ANDREESSEN: A Lot Of People Are Criticizing Silicon Valley Just To Make Themselves Feel Better

"The stories crack me up. There's sort of two criticisms. One is that Silicon Valley is the new elite, the new one percent, the new oligarchy, and that all the billionaires don't give a shit about society and [welcome a] Mad Max dystopian wasteland of no jobs [as] technology takes everything over.

The other argument is that technology produces nothing of value; it's all just Snapchat apps so 14-year-old girls can send selfies to each other. I have a hard time reconciling the two arguments."

When he was asked about whether startups are focusing on products that only help the rich, he countered by saying that people are too focused on Uber. He says you can find startups that are helping rich 25-year olds, or you can find startups helping the general population. You just have to look for them.

He concludes by addressing the criticism with this quote which will probably irk some people: "These stories are very well-written and they're entertaining, but they're typically written by someone outside the Valley who wants to reach a certain conclusion to make them and their readers - in my view - feel better. I think it's very reassuring, especially to people in New York right now, to think the Valley is just a bunch of kids farting around."

Read the whole thing at Strictly VC >

(Via: ATD)