In many ways, these companies felt hollow, lacking some of the fundamental ingredients of long-term success. Four dynamics drive this mentality. The first is history. Capitalists and entrepreneurs look backward at companies like Microsoft, Sun, or Cisco and perceive that first-mover status creates a tornado, in the words of Geoffrey Moore, that steals the air from competitors and locks up a market. The second dynamic driving this trend is jealousy.
Entrepreneurs see undeserving people getting rich fast, and they want their piece of the pie.
The third dynamic is the flavor of current capital. The fourth reason is greed. These factors are creating hollow companies, which have limited experience, wisdom, commitment, long-term view, allegiance to the customer, or sense of construction. These companies are not built to withstand competition, they're not built to deliver sustained value, and they're not built to last. The idiocy of the Hollow.