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back to article Getting shafted the Silicon Valley way

If there was one standout moment from the latest episode of tech satire Silicon Valley it would have to be when our eponymous hero finds out he is being shafted by his new CEO while in the background a thoroughbred horse is literally shafted by a white stallion. Subtle? No. Hilarious? Yes. And so our favorite valley TV show …

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  1. 9Rune5

    I'm getting old and slow

    The previous episode had me thinking that it was a wise move to bring in a "proper" CEO. Jack Barker talked the talk and walked the walk.

    I, of course, should have smelled a rat, and this week's episode delivers quite the payload. Oh, and yes the willies. My wife looked away. I was oddly fascinated. I could have sworn it followed me around the room.

    Early in my career I had a Jack Barker-like boss. Sans the willies, but otherwise spot on. And in our case, all the developers soon left the company.

    3 0 Reply
  2. Anonymous Coward
    Devil

    one more thing ...

    .. namely, the actual product of Pied Piper - the Company.

    In the words of Jack Barker - CEO - it is not the software, or the compression algorithm, or the scalable framework that the engineers are trying to build.

    Pied Piper's product is its own stock shares.

    2 0 Reply
    1. DainB Bronze badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: one more thing ...

      The only thing that matters for a startup is an exit strategy and how much profit can VC get for their shares. I'm quite sure that next twist in the plot will be investors selling Pied Piper to Hooli.

      2 0 Reply
  3. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Netflix

    They should pick on Netflix for not carrying their show (or anything else I actually think I might want to watch)

    0 0 Reply
  4. Christian Berger

    It's perhaps also a nod towards the emission scandal

    Probably something very similar happened at VW and other companies cheating about their emissions.

    Also one point is also worth emphasizing with start-ups. The product is the stock market price.

    0 0 Reply
  5. frank ly

    In the background?

    That looks like the foreground to me.

    0 0 Reply
  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ... it basically comprises of making engineering subservient to whatever the sales team can sell.

    That is literally how IBM operates. And, as will probably happen in the show, at IBM delivery on promised new developments is optional. Sales can always bullshit, spin, delay figure out an excuse to keep the customer on the hook, and paying.

    1 0 Reply
  7. ecofeco Silver badge

    No lack of material

    The series could literally run forever without wanting for new material.

    0 0 Reply

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