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One is what you might call the "reptile brain," which reads such signals and simply interprets them as "this is my pack leader."

I'm curious to know, which reptiles live in packs?

It's a figure of speech. It's also a bit derisive, since we humans like to think we are so much more rational than that. A more accurate term would be primate social instincts. But this stuff I suspect predates the neocortex.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triune_brain

From the first paragraph of the article:

However, this hypothesis is no longer espoused by the majority of comparative neuroscientists in the post-2000 era.

Yeah, it's probably BS. It seems to be a commonly espoused belief in MRA circles.

I have an incredible amount of difficulty believing this, and do not think this accurately reflects what took place with Clinkle (or many other failed startups, including even the examples you've provided).

That people try to dominate and manipulate others for business gain? Is that what you have an incredible amount of difficulty believing?

Well, I can tell you based on my experience in startups going back to the early 1990s that it happens and it happens a lot. Particularly with VCs.

In fact, one of the reasons I'm pretty down on VCs (vs, say angels or syndicates) is their desire for "alpha male" types, their hiring of them, their funding of them, etc. They all think they are alpha males of course, and they act like it (which is often perceived, correctly, as being complete jerks) but they also respect it as well.

It is totally plausible to me, and I believe I've seen it happen, that the difference between being funded and not being funded was the perception that the lead of the company was an alpha male.

I none early experience, the CEO was brilliant technical guy but he was quiet and contemplative. You asked him a question and sometimes he'd think for 30 seconds before answering.

Once we were funded, after taking forever and putting us over the barrel, the VCs brought in an alpha male asshole who had not real people skills or business knowledge. They forced us to accept him as our new CEO. He's gone on to have quite a career doing nothing but being a personality type. You know the CEO who delegates everything because he knows nothing, for whom its hard to please because he can't tell the difference between good and bad and just demands more, etc. But at the same time somehow takes credit for everything.

The one who gaslights people, initiates charm offensives when he needs something, and when you accidentally show he was wrong, you become persona non grata.

You've never met this type?

> That people try to dominate and manipulate others for business gain? Is that what you have an incredible amount of difficulty believing?

I'm sorry you wrote all of that, but no.

I have a hard time believing in the existence of some "alpha male" type who can bend "lizard brains" to their will, even against all reason and logic.

Unscrupulous people exist, but not in this pickup artist übermensch form.

MCRed's narrative can be true without the "lizard brain" nonsense being true (which came from someone else).

What he is describing reminds me a lot of grad school (although that is a totally different context).

Based on your response, I can't tell if you are one of those obnoxious alpha types that just hasn't been able to use it to get money out of an investor, or if you really are just some guy on the internet trying to humble brag about being around so few people in life that you've never met an obnoxious, alpha male in the tech industry.

Consider my response in its entirety.

There are certainly alpha leadership types, and some of them are obnoxious, but I don't buy the whole pop psychology rationalization of their supposed ability to halt critical thinking in otherwise rational people. That just reads as a dudebro power fantasy to me.

Cult of personality may pull some strings, but sooner or later the company needs to function and those people either steer the company in the right direction or capsize the ship because they're hot air.

I've met this guy many times over. The late 90s early 2000s version usually came from Cisco/Oracle/IBM/etc and had no idea how to sell a new product, let alone run a business. At least VCs seem to have mostly come to their senses.

Oh man, you totally described my co-founder. How did that end?

Please read the book Rocket Fuel if this is really your current situation. It might just be that your co-founder is a visionary with the wrong responsibilities and you're the perfect integrator. Or your co-founder might just be an asshole period. If that's the case, jump ship now.

Just read it. Looking at the partnership in a new light now, and will work towards breaking up. I'm the visionary, and my partner is not the right integrator, if one at all. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

> You would think that VCs would be inoculated against this kind of thing. You would think. But I personally know of two examples of people with off the charts alpha personalities who were sort of serial killers of wealth. Raise, burn, raise again. Their alpha personality trumped any notion of merit or track record.

I am about as cynical as they come on this topic but I myself have been sucked into that cult of personality, with disastrous effects. It's easy, even when cynical, to fall into a Keynesian beauty contest mentality where you assume everyone else will fall for it even if you can see through it.

There are enough suckers out there to make this possible I suppose.

It's not just an alpha male thing. I've seen this on the female side as well. As a photographer I've worked with porn stars and I've seen them get tons of cash and even cars just by asking a sugar daddy or through "financial domination" (usually over the phone and not even in person). It's really a sight to behold. Overhearing it, you're like, "did that just happen?".

You don't have to be dumb, or a sucker. Anyone can be conned. In fact, con artists rely on this overconfidence to blind their victims. They flatter your ego, making you think you're too smart... to be their victim.

Today I learned that reptiles have a pack leader. Thank you!

This is an excellent post. Thanks for writing it. It's spot on.

This is funny because I actually thought you wrote it, and had to double check the username after I started reading.

So you really believe that young "successful" startup founders are neurolinguistically programming VCs to give them money?

Come on. The bar for your approval has to be higher than "derisive towards VCs and VC-funded founders".

Amen to this. I know you (justifiably) believe there are many bad actors in technology, Michael, but parent's comment is beyond belief.

I think we both know certain bad actors in common. I assume they've screwed you somehow.

How've you been? I've been well.

I think that he's oversimplifying the dynamic, and I don't think that the emotional/"reptile" dynamic is the only one. Some people (even very powerful people) respond to posturing and dominant/submissive relationships and some don't. Not everyone is going to respond well to "You need to give me $50 million now", but some people will.

Agreed. I liked your post elsewhere... It was a bit cynical but spot on.

I also did not mean to imply that all "hot young founders" fit into this mold, or that VCa are all dumb, etc. But this stuff most definitely exists.

The real dynamic is a touch of so-called "reptile brain" plus a heaping portion of self-reinforcing cult of male ego.

This is not a thing that exists in the real world. There is absolutely no science whatsoever to back this nonsense up.

Like I said: it must be seen to be believed. Work in business consulting for a few years.

I can believe it. I once worked at a place where it took me three tries to quit. To this day I don't know how he talked me out of it the second time, and the third time I psyched myself up and just kept repeating like a mantra that I was leaving.

It's spooky. One of the examples I'm thinking of was basically crazy, not to mention a sex offender to boot. He had an endless track record of failures too.

But when he walked into a room, you sat up a little taller. You felt better about yourself. When he spoke, it took an act of will not to start to believe.

I was not the only person who experienced this. Many people did. We had a postmortem about it and just couldn't figure it out.

That's why I suspect this stuff is pushing some ancient primate dominance buttons. It is so irrational.

edit: thinking on it more, one thing he did to great effect was to project this aura of invincible confidence and then extend it around others through subtle flattery. They call them "confidence men" for a reason. It is devastatingly effective, even when your rational mind knows better. It seems to speak to something deeper and more ancient.