Bill Gurley: right now, the worst thing to do for your career is to play it safe

Pretty cool:

> The last page of the book talks about it: We’re going to give 100 grants a year of $5,000 to people who are in exactly that position, who can convince us in an application that they’ve thought long and hard about where they want to go but need a little help getting there.

> [...] a lot of young founders here seem to have since embraced a punishing work culture — the 996 ethos. What are your thoughts about what’s happening?

> I kind of love it, honestly. I think Silicon Valley got really lazy during COVID

Honest question: is this the type of culture that anyone outside of VC actually wants?

Do a majority (or a significant plurality) of people support this infinite-grind mentality, and if so, to what end? It's framed in the context of a "race" with China, but all I see is a race to the bottom. What prize do we win if we beat China in this "race"? What is the goal here, who benefits from achieving the goal, and what purpose does it serve? (Aside from enriching a handful of VCs and executives, that is.)