Silicon Valley is making billions solving problems of convenience, such as instant food delivery, for “the 1%” while ignoring the social and economic problems of the urban ecosystem it depends on, Recode Co-Founder and Executive Editor Kara Swisher says.
Speaking on the second day of StartupFest in Montréal, Swisher called San Francisco “assisted living for millennials,” with conveniences such as instant food delivery provided through mobile apps by local startups working against a backdrop of homelessness and poverty.
She called on startups to break out of their “self-reinforcing” culture and affect the real world around them more positively.
"Silicon Valley: big minds chasing little ideas." So says @karaswisher at #Startupfest
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Big Minds, Little Ideas
Swisher’s criticism goes to the heart of how much of the startup world chooses what to build. Founders often start by solving their own problems, and when those founders are well-paid young tech workers, the problems tend to look alike: getting dinner delivered, finding a ride, outsourcing errands. Those can be good businesses, and some have become very large ones.
The catch is that a city full of people building conveniences for each other can lose sight of the bigger problems right outside the door. That’s what Swisher meant by a “self-reinforcing” culture: the same kinds of people, funded by the same investors, building for customers who look a lot like themselves.
A City Divided
This disconnect between Silicon Valley startups and San Francisco’s less fortunate residents gained global attention in 2014, when tech companies started providing buses to allow workers to commute to their campuses. The ease with which startup talent can commute has helped turn San Francisco into a “bedroom city.”
The social problems haven’t been completely ignored. A recent poll of San Francisco residents found that they identified homelessness as the number one social problem in the city. A startup founder who called the city’s homeless “grotesque” was excoriated for making his comments.
Can Startups Do Good?
Swisher said she believes in the ability of startups and capitalism to solve social problems, a notion shared by fellow speaker Ari Gleisher. Gleisher, formerly of intelligence tech company Palantir, implored the audience to examine where they could do the most good in the world and aim their efforts carefully.
quotable @karaswisher: "You can like capitalism & still criticize it at the same time." #Startupfest cc @startupfest @Recode @500Startups
— Dave McClure (@davemcclure) July 15, 2016
#Startup inspiration from @alephbass: "The places where there is bad is where good is needed the most" #Startupfest pic.twitter.com/RqRdA5y7lX
— TechPortfolio (@TechPortfolio) July 15, 2016
What Happened Next
Swisher has kept making the same argument from bigger platforms. Recode, which she launched with Walt Mossberg, was later absorbed into Vox, and in March 2023 Vox retired the Recode brand and moved its technology coverage under the Vox name. According to Vox, Swisher stepped down as Recode’s editor-at-large in 2019 and has since focused on her podcasts, On with Kara Swisher and Pivot.
In February 2024, she published Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, which Simon & Schuster describes as part memoir and part history of the tech industry’s most powerful players. The title sums up the tone she struck at Startupfest: she clearly loves technology, and she’s still willing to criticize the people running it.
What It Means for Founders
The challenge Swisher and Gleisher put to the Startupfest audience still stands. Convenience apps aren’t wrong to build, but the biggest problems in a city like San Francisco, from housing to homelessness, are the ones the startup world has found hardest to touch.
For founders choosing what to work on, the useful question is the one Gleisher asked: where could your skills do the most good? Sometimes the answer is a better delivery app. But it’s worth asking before assuming it is.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What did Kara Swisher criticize about Silicon Valley at Startupfest 2016?
Kara Swisher said Silicon Valley was making billions solving convenience problems like instant food delivery for "the 1%" while ignoring the social and economic problems of the city around it.
What did Swisher mean by calling San Francisco "assisted living for millennials"?
She was describing app-based conveniences such as instant food delivery from local startups, operating against a backdrop of homelessness and poverty in the city.
Did Swisher think startups could help solve social problems?
Yes. Swisher said she believes in the ability of startups and capitalism to solve social problems, and that you can like capitalism and still criticize it.
What advice did Ari Gleisher give the Startupfest audience?
Ari Gleisher, formerly of Palantir, urged the audience to examine where they could do the most good in the world and aim their efforts carefully.
What has Kara Swisher done since 2016?
Swisher stepped down as Recode's editor-at-large in 2019 and has focused on her podcasts On with Kara Swisher and Pivot. Vox retired the Recode brand in March 2023, and Swisher published Burn Book: A Tech Love Story in February 2024.