow these guys aren't even pretending to be about any legitimate line of business at this point. They have gone all-in on just being as like Trump as they can and robbing everyone blind.
- talldayo 2y agoI feel ashamed to work at a startup, reading this. Thankfully I've seen how dysfunctional A16Z is up-close and don't have much hope for their future competence.
- xcrunner529 2y agoThey are doing whatever they can for attention because all of their investments and “blockchain” nonsense have been poor showing the company just got lucky and is run by idiots.
- rajnathani 2y agoYeah, I lost respect for A16Z after they launched their some-300M crypto fund a few years ago. This hire just cements that loss of respect, not that the guy is any bad but the fact that they wanted to hire this guy speaks volumes in terms of how biased their hiring process is for non-partner positions in the firm.
- cbozeman 2y agoWhat about this makes you feel ashamed to work at a startup?
- talldayo 2y agoMy efforts and labor are always wasted working for someone else. I tend to work for startups because it feels like I'm donating time to a cause or effort that could help people in need. When venture capital spends their (precious) money courting unqualified nobodies, they remind us all that they are less mature than the people they sponsor and reward exactly the wrong actors. These are mistakes that don't get made by legacy employers in FAANG and Fortune 500, because they have a basic understanding of self preservation. It reaffirms to me that the right way to spend my career is on meaningless but benign work that doesn't go to benefit madmen with a hole burnt through their pocket. A16Z is absolutely reprehensible in this respect, with YC as a close second in many ways. I'm lucky that much of the work I've seen under their patronage will never come to light and ruin my CV.
- cbozeman 2y agoAh, an idealist! God bless you, my friend. We need more people like you. I understand what you mean in regards to your efforts and labor are always wasted working for someone else. I can't tell you how many times I've done weeks, sometimes months, of research to determine the best possible way to move forward on a project, given it's constraints, only for the so-called "decision makers" to take a totally different path, that leads to additional work and eventual ruin.
- Bostonian 2y agoPenny was rightly acquitted. https://nypost.com/2024/11/08/opinion/subway-rider-thanked-daniel-penny-for-saving-riders-from-jordan-neely/ https://nypost.com/2024/11/08/opinion/subway-rider-thanked-d... Subway rider thanked Daniel Penny for saving riders from Jordan Neely — possibly the most important gesture of his life
- morkalork 2y agoJudge, jury and executioner? Acquittal.... okay but acting like Judge Dredd merits a job offer? That is sick.
- cbozeman 2y agoJordan Neely killed himself, like what happens in a lot of these cases. People think they can act any way they want in public and then are shocked when someone bigger, stronger, meaner, and tougher comes along and makes them obey the rules of decent society and the laws of the land. And despite what people think, that isn't the function of police. Police were created to protect the merchant class and their businesses. In times long past, when everyone went heeled, you acted politely or you got yourself shot to death for being a jackass. This is why so-called "civilized" people have such bad manners... because they don't run the risk of someone cracking their skull wide open when they mouth off, much less actually threaten innocent people just trying to ride home on the subway.
- vcryan 2y agoLol NY Post, one step above The Inqirer
- creato 2y agoI think the "normal person of 20 years ago" opinion on this is that he was rightfully acquitted, but it's weird for him to be getting hired by Andreesen Horowitz.
- hanginChad 2y ago[dead]
- 2y ago
- ggm 2y agoHe wasn't in law enforcement, or a statutory role. He's a former marine. I think this is a non-story. I don't like A16Z but this specific hire has nothing to do with it, and I see no causal trend here or reason to say anything about Andreessen from this hire. I had an uncle who was a lower court Judge in the UK, who would hire ex-cons to work on his pigfarm. Cynics would say he wanted a cheap source of labour but the truth is (I am convinced) he saw the need for post-Jail employment, and that condemning prisoners to a life without work income was stupid and hurtful. I think also working with animals has been shown to be net beneficial to incarcerated people. This guy did a stupid thing. I get that. It had lethal consequence. I get that too. I don't think this hire is evidence of any nefarious quality. If anything, it will cost them money. (I would never for for Trump, and I think A16Z has bad effect on ICT investment)
- nojobs4mobs 2y ago[dead]
- lovich 2y agoIf the man had experience in investing, then maybe you'd have an argument. As it stands you couldn't tell him from Adam when it comes to investment experience so the only plausible explanation for hiring him is that its political and thus says something about Andreeseen
- ggm 2y agoPeople get hired for nepotism, for politics, for street smarts, for their smile, for the crease in their trousers, because the guy hiring them had a good morning, or because they're actually good at what they do. You've called this one out as bad. Well, it probably is bad. if I invested through this company I'd be upset. But the thing is, its "hunt for keys under lampost, not because I lost them there, but because it's lit up" bad: You know this hire does not make much sense. The other hires, you are letting through because (I believe) you implicitly assume they can learn to do the job, all other bad reasons for hire not withstanding. Why can't he learn them too? He can take instructions and work, and is physically robust. He survived in a harsh environment (or two). There are admirable qualities which imply he is educable and strong emotionally and phyisically. I wouldn't have hired him or the nepo baby. I wouldn't have put my money into this mobs hands. I didn't. If my superannuation fund did, I hope it returns at least at market norms.
- afavour 2y ago> “He will learn the business of investing and he will work to support our portfolio companies,” wrote Ulevitch in a note sent to all employees this afternoon. By their own admission he isn’t qualified for the job. He’s been hired because of who he is rather than the skills he brings. …wait, I thought A16Z didn’t like that stuff! Is Penny a DEI hire? (in case you were wondering, yes, this thread got flagged to death)
- zja 2y agoMaybe the job is actually really easy?
- cempaka 2y agoPerhaps we could hand the job of "owning money" over to AI?
- hnburnsy 2y agoAthlete and celebrity in VC or PE are hired because of the money they can attract from others, which is a type qualification, probably the same reason here.
- bko 2y agoFor the athlete side at least I feel like being elite athlete signals that you're very competitive and drive towards excellence. You'll see competitive industries value things like strong chess players. Basically anything that signals obsessive drive.
- ilove196884 2y agoAnd some athletes can invest their own money. I think players for GSW invested a lot in tech.
- xcrunner529 2y agoLol and diversity of people has always been proven to produce better ideas and companies. The attempts to justify tying yourselves into knots!
- Apocryphon 2y agoSo this is virtue-signalling.
- NelsonMinar 2y agoThis is revolting.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- roddylindsay 2y agoI hear Kyle Rittenhouse is also coming on board as a junior associate.
- tibbydudeza 2y agoA MAGA DEI hire
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]