When you hear “tech founder,” you probably imagine some hoodie-wearing nerd sitting hunched over at a computer while downing energy drinks — not a well-dressed, well-rounded business savant with good taste.
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But soon, that may no longer be the case: To learn the soft skills they overlooked while building their businesses, a new class of entrepreneurs is heading to etiquette school, per The Wall Street Journal.
Trading Red Bull for red wine
VC firm Slow Ventures hosted its second etiquette class in NYC this March, following a successful first go-round last November. During the four-hour course, ~50 attendees (representing just 30%-50% of all applicants) received lessons on:
- Public speaking, hosting, and fundraising
- How to dress, maintain eye contact, and give a firm handshake
- Wine tasting, caviar bumps, and more
The goal: to master “the noble arts of polite conversation, graceful composure, and… genuine human engagement.”
For those who didn’t get into the class, Slow Ventures also offers a “modern etiquette handbook,” which sold 700 copies in its first month.
Why soft skills matter
Because technical prowess alone is not enough in the age of AI, which has made sociability more relevant than being good at computers for founders looking to stand out and win over investors and customers in a saturated market.
Plus, as Silicon Valley’s sphere of influence grows, so do those of tech leaders, who in recent years have found themselves with seats at tables from the White House to the Met Gala, making their ability to act and look the part an increasingly important part of the job.
Just look at:
- Mark Zuckerberg, who went from the unlikeable tech genius portrayed in The Social Network to a swagged-out business leader and guest on popular podcasts.
- Jeff Bezos, the once-schlumpy ecommerce entrepreneur turned muscular fashion insider and friend of the Kardashians.
“They’re practically statesmen compared with the dorks of yore,” as WSJ put it.
But not everyone is convinced…
… that learning how to perform culture or manners is important for entrepreneurs, like Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, who said founders are “just here to make stuff,” not “to impress anyone by how fancy our shit is,” in response to the course.
Regardless, the demand is there — and, for a group of people who stand to wield enormous power but also need to be told to “replace emotional conversations with LLMs with journaling,” a little lesson on social etiquette might be good for all of us.
Vc
