Waiting for Godot

Samuel Beckett’s 1949 two act French-language play, En Attendant Godot (Waiting for Godot), defines the Theater of the Absurd.   In this existentialist play with no beginning or end, two vagabonds wait endlessly for Godot, who never comes and about whom nothing is or ever will be known.

In a similar vein, Silicon Valley continually anticipates the arrival of the mythical 20-something genius entrepreneur.  This person never attended or dropped out of college.  Magically endowed with wisdom without experience, this person knows everything about human dynamics, team building, business building, and esoteric technology.  This Godot entrepreneur needs no experience because pure genius trumps everything.

In reality, the Silicon Valley Godot is not only an outlier, but one that carries a lot of baggage.  This false messiah is entitled, arrogant, and self-congratulatory.  He is also male-- the female version is currently limited to Elizabeth Holmes.  SV Godot is heralded until hubris erupts into massive losses for all the investors and entrepreneurs associated with the venture.

While the myth persists, I’ve never waited for Godot.