&quot;Old media has schadenfreude for technology companies failing and they use &quot;startup&quot; as a code-word for their tone that tech companies are irresponsible, lazy, out of touch, and not doing &quot;real&quot; work.&quot;<p>I think you have a very misaligned perception of the general world. Most people don&#x27;t even know what a startup is unless your in a major city and the perception is pretty positive overall.