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Comment by bigbillheck | Hacker News Reader

This article got me wondering what it's like working for that guy. If you're in a meeting and you're telling him things he doesn't want to hear, is something going to set him off and get him screaming at you?

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I've had bosses/managers that would lose their cool and yell, and they were by far the worst leaders I've ever worked for.

When an adult can't keep their cool in a professional environment, it's very telling.

Isnt the goal of a pitch meeting to stand out? He stated that they were not doing well and he knew time was running out. It's do something drastic or be passed on. This doesnt seem indicative of that guys everyday behavior. Plus I've worked for lots of people who do get angry and have outbursts every-time you say something they don't want to hear. It's more concerning if this guy didnt think it was odd for him to yell because it shows he doesnt do it often..

The goal of a pitch meeting is to sell your non-shit idea. OP had a shit idea. That's what blocked him. Hence why "standing out" didn't actually get him funded.

> He stated that they were not doing well and he knew time was running out. It's do something drastic or be passed on.

The Galileo Seven maneuver.

Being unhinged isn't the best way to communicate a vision. But it sure does show how you can't handle rejection or frustration well.

What you call unhinged another might call passion. Let's not pretend that all founders are perfectly hinged.

No one is pretending anything. Quite a few founders are unhinged. Many are also passionate. The successful few know when to be appropriately passionate instead of irrationally unhinged. I think we're all smart enough to distinguish between the two. Temper tantrums are not exactly the same as passionate, well-reasoned pitches.

It certainly seems like we're regressing as a society into increasingly more toddler-like behavior with ranting, infantilizing, treating normal adult behaviors as "adulting" and losing touch. If someone screamed like a toddler in a meeting I was at, I'd be like "ok, this meeting is over. Calm down and collect yourself if you can't communicate like an adult. Otherwise, time out for you."

For me it was the "fists clenched, looking down, I let out a scream" -- super weird behavior if you ask me.

he's not really screaming at them though, he's frustrated by his own circumstances... I think it would be different if he flew off the handle and told them to fuck off or whatever... emotions get out of hand in stressful situations, that's just part of being human

And part of being a leader is learning to control and channel your emotions, especially during stressful situations. A failure to do that is a failure to lead.

if that's true than most of the industry seems to be lead by failures... this seems like a "no true scotsman" thing

Even scarier, a lot of people in this thread seem to think it's a good thing.

Well, that’s because it was the point at which the interview started going well

I really fail to understand why Michael allowed this behaviour. If it got to a point where voice has been raised, there should have been a concern started and security called into place, promptly adjourning the meeting. Who knows where else this would have gone after that?

I wouldn't want to know the fury of a disgruntled Founder looking to revenge for a failed YC interview.

Sometimes it is about professionalism. Even though the founder is feeling passionate about their problem space, there are some boundaries you never cross.

Shouting isn't actually dangerous. It's only dangerous when it is combined with violence or a threat of violence.

In this case it's more of an emotional outburst due to frustration.

If you suppress all emotion with an escalation to a threat of police and security you're going to have a far less dynamic and safe workplace.

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