[ad_1]
There are many ways to leave a party.
You can quietly say your thanks and goodbye and be on your way. You can stay awhile to help clean up. Or you can be a complete jerk about it by stomping around and complaining that it was a terrible party anyway – even if you’ve had more than your share of cocktails, donned the fancy food, and spread out on the couch.
Unfortunately, too many of San Francisco’s tech leaders are opting for this third option. They took advantage of tax breaks and appreciated the proximity of talent, academia and capital throughout this decade. Now they go to Austin, Miami or wherever the going gets tough.
But that’s not the worst. The worst part is blaming San Francisco for being such a terrible host as they leave.
Jeff Lawson, founder and CEO of Twilio in San Francisco, called his fellow tech titans not only for bailing out the city amid a pandemic, but for being rude about it when they leave.
“This is the time when we should be thinking about, ‘How do I give back? How can we help take care of our communities and the people around us who may not be doing as well? He told me on The Chronicle’s “Fifth and Mission” podcast. “Now is not the time to look at the community.”
Since we could all use a metaphorical photo in the arm – after learning how difficult it is to get an actual bullet in the arm here in California despite the COVID-19 surge – I invited Lawson to explain his optimism about San Francisco after seeing his recent Twitter thread which went viral.
“With many of the valley’s wealthiest businesses fleeing the Bay Area in the midst of the pandemic, I feel compelled to speak up,” the thread began. “What I disagree with are our leaders – people of means – who abandon our community when it needs us most. Reap the benefits of Silicon Valley talent, tech incubators, mentors, professional network, and culture until they no longer need them. “
🧵 With most of the valley’s wealthiest businesses fleeing the bay amid the pandemic, I feel compelled to speak up. There is no doubt that California is imperfect. The cost of living, taxes and policies, among others, make it difficult for many people to be successful here. (1/9)
– Jeff Lawson (@jeffiel) December 18, 2020
He said he’s keeping his family and business in San Francisco and called his fellow tech leaders at #committothebay. He also pledged $ 8 million to Help Kitchen, a nonprofit that pays restaurants to provide meals to hungry people. Records show he also donated $ 500,000 to the city’s Give2SF fund to provide pandemic relief.
He explained that he understands why many people and businesses are leaving San Francisco and the Bay Area: lower taxes, more home and backyard for your money, less crime and misery on the streets, work in distance allowing connections everywhere.
But he opposes the nastiness as it goes – especially because many tech companies thrived during the pandemic, as their teams could easily work from home, and their technology became more crucial and more lucrative.
“What have you done to try to invest in the Bay Area?” He asked. “Were you civically active? Have you tried using your money for philanthropic purposes to alleviate the problems? I doubt it a bit.
Twilio is a cloud-based communications platform that adds messaging, calling, and video to web and mobile applications. It employs around 3,600 people, 30% of whom are based in southern Market or Mountain View. Lawson has lived in the city for 11 years, and he and his wife are raising their two children here. Forbes estimates it is worth $ 2.9 billion.
So you want to hate him a little, but he seems a lot more aligned with the thoughtful, generous billionaire a la Marc Benioff than the off-putting guy Elon Musk.
Musk said he moved to Texas, likening California to a championship sports team that has become complacent and has a “problem winning too long.”
Start-up investor Keith Rabois said he was moving because “San Francisco is so badly run that you can’t stay here.”
Orion Hindawi, a Bay Area native and CEO of cybersecurity firm Tanium, moved his business to the Seattle area and said, “San Francisco is not the city of 20 years ago … Support blind for a place that makes you miserable? It doesn’t really seem like a good decision to me.
Joe Lonsdale, a venture capitalist who co-founded software company Palantir, moved to Austin and wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that San Francisco is a place where feces cover the streets and the “abandoned” drive women away from people. He also lamented that California cities are “ugly and nasty.” (San Francisco has many problems. Ugliness is definitely not one of them. Have you looked around?)
These guys are about as nuanced as President Trump in his assessment of liberal cities like ours. And while some of what they say is true, it’s not the big picture. Also, our problems are much easier to solve if smart people work together to solve them rather than skipping town for Texas and Florida.
Also, have you noticed that people tend to think that San Francisco was idyllic the day they arrived and has never been so good since? Even if they don’t support their local businesses, donate to local causes, subscribe to their local newspapers, join their neighborhood associations, vote, volunteer, write to their representatives, or do anything else. other to keep it awesome?
If you want to move, just move. No need for double fingers at the exit.
Lawson, meanwhile, believes San Francisco’s better days may be ahead and the pandemic has provided the possibility of a much-needed reset. With so many people leaving town, rents have dropped dramatically. This gives us a bit of time to build more homes, so we’re not so deadpan when the next inevitable boom arrives.
“I hope we don’t waste this opportunity to get on a better track,” he said. “Ultimately, creating more homes is one way to alleviate many of the challenges San Francisco faces.”
He hopes – and so do I – that San Francisco emerges as a city with all of the features we once loved: fabulous restaurants and bars, filled Giants and Warriors games, fun concerts and cultural events, a spirit of creativity and innovation. But with space for a more diverse group of people who couldn’t afford to live here before the pandemic.
He also hopes that as vaccinations resume and the virus subsides, the town hall can get out of “minute-by-minute disaster mode” and tackle all the problems it has not had the opportunity to. time to tackle it in 2020. And to think further than the following week.
“What’s the five-year, 10, 20-year plan for the city of San Francisco?” he said.
I thank him for staying to find out.
“This is our home,” he said. “This is where our friends are. This is where our community is. This is where my business is located. When you build a house somewhere, you want to improve it. “
He is committed to improving it. Me too, are you?
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears on Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @hknightsf Instagram: @heatherknightsf
Correction: An earlier version of this column contained incorrect information about Tesla CEO Elon Musk. He said he had moved to Texas.
[ad_2]
Source link