Techdirt Venture Capital Is Eating The World
Oct 28, 2025
Catherine Bracy, author of "World Eaters" and founder of TechEquity, returns to discuss how venture capital's misaligned incentives are harming technology and society. She reveals the community backlash that inspired her to investigate venture capital's role in tech harms. Catherine explains the pitfalls of software-first approaches in labor and housing, and the pressure on startups from the power law. She critiques the cultural indoctrination of accelerators like Y Combinator and highlights the need for alternative funding models that prioritize sustainable growth.
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VC Incentives Drive Tech's Negative Outcomes
- Venture capital's incentive structure, not tech itself, drives many harms in the economy.
- Catherine Bracy argues VC has exceeded its useful role and reshaped company behavior toward destructive growth.
Uber Office Sparked Local Backlash
- Catherine recounts Uber opening an Oakland office across from her apartment in 2015 and the community backlash.
- That moment catalyzed her founding TechEquity and investigating tech's local harms.
Software Playbook Fails In Physical Markets
- VCs apply a software startup playbook to physical-world businesses and ignore real-world externalities.
- This mismatch forces companies to deny their true nature and shift harms onto workers and communities.
