This week, Slow Ventures presented a three-hour “Etiquette Finishing School,” addressing subjects like ideal handshakes, giving presentations, and workplace decorum. A fashion show displaying various outfits for different events was included, followed by a final session on caviar and wine.
The San Francisco Standard indicates that the free program, hosted at the Four Seasons in San Francisco’s financial area, received applications from several hundred founders, with 50 being selected. The majority of participants were men.
The concept apparently began as a humorous one, with Slow Ventures gauging interest during Y Combinator’s Demo Day. Even though YC CEO Garry Tan apparently advised founders against attending, Tan stated on X that he has “no beef with Slow Ventures,” adding, “You don’t need finishing school. You need to build something great, satisfy your users, and have craftsmanship.”
An anonymous founder informed The Standard that they attended to discover how to be “less feral.”
“Tech is no longer lighthearted and charming,” Slow Ventures general partner Sam Lessin reportedly told those present. “It’s eliminating jobs and altering surroundings. Everyone feels threatened by it, which necessitates you being perceived as, ‘I’m here and respectful,’ instead of ‘I’m here and deliberately disrespectful.'”
