the stupidity to this is that it takes a meme and treats it like facts

yes, numerous 30u30 have committed frauds, and yes this list is a paid list. but it's also full of other people who have been duped by what this list represents. compounding memes at the expense of truth just creates more problems than it solves

it’s not a paid list. Or at least it wasn’t, can’t say with certainty it didn’t change.

Some people on the list likely paid to be on it. They likely didn't pay Forbes the company though and maybe the payment was just invites to parties.

I know several 30u30 people in my country's list and I highly doubt they paid for anything.

Does anyone actually look at evidence anymore or do they just look at the twitter ramblings of YC founders thinking this models reality?

Founders have been doing stupid signalling for ages to seem like they are more worthy of VC funding. A single anecdote in a podcast about a badly written Wired article based on a few anecdotes from hustle culture founders does not make something true.

Working 80 hour weeks for low pay and high expected upside has ALWAYS been SV software culture.

The individual leverage of an experienced software developer has never been higher.

helllll ya!

one of the best libraries in the ecosystem. it's basically open-source Clerk without the baggage of needing to trust someone else's security story