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Comment by neilv | Hacker News Reader

> "It is now up to the venture capital scene to become aware of this challenge and take appropriate measures to create a fairer and more balanced investment environment."

Won't the VCs' thinking be that the same cortisol-boosting effects on them will also apply to other people with whom the founders interact, increasing likelihood of startup success?

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Of course. VCs exist to generate profit for themselves. They should fund whoever they think will help them get a ROI. Otherwise they can just stop risking their capital and go chill out on a beach instead. They don't exist to give a fair shot to everyone who deserves it.

In finance, this is called a Keynsian Beauty Contest:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_beauty_contest

Depends on the target market.

If they need to sell to other men, that's fine, but if they need to sell to other women (which is actually quite likely), then not so much.

Heterosexual women definitely respond to the physical attractiveness of other women. So do men on men.

All else being equal I'd definitely prefer to work with a more attractive coworker regardless of sex.

Heterosexual women tend to be jealous of other attractive women, and view them negatively as a result. The culture of competition between women is fierce in a way that men typically don't get.

Agree with this; I forgot to include in my post that the directionality isn't necessarily guaranteed!

Any sources on this? Personally as a man I don't have a definition of male attractiveness. And it seems even many women don't have it being more attracted by behavior. And women's reaction to women coworkers' beauty is let's say very much non-linear if to judge by my experience

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