Comment by celestialcheese | Hacker News Reader

Comment by celestialcheese | Hacker News Reader

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celestialcheese

> However, what actual responsibility are the CEOs taking after hiring like crazy knowing fully well that the pandemic exuberance and stimulus wasn’t going to keep the recession away, only delay it? I’m sure competitive pressure was part of the reason for the overhiring but it’s still not the whole story.

Why do you think Doordash/Shopify/Stripe "knew full well" that this boom wouldn't last?

The common thinking in SV and the world as a whole was that the pandemic accelerated the adoption of online services by about 5 years due to lockdowns and WFH. Unfortunately, the world reverted to the mean with regards to online shopping and ordering food pretty quickly in 2022, but this idea of accelerated-online was a reasonable one held by many.

Hell, if you looked at the numbers during those quarters at all these companies, the boards and shareholders would have fired the CEOs if they hadn't staffed up.

> Why do you think Doordash/Shopify/Stripe "knew full well" that this boom wouldn't last?

In the Doordash case, it's pretty god damn obvious the boom wouldn't last. DoorDash shot up because restaurant dining rooms were closed. As soon as restaurants started opening back up, it only makes sense that DoorDash's popularity would sink. While certainly some people will have decided "Hey, this is pretty convenient" and keep using them, I think it's absolutely bone-headed to think it wasn't going to eventually dip.

> Unfortunately, the world reverted to the mean with regards to online shopping and ordering food pretty quickly in 2022

Again, completely bone-headed to have not expected this to happen.

If you are so confident that it was bone-headed to not foresee this - did you take a short position against these companies in Q4 2021? If not, why? You would have made an absolute fortune placing trades against these public companies.

Here's a different way to look at it - a whole lot of people started using DD that would have never tried it during lockdowns. If those users liked the experience and convenience, then they'd stuck with it. DoorDash bet that a lot more people would stick around than actually did. DD was wrong, but I would argue that it wasn't a dumb bet given the stickiness of their product, and their excellence in execution up until that point.

I'm sorry but this has to be the lamest attempt at a comeback i've ever read

Really? Lamest? Of all the comebacks you've read?

Really? Lamest? Of all the comebacks you've read?

Wow, look at Mr. Nostradamus here.

There is only way to prove your credentials here. Show your returns in stock market from 2018 to 2022.

Else you are just a sad pathetic whiner who whines about CEOs all the time

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