The dark side of Startups

It has become inevitable and almost a daily occurrence to listen and read news, in the press, on radio, on TV, on the Internet, on cases of success in the world of startups and companies with bright young entrepreneurs, who have just finished university or the polytechnic, while others still studying, but because they stand out in one way or another, are “picked” for spinoffs that are already in this financing field and mediatized spotlight.

We’ve all heard stories of outstanding young people, that at the ages of 18, 19 or 23, suddenly achieved extraordinary success with their creativity, innovation and intellectual or technical capabilities. Suddenly, this young man, with practically no work experience, without ever having paid employees, that does not even possess a driver’s license, is launched into the media spotlight of a system that is shaping society to vibrate with these kind of success stories. As if they were the beacons that all university and higher education students should blindly follow, supported by “talent-hunters” from the universities that guide them towards this or that area of activity which they consider they have a good chance of being innovative and of making a difference.

The Startup movement has been globalized and it seems to want to put an end to unemployment and “enrich” the largest possible number of people. The idea that everyone can be an entrepreneur and everyone can have access to this wonderful world of “young-bright-that-just-launched-a-phone-application-that-Google-or-Facebook-purchased-for-a-million-and-later-lives-off-income” is triggered by governments, educational institutions with years of history and great knowledge, critical mass, and companies.

Startup movement is financed largely by major global financial institutions. The new version of “risk capital” and ‘ Hedge Funds ‘ becomes more credible to everyone and is widely accepted, or at least to the people who are most affected by the recent austerity measures precisely due to the madness of this kind of financial activity.

But people have short memory. However, some people would be quick to point out that a “Neoliberal” school is being created in which there is a generation competing for venture capital funds, and in the process, almost like a “training for life” they are becoming arrogant, selfish, competitive, paranoid, ambitious and materialistic. A “school” that acts as a parasite to the creativity of many of our young people, turning them into “psychopaths in the world dominated by capitalism”, stripping them of emotions, feelings and preparing them for a so-called jungle that is nothing more than the playing field or training ground and recruitment for the new leaders, who in turn will ensure the future of this system.

This Startup movement has become the engine of many cities in the world and, of course, also of Portugal, because the mere fact that many bright young people travel to the creative ecosystems in search of their golden opportunity, causes the critical mass to develop in these cities and leave others in the shadows. And cities have adopted this system, they nurture it and put all the spotlight in the niches that sooner or later could degenerate into something far worse than wealthy and successful young men. They are doing this because politically they also need to show results, that things are improving, unemployment is falling and that we have “guaranteed success among young people”.

The flows will be in a position to counter, and in the case of inland cities, there is an urgent need to find different ideas that prevent the entire generation from leaving.

Losing our children and grandchildren to the coast is already bad enough. But losing them for a dark side of brutal capitalism in which the arts, the sentiment, friendship, companionship are only temporary and tools for moving up in the world, at the expense of the failure of others who stay behind, can be a price too high to pay.

Some people define the current austerity as transitory because it is just a small material issue of budgetary adjustment and, good or bad, there is still a feeling of solidarity deeply rooted in older generations.

A new type of austerity is being “manufactured” no one knows where (or perhaps they do), in which solidarity also sells, exports and generates. We need our young people to avoid these “toxic funds”, to get stronger and gain experience with all the risks and difficulties in order to create really inspiring things. Because our definition of success got cut short, is boring and limited. Almost instantaneous.

Esta publicação também está disponível em: Portuguese (Portugal)