The False Promises of the Startup & Scale-Up Society

Introduction: the dream that sold itself

Startups and scale-ups often present themselves as much more than just companies. They also sell a vision — not only of transforming their industry (to “disrupt” it), but also of reinventing how we work, collaborate, and live together within them.

The narrative is appealing: if we can rethink products, markets, and even society, then surely we can reinvent work itself. Hierarchies will flatten. Bureaucracy will disappear. Work will become more human, more meaningful. The old dream of work as a path to growth and emancipation. Capitalism, reinvented.