The highest position on the status hierarchy is reserved for entrepreneurs. As one high-ranking social media executive who preferred to remain anonymous explained: "Even if you're not going to make money it's like other people will give you more respect if you've started a company than if you're an employee. A lot of the employees are really important and they, a lot of [the] time, add more value to the world as an employee than they would as a founder of a company that isn't going to go anywhere." Even founding an unsuccessful company can lead to higher status than working at a successful company.

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 182