Item — HN Reader

It reminds me of something food startup Hampton Creek did when VCs and reporters came to visit- they would have their scientists fire up dry ice machines and do fake "cool looking experiments" for no purpose other than to look impressive:

> When investors, clients, or media visited the company, some scientists would be asked to run experiments on cool-looking machines or use liquid nitrogen to dramatic effect — even if it had nothing to do with their work, a former employee says.

> It was all to create an appearance of a hardworking lab, even though it distracted from the actual research that needed to be done, former employees said.

http://www.businessinsider.com/hampton-creek-ceo-complaints-...

1 comments

Ugh, that article is so sad. I really wanted to believe the hype about Hampton Creek.

It seemed like they were doing something truly revolutionary with the potential to drastically reduce human consumption of eggs. (This can only be a good thing for anyone with a concern for animal welfare.)

The article suggests their core product is just mayonnaise made with an already-commonplace vegan food additive. They outsourced the development of it, and don't even understand the science of how it works.

Is there a new generation of entrepreneurs who have realised their path to riches is to found a PR machine masquerading as a tech company?

> Is there a new generation of entrepreneurs who have realised their path to riches is to found a PR machine masquerading as a tech company?

...Yes.

I wouldnt call it "new" or a "generation" but rather there are always those who can get by with hype and no substance. Nothing new but the amount of people doing it goes through boom and bust cycles like everything else.