There’s No Such Thing as a Company’s “Secret Sauce”

There’s no such thing as a company’s “secret sauce.”

The only reason companies hire “elite” people from “elite” schools to do “elite” things is for optics. The “hiring the best talent” charade is a ridiculous narrative that benefits elite schools, and companies feigning market exclusivity; not society.

It’s akin to conspiratorial thinking to believe that only a handful of super elite companies can create the best innovation.

The stranglehold such a narrative has on society is often why many don’t attempt it themselves. It’s like thinking one cannot do their own investing so they need to a financial advisor; nonsense.

Technology is technology. The techniques are all the same. It’s almost all open source.

I’ve never seen a FAANG engineer that impressed me beyond the kind of strong skills that come from normal experience.

So much meaningless VC money. So much wasted everyday talent. So much fabricated gatekeeping. So much narrative nonsense.

And yet when China shatters a perceived “advantage” we’re all supposed to be shocked.

Yawn.