Tech Mafias

The alumni networks that spin out of talent vortexes — e.g. the PayPal Mafia — where former colleagues seed, fund, and staff each other’s new companies. A tech mafia is the output; a successful talent vortex is the input.

Framed in The Talent Vortex - Research as a follow-up to The Professionalization of Startups and Why Most VCs Suck At Talent. The research’s hypothesis is that the mafia effect comes not from young hungry people alone, nor seasoned execs alone, but from the combination: Kyle notes that “Facebook and Google generated a lot of talent, but they’re so big it’s just bound to happen. In the early days there wasn’t the same tech mafia effect because they were mostly young hungry folks that waited a really long time to professionalize.” Feeds Kyle’s published essay The Talent Vortex — Mafias and Magnets.

Where this appears

• The Talent Vortex - Research