23 Jul 2016

Misadventures in tech startup land

From This Way Up, 12:15 pm on 23 July 2016

Dan Lyons was a senior tech journalist who lost his job and joined a tech startup run by people half his age; and that's where the fun really began!

Dan Lyons author of Disrupted

Dan Lyons author of Disrupted Photo: Max Jeffrey

"The offices bear a striking resemblance to the Montessori preschool that my kids attended: lots of bright basic colors, plenty of toys, and a nap room with a hammock and soothing palm tree murals on the wall."- Dan Lyons

Teased by a crew of narcissistic, ping-pong playing millennials, spouting management speak and corporate gobbledegook, the experience confirmed some of his worst fears about flaws in the tech startup sector.

"HubSpotters talk about being "superstars with superpowers" whose mission is to "inspire people" and "be leaders." They talk about engaging in "delightion," which is a made-up word...that means delighting our customers."

On the plus side it gave him plenty of material to use when he became a writer on the hit TV show Silicon Valley and forms the basis of his book Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble (Hachette).