Life In A Dot Com & Working In A Tech Startup (Videos)

I occasionally write about my background in Silicon Valley because my experiences here have played a huge part on my finances, primarily on the job, career and investment front. Living in Silicon Valley has provided me with the unique experience of being exposed to the world of startups. I can tell you that the dynamic energy in one of these incubators is both exhausting and crazy fun at the same time. Generally, it is an addictive environment that attracts the bright and ambitious types, although during the 90s, everyone I knew ended up in a startup regardless of their background, experience or temperament. 😉

I’ve decided to discuss startups here again because I wanted to share a couple of FUN videos on the subject.

Startup Video #1: Getting Financing — A Rebecca Black Parody

This first one is a pretty creative presentation by a venture capital group called First Round Capital. I have to commend them for coming up with a great use for this “catchy” tune:

What can I say, I LOVE IT! Now it’s not so bad with the new lyrics, wouldn’t you say? What’s better than a bunch of geeks hamming it up and showing off their non-techie skills? If I had been working in one of these places, I would have jumped at the chance to warble a lyric (*cough*). As a background though — this video was created by a venture capital firm to show off their startup portfolio. It’s an inventive way to introduce to you their funded set of small companies.

Startup Video #2: What It’s Like To Work In A Tech Startup

Now I had originally written this article with a nod to a viral video made in reference to dot com bubbles. This particular video had resonated greatly with me because it tells the story of what I went through in the dot com era, especially the part about “trading in my twenties for a worthless pile of tech stock” and “suffering through the market crash and losing a giant wad of cash.” 😀 It gives you a taste of life in a dot com.

At any rate, the video was based on a well known song by Billy Joel. It is a great spoof — very amusing, I must say… and a good representation of what Silicon Valley is known for. This is the anthem of tech nerds everywhere. Here it is:

I’ve written out the lyrics here sprinkled with relevant links to some posts I’ve written on these matters. So much of this rings true just seeing what has happened to friends, acquaintances and coworkers. And some things have also applied to me, although as I’ve hinted before, I’m one of those denizens of this place who was given but a “fraction of a fraction of the pie”. 😉 What’s great about Silicon Valley is that despite the incredible expense of living here, it represents a lot of hope for people to achieve a better life — being the dynamic area that it is and a melting pot for business ideas that have changed the world one small company at a time. A lot of folks here have decided to sacrifice income stability, peace of mind, life savings and more comfortable lifestyles for the chance at this modern gold rush. What’s also great is that with the advent of the internet and tighter global connectivity, you can live anywhere and have these opportunities available to you.

Well, I can only continue to dream… and try.

Lyrics of “Here Comes Another Bubble” by TheRichterScales.com

Additional Credit: Matt Hempey. Sung to the tune of “We Didn’t Start The Fire” by Billy Joel.

Got me a CS degree, honor roll, MIT
Moved to Palo Alto, opportunity knocked
Thought I had the perfect plan, took a job at Webvan
Traded in my twenties for a worthless pile of tech stock.

Suffered through the market crash, lost a giant wad of cash
Pink slips, burger flips, would you like some fries?
Happy days are here again, Larry Page, Sergey Brin
Time to write a business plan, So I can be like those guys!

Here comes another bubble, it’s a monster rally all around the valley.

First you need a buzzword, then a second and a third
Pick at least two industries, you’ll revolutionize.
Find yourself an engineer, feed him pizza, buy him beer
Give him just a fraction of a fraction of the pie.

Need a good domain name, must be cheap, can’t be lame
Something cool like flickr, meebo, wikiyou, mahalo, bebo
“Telephone” without the “t”, “Digg” but with a triple “g”
Make your elevator pitch, code it up and flip the switch!

Here comes another bubble, the VCs are backing, baby let’s get cracking.

Blog blog blog it all, blog it if it’s big or small.
Blog at the cineplex, blog while you’re having sex.
Blog in the locker room, babies blogging in the womb.
Blog even if you’re wrong, won’t you blog about this song?

Launch party, nicely dressed, what’s the point? Sausage fest
Blue shirts, khaki pants, looking like a line of ants.
Need to get a Facebook page, all these guys are half my age
Twenty nine, past my prime, I feel so behind the times.

Here comes another bubble, in a year we swear, we’ll all be billionaires!

Make yourself a million bucks, partly skill, mostly luck
Now you can afford a down payment on a small house
If you want a bigger one, Hillsborough, Atherton
Better hope the same thing happened to your spouse.

IPO….Lucky you, have your cake and eat it too
Private yacht, party jet, why not buy a matching set?
Build yourself a rocket ship, blast off on an ego trip
Can this really be the end? Back to work you go again.

Here comes another bubble, and when we are gone this will still go on and on and on and on and on and on….

Despite how things have quieted down over here on this front, there continue to be a good number of interesting companies that are born and built. And they continue to cook up new ideas everyday.

Created December 7, 2007. Updated January 6, 2012. Copyright © 2012 The Digerati Life. All Rights Reserved.