On Sunday there was an Austin American Statesman article titled They had $624 million to burn. The title refers to the amount of VC money raised by Austin area firms in the second quarter of 2000. Nothing that hasn't been said already really. However, I think they misread the anecdote with which the article opens. Mike Schultz is the incoming CEO of Infoglide and the scene is an all hands meeting in February 2001.

After explaining the dire situation facing the company, the 57-year-old Shultz opened the floor to Infoglide's 70 young employees. Among the first questions: "What's the status of the rock-climbing wall?"

"It was then that I realized the company had lost its soul," says Shultz, who spent his first weeks at Infoglide apologizing to customers for the high-handed way it had treated them. "That was true for many, many companies that raised a ton of venture capital and felt that entitled them to write their own rules."

<CYNICAL>My take on the remark is slightly different from Mr. Shultz's. By the time he arrived I suspect the poor employees who were left at Infoglide had been through CEO De Jour a couple of times already. Each new one bringing with him a new business/marketing plan and some new buddies to take over the VP positions. Listening to a presentation about the financial situation of the company by the latest CEO and then asking about the climbing wall is the equivalent of giving the guy the finger. It's saying we don't believe you, we think you're just like all the rest of the guys before you.

I don't read it as saying the the employees felt that they were entitled to write their own rules, a climbing wall, free food in the break-room etc., rather that they'd seen a sucession of bosses do just that and were justly cynical after another pep talk. I suspect they'd listened to presentations in early 2000 setting out the tremendous growth prospects for the company, and not believed those either. If there was a disconnect from reality I think it wasn't down in the trenches, it was in the boardrooms. Programmers generally don't believe the hype, most have seen too many failed silver bullets in the programming world (CASE, 4GLs etc.) to be easily taken in. On the other hand, no one every got anywhere by pointing out the delusions of the CEO, so I think they adopted a live and let live attitude. You don't feed me too much bull, and I'll pretend to believe the stuff you say.</CYNICAL>

Reading it over, my "analysis" is way over the top. Anyway, it's fun to rant from time to time and that period of free money was pretty wacky. At work the current business plan seems eminently reasonable so either things are changing or I've been at the koolaid again.