Does success in the Silicon Valley come from silence?

“If you want to build the next unicorn and have the support you need for it don’t share your political beliefs. Pick one topic and be about that…women, sustainability…whatever. By sharing your political beliefs you alienate yourself from the resources you will need to be successful.”

“If you want to build the next unicorn and have the support you need for it don’t share your political beliefs. Pick one topic and be about that…women, sustainability…whatever. By sharing your political beliefs you alienate yourself from the resources you will need to be successful.”

The above advice was recently shared with me by a successful mentor/ serial entrepreneur who belongs to the circle of tech elite.

I told him that I didn’t understand what he was trying to share.

He explained that the most important thing is the bottom-line of the company. We never know whose support we will need in our next round of funding or who we will need to help us close a big partnership. Voicing a response to what is taking place in the world means I reduce the size of my resource pool and thereby the likelihood of success.

He shared that to be successful I have to understand that the ethics of building a successful company are blurred.

He explained “the ethics of success” through an example from his company.

His company found that neo-nazi sites have an oddly high ad to lead capture to revenue conversion. He shared that leads from neo-nazi sites were valuable to his company and it was an unfortunate byproduct that they were giving revenue to neo-nazi groups by purchasing ad space on their sites. Ads on the neo-nazi sites converted and it was for the good of his company that they advertised on them.

I asked, “But doesn’t it bother you that the revenue your company generates from neo-nazi sites fuels hate?”

“But doesn’t it bother you that the revenue your company generates from neo-nazi sites fuels hate?”

He said, “It doesn’t matter because the most important thing is the growth of the company and the success of my vision. I can’t care about and support all things. I pick my mission to care about and to be about. And, what they do with their revenue has nothing to do with me or my company.”

I shared a belief by which I see the world, Changeconomics… “Every purchase we make has the power to facilitate positive or negatives things. It is our decision to make a purchase. We have a hand in the cycle that follows and how it impacts people and places around the world.”

He asked, “If you were me would you advertise on the neo-nazi sites?”.

I told him, “I have to look at myself in the mirror everyday. I have to live with the decisions I make and the impact I have. If I was you and I couldn’t find an alternative ad to lead capture source that generates the same conversions, if not better, and doesn’t fund hate groups then I don’t deserve to lead the company.”

He said, “You’re wrong. The marketing channel is there. It generates growth. It’s my duty to use it. You need to be willing to do the same if you are going to be successful. Pick your one thing. Care about that. Don’t be distracted by the details.”

As women, Latinos, Muslims, African-Americans, LGBTQ, American-Veterans, Persons with Disabilities, Persons of Color, education, science, and the environment is under attack in our country I’ve noticed a silence from mentors, investors, and entrepreneur colleagues and friends in the tech community.

I can’t help but wonder if the silence is because these friends and colleagues condone what is taking place in the country or because they subscribe to the ideology of this mentor “Don’t risk success by caring about more than one thing.”

Does success in the Silicon Valley come from silence and ignoring details?