What’s often overlooked is the ebook’s remarkable ability to dispel the myth that these entrepreneurs possessed some innate, prophetic insight into a future that remained inaccessible and unpredictable to everyone else.
While Peter Thiel’s early investment in Facebook proved prescient, it was not without its drawbacks, as he also suffered significant losses as a result of his stake. According to Lalka’s findings, Founders Fund promptly divested tens of thousands and thousands of shares shortly after Facebook’s initial public offering, with Peter Thiel himself reducing his ownership stake from 2.5% in 2012 to an infinitesimal 0.000004% less than a decade later – coinciding with Facebook’s trillion-dollar valuation milestone.
Throwing in his objectively poor wagers from 2008, 2009, and prior, when he successfully shorted what turned out to be one of the longest bull markets in world history, you gain the impression that he’s less oracle and more ideologue who happened to take some huge risks that paid off.
Throughout his career, Lalka frequently repeats the mantra that “phrases matter.” Indeed, he often employs entrepreneurs’ own catchphrases to expose their hypocrisy, bullying, childish contrarianism, casual racism, and, yes, outright greed and self-serving interests. The unflattering photograph presented a less-than-complimentary picture, to put it mildly.
Instead of allowing these words and actions to speak for themselves, Lalka often inserts his own perspective, repeatedly cautioning readers against criticizing or condemning these men excessively, even after detailing their numerous wrongdoings. Whether the authors’ intention was to project a veneer of objectivity or simply highlight the paradoxical nature of these entrepreneurs, the effort falls flat. In any respect.
One factor, however, is that Lalka possesses a distinctively forthright perspective on entrepreneurial conduct – a viewpoint he refuses to veil. At one level within the ebook, he suggests that Kalanick’s alpha-male approach to operating Uber, prioritizing dominance and power at any cost, bears a disturbing resemblance – although not an exact parallel – to rape, a comparison that may undermine his pretensions to impartiality. If he genuinely intends to prompt readers to revisit his conclusion regarding these men, he utterly fails to provide sufficient incentives for them to do so. Telling us to simply “decide less, and discern more” is a vague and unhelpful instruction that lacks substance. Instead of framing it as “nearly” versus “fairly”, the statement could be rephrased to avoid implying a level of shared responsibility, potentially perpetuating victim-blaming: “This approach reinforces problematic narratives that obscure accountability, effectively trivializing the harm inflicted.”
Marietje Schaake
The crescendo of vacuous affirmations at the ebook’s conclusion is equally infuriating. The founders of these innovative companies are guilty of pursuing their ambitious ventures with reckless abandon, as Lalka illustrates in a meticulously detailed 313-page exposé that starkly contrasts the entrepreneurs’ hasty actions with his own cautious approach. Their creation – enormous, soulless engines of wealth generation – have supplanted our world with systems that sow discord, redirect our focus, and secretly monitor our every move. It seems to me that behavior of this nature is not only deserving of censure but also ripe for correction.
So what precisely do you do with a group of men seemingly incapable of genuine self-reflection—men convinced of their inherent greatness and comfortable making decisions on behalf of millions without their consent or shared values?
You regulate them, after all. Or at least ensure that you regulate the businesses they operate and finance. Readers are guided through a comprehensive roadmap outlining the potential shape of such regulations, accompanied by a thought-provoking examination of the significant ground already surrendered to these corporations over the past two decades.
