I thought from the title that this would be about how up-and-coming founders think the stereotypically SV way of doing things is bad (equity-rich comp, expensive catering for lunch, homogeneity of political views, etc).

Instead, it’s about how young Chinese entrepreneurs are underwhelmed by the lack of penetration of new technologies into daily life on the Peninsula. The whole thing reads like a submarine article artfully placed by the Shenzhen Economic Development Committee, especially given its ending quote: "China is like a startup. The U.S. is like a big corporation”.

One point within the article strikes me as especially bad. The author notes that, “Especially for those in their 20s and 30s, last week’s visit largely failed to impress. To many in the group, northern California’s low-rise buildings looked shabbier than the glitzy skyscrapers in Beijing and Shenzhen.” The clear implication here is that California’s relative backwardness is evidenced by the shabbiness of local buildings.

But that’s entirely the wrong conclusion to draw! The story here is that rich people don’t like new construction near where they live, and a lot of wealth has been created on the Peninsula in the last few decades. The NIMBY-zoning-driven damper on new office construction in the last few years has resulted in a lack of office space relative to demand, which means that it’s a seller’s market, which disincentivizes landlords from renovating buildings....and the onerous zoning makes it virtually impossible for property developers to build new ones.