there’s something very fishy about California capitalism.
Investing has become the genteel occupation of our gentry, like having a country estate used to be in England. It’s a class marker and a socially acceptable way for rich techies to pass their time. Gentlemen investors decide what ideas are worth pursuing, and the people pitching to them tailor their proposals accordingly.
The companies that come out of this are no longer pursuing profit, or even revenue. Instead, the measure of their success is valuation—how much money they’ve convinced people to tell them they’re worth.
There’s an element of fantasy to the whole enterprise that even the tech elite is starting to find unsettling.I have railed about MBAs for years, ignoring the health of a company and it's long term prospects in pursuit of a short-term increase in the quarterly numbers. This is part of that same type of mindset only instead of short term revenue it is "social good". It's as equally destructive to a company in my opinion.
Ars Technica - Two more startups sued as part of ongoing employee vs. contractor debate -
GrubHub and DoorDash are the latest in a group of tech companies that are now facing lawsuits where their current or former workers argue that they should in fact be treated as employees (where social security, unemployment and other benefits would be paid by the company) rather than independent laborers. One, Homejoy, even folded not long after being sued over similar issues.
The new San Francisco lawsuits are both very similar and allege numerous violations of California labor law, including failure to reimburse business expenses and failure to provide itemized wages. In the GrubHub case, the plaintiff also alleges a failure to pay minimum wage and failure to pay overtime, among other accusations.
I think we are starting to see the beginning of the death of the contractor economy. It's about time.
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