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Rippling and the return of ambition - by John Luttig

blog.johnluttig.com · 3,095 words · saved by 2 readers

In the 1970s, the tech industry was several orders of magnitude smaller than it is today. But each company had far larger product ambition. And each engineer had an outsized scope. Apple released its iconic Apple II computer in 1977 with just 25 employees. One engineer built the file system, one engineer built the input/output, and one engineer built the graphics. Microsoft, too, shipped its first operating system with just 100 employees. Even in the late 1990s, Google was launched with just 4 employees. Each company had to chart its own path for product strategy, go-to-market, business model, and hiring. As Silicon Valley matured, market sizes for tech companies grew 10x bigger than anticipated. Thousands of startups arose to chase these opportunities, fueled by internet adoption and cheap capital. Then came an insatiable demand for talent. Consultants, analysts, and bankers flocked to high tech salaries. Career ambition replaced technological ambition as the driving force of startups

Rippling and the return of ambition In an era of software incrementalism, Rippling is bringing ambition back. John Luttig Apr 05, 2022 98 12 2 Share In the 1970s, the tech industry was several orders of magnitude smaller than it is today. But each company had far larger product ambition. And each engineer had an outsized scope. Apple released its iconic Apple II computer in 1977 with just 25 employees . One engineer built the file system, one engineer built the input/output, and one engineer built the graphics. Microsoft, too, shipped its first operating system with just 100 employees . Even i

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