Accelerators.

Quick Exits.

Instant Messages.

Messages that even disappear.

Everything about tech is fast. Of the moment. Almost built not to last.

Back in 2005 (George W. Bush was President), we had the opportunity to work with Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons as they began what would become Yelp. There were a lot of contributing factors to the company’s eventual success — and we get some credit for creating the brand and community aspects that helped humanize and popularize the site — but that, dear reader, didn’t happen overnight.

These days, everyone seems to have forgotten the importance of building something that actual people want and will use. Now it’s scale up, uberize, pivot and re-pivot… and if all else fails, get aqui-hired. The typical startup’s biggest press hit is about which A-List investor has dropped money into it.

It’s easier than ever to find someone to give you money but harder than ever to cut through the noise and create something important that solves a real problem. There isn’t an app that can fix this. Getting funded is not a “growth” strategy.

We are not coming down from the mountain to tell you this. In fact, post Yelp, we’ve collectively spent more time working on failed start-ups (start-downs?) than on successful ones. PayPal Mafia? More like the Yelp Half-Stars.