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The Death Of Parody
And the birth of a surprising economic stimulus package
Back in 1991 I moved to the USA. It was a big, brash place and full of a hope that today seems utterly misplaced. As a would-be entrepreneur I naturally gravitated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I remained for the next twenty-seven years.
Early on, I learned that it’s impossible to parody anything in the USA because no matter how absurd or surreal your parody may be, it’s almost certain that someone, somewhere in the USA, is doing it for real.
Evangelical Christian pastors duping their flocks in a variety of painfully obvious scams? Check that box! TV programs so atrociously mindless you’d think they were a retarded child’s parody of a inept adult pilot show? Check that box too! Products so unhealthy that you’re surprised they aren’t being used by the US military to destabilize enemy countries? My friend, just walk down any supermarket aisle in any US town.
So much, so obvious. But back in the early 1990s, before the dot-com madness swept due diligence into the trash can and substituted mindless enthusiasm in its place, the world of venture capital was full of people who’d run divisions, started companies, and generally knew how hard it is to go from concept to serious sales revenue. These old-style venture capitalists were often deeply flawed. Don Valentine of Sequoia…
