Entrepreneurs almost never claim that they founded a company to get rich; instead, they usually cloak their ambitions in idealistic language. This rhetorical move justifies the extremely high status of people who sold companies for millions of dollars: members of the tech community claim that their drive and intelligence are impressive, not their wealth. Yelp founder Jeremy Stoppelman said, "That's really the competition, whose startup is more revolutionary and impactful in driving the industry forward, is more interesting than just who has the most money or who has the fancy corporate jets or who drives the fancy cars."

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 676