Fame and Respect

Two months in the Bay, I’ve noticed a strange yet obvious trend: a lot of founders started companies because they wanted to be celebrities. Understandable, ambitious people often crave the spotlight. But the result is a huge number of startups in SF chasing clout above substance.

Half of the AI startups I see are more like marketing companies than tech companies. Everyone says, “In 2025, distribution is everything.” I agree. I don’t think marketing is inherently boastful or despicable; in fact, I see it as a delicate craft, and everything good in the world needs marketing. You can be the greatest chef, but if no one tastes your food, it adds no value to the world. You can build the most advanced machine ever, but it’s useless if nobody knows it exists.

So please, sell; but the real question is: how do you sell?

Among young AI founders in SF, I see a default “viral formula” forming. Recently, a series of launch videos have gone viral, amassing millions of views. When I asked how they did it, the answer has always been the same: Yo man, you gotta ragebait more. Clickbait more. Say dumb shit, absurd shit. That’s how you keep people on the screen.

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Cluely posted a video a while ago: an AI-generated clip featuring a reporter asking a five-year-old kid at his desk:

Reporter: “Are you just pretending to work?”

Kid: “No dumbass, I’m running customer service for Cluely. I’m the new intern. Please stop distracting me.”

That’s the playbook: Gen Z slang, absurd skits, brainrot language.

Elon Musk has jumped on this trend too — check the latest XAI companion:

Engagement farming has become the unquestionable golden rule. I know another startup’s launch video that starts with a guy “gooning” (jerking off) in his bed, and that went viral too.

I visited a friend who recorded a podcast with that founder. She was debating what to put on the thumbnail: one option was “I used this secret to grow my startup”; the other was “I used to have a porn addiction…” Everyone in the room voted for porn, no hesitation.

I don’t know how to feel about this — or does it even matter how I feel? we aren’t even told to feel no more, we are just told to execute because “it works.”

All the “cool” young founders keep saying: don’t care what people think, just post it. Yes we’ve seen a lot of motivational reels: “Most people don’t chase their dreams because they’re scared of looking stupid. But the moment you stop caring, you start living.”

And sure, I get motivated. But then I look at the videos they end up posting — what? Do I really have to choose the most dramatic, cringeworthy, no-self-respect version of myself just to grow?

Yes, growth — and what are we growing into?

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My theory is, engagement farming creates hype, but not trust. It earns views, not users.

I still remember “the gooning video”; but not the name of the startup, or what they even built.

I saw an AI therapy app called Ash. They are also well known, but they’ve taken a slower yet more thoughtful approach to social media. The founder has a podcast, I watched an episode where he discusses philosophy and psychology with a renowned professor. Only 200 views on YouTube; a flop by metrics. But I watched it and downloaded the app immediately. Trust was built because I saw how he carried himself: he reads, he thinks, he cares. Therefore I believed.

Meanwhile, a couple of Gen Z chatbot apps have taken the Cluely marketing approach. I’ve seen their brainrot reels. The thought of downloading them never crosses my mind.

There are two games to play. The first is “to be popular,” which always receive more attention. But baseless fame comes and goes. At some point people get tired of your tricks and move to the next.

The second is “to be respected.” That takes time, hard work, and consistency. Respect isn’t awarded for flashiness; it’s earned when nobody’s watching. Fame through respect comes slowly, but once it arrives, it is here to stay.

Still, I understand why so many SF founders are clout chasing. Our generation grew up on role models like Donald Trump, Andrew Tate, Jake Paul. Through them, people learned to equate “success” with being loud, brash, shameless, controversial.

Meanwhile, people who quietly earn respect rarely go viral. Their influence stays small, private, invisible to the wider public.

But I believe there’s a third path. That’s why this piece is titled Fame and Respect, not fame or respect.

Look back through history, there are a few names who carried both depth and reach. They mastered their craft in silence, yet had the courage to step into the noise. They spoke to the crowd without losing themselves.

It’s inherently paradoxical. Most who value depth avoid the spotlight, because attention disrupts their peace. And most who chase popularity rarely have the patience to build real substance. To walk this line is a delicate art of balance; it’s easier to fall to one side.

But to manage both, is to build legacies that outlast the spotlight.