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0 pointsuntog6y ago0 comments

> large fraction of talented engineers have worked at FB or Google

I'd actually dispute that. The tech world is really, really big. There are a great many extremely talented engineers that have never worked at FB or Google, but they're also the kind of engineers that don't write blog posts or attend conferences, so they're less visible.

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gumby6y ago

Your point is quite reasonable in general but the discussion was for Silicon Valley and San Francisco. My GF has worked for Microsoft, Amazon, FB and now Google (and some startups over the years). How? Well they all have big tech offices close to Palo Alto. When she worked for various startups she was an ex-MS, ex-FB etc person.

If she'd stayed in Chicago (Northwestern grad), that's unlikely. Of course those companies have outposts there, but fewer tech roles by an order of magnitude or two.

kelnos6y ago

I would still maintain that the parent is correct and there is a large quantity of talented developers in SV who have never worked at FB/Google/MS/etc.

I know quite a few of them (and would like to believe I'm talented, too).

pbalau6y ago

A large fraction doesn't not mean "most". 1/4 is a large fraction. 1/10 is still a large fraction. Due to the large amount of people companies like fb, goog, apple etc employ, statistically you should expect that a SV startup on the verge of not being a startup anymore employs some ex-ers. Not having any, will raise questions. This doesn't mean the startup is bad, the answer to said questions might...

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jsjohnst6y ago

You’re missing the point, not working at FB/Google/Microsoft/Yahoo!/Amazon/Apple doesn’t mean you aren’t a talented engineer, but the fact remains, having worked at one of those companies for several years or longer is a sure fire way to get recruiters to chase you. So not having any of those folks (which recruiters lust for) and yet being a “tech unicorn” is generally not a good sign.

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