Bill Gates has become one of the fans of the hit HBO series Silicon Valley. In a blog post on Monday, he expressed that this series aptly and hilariously depicts how actually Silicon Valley functions today.
Irrespective of whether you are in the tech industry or not, you must have come across the mention of “Silicon Valley” in news, blog posts, and social media. Silicon Valley is situated in Calfornia and homes many technology companies ranging from start-ups to tech giants like Apple, Facebook, and, Microsoft.
This series is a parody of Silicon Valley. It is a story of five men who have founded a startup company. You watch them working hard, raising money for their product, and also fighting against a tech giant named Hooli. The series first premiered in 2014 and completed its 5th season this year.
Gates said that the show does exaggerate a few things but at the same time it captures the reality really well, making the show very relatable:
“The show is a parody but it captures a lot of truths. Most of the different personality types you see in the show feel very familiar to me. The programmers are smart, super-competitive even with their friends, and a bit clueless when it comes to social cues.”
Gates further added that he relates the most with Richard Hendricks, the inventor of Pied Piper. Maybe he relates so much with this character because, just as Richard, he was a great programmer from a very young age but his leadership ways were considered as very demanding and slightly abrasive:
“Personally, I identify most with Richard, the founder of Pied Piper, who is a great programmer but has to learn some hard lessons about managing people.”
The reason why the series is so relatable is that the producers and writers have done an outstanding research to accurately depict the struggles of a startup company, tech politics, and more. The show’s writers consult with real startups and founders. Last year they even met Bill Gates to know more about the history of the industry and get more ideas for its 5th season.
The popularity of the show has grown so much so that some viewers believe that the series also gave them insights about the industry:
I made it mandatory. We watched every day for lunch until we completed the series. I too identify with Richard. I found it gave insight to the employees and gave us an edge. They see what it takes to be successful. We work like they do, 24/7. But we love it. Office culture is key
— Toby Grubbs (@TobyGrubbs) November 19, 2018
Along with the praises, Bill Gates does have some complaints about the show. He believes that the show does give viewers the impression that most small companies are capable of building great products while big companies only have money and are incompetent skill wise. In defense to that he said:
“Although I’m obviously biased, my experience is that small companies can be just as inept, and the big ones have the resources to invest in deep research and take a long-term point of view that smaller ones can’t afford. But I also understand why the show focuses so much on Pied Piper and makes Hooli look so goofy. It’s more fun to root for the underdog.”
You can read the entire blog post by Bill Gates on gatesnotes.
Read Next
The software behind Silicon Valley’s Emmy-nominated ‘Not Hotdog’ app