Slow Ventures holds a ‘finishing school’ to help founders learn to be fancy

This week, Slow Ventures hosted an innovative three-hour program dubbed "Etiquette Finishing School," aimed at empowering startup founders with essential social skills. Participants engaged in lessons on proper handshake techniques, effective public speaking, and maintaining professionalism in the workplace. The event, held at the prestigious Four Seasons in San Francisco's financial district, attracted considerable interest, with hundreds of founders applying for the complimentary program. Ultimately, 50 founders were selected to participate, predominantly male attendees. The initiative, which reportedly began as a lighthearted notion, gained traction after Slow Ventures gauged interest during Y Combinator's Demo Day. Despite some skepticism from Y Combinator's CEO Garry Tan, who advised against attendance, he clarified his stance on social media, stating he had no issues with Slow Ventures. “You don’t need finishing school. You need to build something great, make your users happy, and have craftsmanship,” he wrote on X. One attendee expressed the desire to refine their social skills, stating they wanted to be “less feral.” Sam Lessin, a general partner at Slow Ventures, underscored the seriousness of the tech landscape, remarking, “Tech is no longer playful and cute. It’s taking people’s jobs and changing environments. Everyone’s threatened by it, which means you need to be like, ‘I’m here and respectful,’ as opposed to ‘I’m here and intentionally disrespectful.’”