Nitasha Tiku of The Verge attended the casting call for putative startup drama 94110. She auditions for a role as venture capitalist, and is unexpectedly asked to conduct an interview in character. She finds it not only easy, but empowering, to pretend to be a rich asshole.
Failure had come up in my audition as well. When my name was called, I walked into a tiny white room with two men and one woman seated behind a folding table. The instructions warned that the panel “may ask some interview-style questions.” I expected them to inquire about me, not the fictional investor I was playing, but I found it easier than expected to stay in character. One could say I #crushedit.
With the number of venture capital funds growing, how do you pick a winner, they asked. Pattern-matching, I said. What’s your relationship with failure? Badge of courage, I wear it proudly even if the newcomers don’t. What do you think of the Mission, is it for work or play? There’s no work-life balance in the tech industry because we love what we do. What do you do when someone annoys you? Get up and leave. What if you see them out again? Nod politely. It’s not personal, it’s just business and my time is too valuable to waste.
Pretending you’re a rich, entitled asshole is very empowering. What’s more, fielding questions when you’re supposed to sound like an expert helped me “grok” the propensity for meaningless business babble. Sometimes you need to say “pivot” just to buy yourself time to think.
Sounds like anyone could do it. How do I get that gig?