Comment by guynamedloren | Hacker News Reader

Comment by guynamedloren | Hacker News Reader

This was just... awkward. Don't get me wrong - it's very interesting to see what it's like inside the office of an up-and-coming startup, but it just wasn't what I expected. When I think of startups (or hackers in general) I think of some geeky guys with a dose of rebelliousness - especially Y-Combinator startups. I think of guys who want something more than Big Co has to offer. Guys that are passionate, driven, and motivated. From the video, this isn't the vibe I picked up at all. The employees just seemed weird, for lack of a better word. Maybe they were acting for the camera, but nobody seemed to be doing any real work, and everybody seemed okay with that. From the artwork to office layout, the company culture almost appeared forced and unnatural. Am I alone in thinking this?

FWIW, I haven't watched any other "TC Cribs" videos, so I don't want to generalize. Maybe it's just Dropbox. I'm checking out other videos now.

(I may get downvoted for my slightly negative view here, but it is my opinion and I'm sticking with it)

Of course it's unnatural. There's people walking around with big cameras and I'm sticking a microphone in their face. We could show people coding with their head down, but that would be pretty dull. So we get some shots showing people doing actual work, and then explore some of the things that make the office unique, and what they do to blow off steam.

Hi Jason, I appreciate the response. You're right that a video of people coding with their head down would be pretty dull, but that's not exactly what I was getting at. Digging deeper than that, nobody you interacted with showed any enthusiasm or charisma. In my mind (and maybe I'm overly optimistic/idealistic), startups are generally the most enjoyable and satisfying jobs out there - and it's not because of arcade games in the office. Undoubtedly it's nice (and practically essential) to have outlets for releasing stress, but the satisfaction comes from doing real, valuable work, and I guess I just expected some of the passion and enthusiasm to come through in the personalities of the employees. I'm not saying they don't love what they do - I'm just saying I didn't see it, which is slightly disappointing. At any rate, I appreciate the perspective of the videos and look forward to seeing more.

Software startups are still desk jobs. The best one can hope for is to stave off completely becoming "Office Space" until after the acquisition or IPO.

Great work Jason. I love it. I think it would be good to interview some engineers as well. Like what time did they roll in the office that day, what interesting problems they are working on, what is exiting them about the company etc. A bit more insight on the work they do themselves, and not where they do sit.

Also it would be great to know what kind of perks they do get (eg food, free lunches, dinners, or whatever).

Looking at the offices is nice, but it would be great to hear more from the people themselves (i.e. not just the ceo or the chaperon).

There was an awful lot of "I'm too busy showing off how awesome our amenities are to do anything else". But I figure it was staged for the shoot.

yes, hence the title "TC Cribs"

+1

This is pretty much what startups are like. The unique feature of this office is actual instruments in the music room. Usually there's just a Rock Band setup somewhere.

The Yelp video was more natural because it was one guy giving the tour and some people working and sneaking a peek at the cameras every once and a while.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com