You could say the current tech trend is all about “growing up in public.” But like Disney kid actors, most startups don’t actually do much growing up. They’re overly polished, brand-conscious, and obsessed with charisma over substance. They appeal to a narrow, self-referential crowd—mostly other tech people, investors, or startup tourists. To everyone else, they come off as obnoxious. The problem is that tech has adopted the same culture of adoration you see with Disney stars: a worship of precociousness, cuteness pretending to be maturity, and hype in place of depth. Everything gets over-produced, over-promoted, and carefully managed to seem “relatable,” but ends up feeling disconnected from reality.

Antiques dealer, machine psychologist. http://www.musicinphasespace.com

What people in tech don’t seem to realize is this: most startups today aren’t misunderstood geniuses—they’re Disney Channel kids. The result is products that talk like influencers, founders who act like teen idols, and pitch decks that sound like sitcom pilots. Outside that bubble, regular users and builders with real problems see it all as cringey, indulgent, and out of touch. It’s not that these startups are evil—it’s that the industry built an entire belief system around them. They became the ideal, the blueprint, the thing everyone bets on. And just like in Hollywood, they rarely grow into anything real.