Tag Archives: Silicon Valley

Begin at the Beginning, Go on until You Reboot, and then… (Silicon Valley – Season 3 Finale)

By Tenaya Rodewald on July 1, 2016 Posted in Other

Summarizing the week Jared writes, “Lewis Carroll famously said, ‘Begin at the beginning, go on to the end, and then stop.’ But that is hard advice to follow when one’s head is spinning…” It would have been just as apt if Jared had added that “here, you see, it takes all the running you can … Continue Reading

Pied Piper Is Like Empty Tables, and Empty Chairs (Silicon Valley – Episode 27)

By Tenaya Rodewald on June 24, 2016 Posted in Other

“Not much to report this week, dear readers! Everything is perfectly fine.” Or so says Jared. But as Gilfoyle is quick to point out, “That’s a lie.” The problem is that even though the Pied Piper product has incredible buzz, and celebrates half a million downloads, regular people can’t stand using it once they have … Continue Reading

…And The Unicorn You Rode In On (Silicon Valley – Episode 26)

By Tenaya Rodewald on June 17, 2016 Posted in Other

Alas, poor Erlich! We knew him; ‘a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne us on his back a thousand times; and now,’ as Jared poetically recounts, “Erlich’s Bachmanity boondoggle has led to his being unceremoniously bucked off the Pied Piper unicorn, [lock-] stock-and-Board-seat-wise.” Unfortunately, Erlich’s lavish over-spending of Bachmanity’s capital, … Continue Reading

Happy Times, High Crimes and Misdemeanors (Silicon Valley – Episode 25)

By Tenaya Rodewald on June 10, 2016 Posted in Other

In this week’s episode of Silicon Valley, Richard enjoyed an unprecedented run of success, culminating with the official launch of Pied Piper’s platform. Richard has suffered so many setbacks, it’s little wonder he is initially reluctant to launch even a beta version—certain that the platform is buggy and will only subject Pied Piper to further … Continue Reading

Bachmanity – From Sizzle to Fizzle and Maybe Bachruptcy (Silicon Valley – Episode 24)

By Kevin Rogan on June 3, 2016 Posted in Other

At its heart, Episode 24 was about relationships – from the wayward dating lives of Richard and Dinesh to Big Head and Ehrlich’s marriage of “Bachmanity,” the Pied Piper entourage found themselves faced with the messy unraveling of unsuccessful relationships. To recap some of those relationships, Richard loses a girlfriend over his obsession with code … Continue Reading

Big Head, Big Dreams, Big Mistake? (Silicon Valley – Episode 23)

By Tenaya Rodewald on May 27, 2016 Posted in Other

At least on paper, Episode 23 was a heartwarming story of new beginnings. Sure, Richard was subjected to an excruciating limbo during which Laurie interviewed other people for “his” job as CEO. But it turns out that was only for Richard’s own good—to make sure Richard would be seen as the best choice after a … Continue Reading

Laurie & Monica Out-Action Jack…and Other Fiduciary Duties (Silicon Valley – Episode 22)

By Tenaya Rodewald and Kevin Rogan on May 20, 2016 Posted in Other

Episode 22 provides a decisive and satisfying showdown between Jack’s Box plan and Richard’s consumer platform option. Richard’s not-so-secret skunkworks project is dead, and the team sets to work on the Box believing that as soon as they deliver a working prototype, they will be free to build the platform. But when they deliver the … Continue Reading

Trade Secrets and Lies (Silicon Valley – Episode 21)

By Tenaya Rodewald on May 13, 2016 Posted in Intellectual Property, Other

Episode 21 is a delightful maze of plots, plot twists and omens. At Pied Piper, Richard fails in his attempt to go over CEO Action Jack’s head and have Laurie, the investor, force Jack to scrap his Box and build the consumer platform. As a result of this failed coup, Jack warns Richard darkly, “if … Continue Reading

Jack’s Box (Silicon Valley – Episode 20)

By Tenaya Rodewald on May 6, 2016 Posted in Other

Episode 20 of Silicon Valley explores numerous classic conflicts: consumer-oriented v. enterprise business model; engineers v. sales; revolutionary vs. safe; long-term goals v. short-term profits; Erlich v. Jian-Yang … Richard’s plan has been to transform the world by giving away the basic version of Pied Piper’s revolutionary compression technology, rapidly building a huge user base, … Continue Reading

Success Is Not Always Founder Friendly (Silicon Valley – Episode 19)

By Tenaya Rodewald on April 29, 2016 Posted in Other

HBO’s Silicon Valley is back, but Richard is still out as Pied Piper’s CEO. To recap how we got here: in the closing moments of last season, the Pied Piper team triumphed by successfully livestreaming its condor cam video to 200,000 viewers—including Laurie, the head of Raviga Capital, one of Pied Piper’s two investors. Laurie … Continue Reading

The Days of the Vultures (Silicon Valley – Season 2 Finale)

By Tenaya Rodewald on June 22, 2015 Posted in Other

This season’s finale of Silicon Valley provided Richard with only the briefest moment of victory before he once again faces losing Pied Piper. First, the arbitrator rules that because Richard used a Hooli computer while developing Pied Piper, under the invention assignment provision of Richard’s employment agreement with Hooli, Hooli would have the right to … Continue Reading

Rogue Witnesses (Silicon Valley, Episode 17)

By Tenaya Rodewald on June 12, 2015 Posted in Other

In Episode 17, Hooli’s lawsuit appears to be nearing its end – with Hooli poised as the apparent victor. In Episodes 9 and 10 the show had positioned the case so we thought Pied Piper was sure to win. What happened? The impact of a rogue witness should not be underestimated. Click here to read the … Continue Reading

Board Games (Silicon Valley, Episode 16)

By Tenaya Rodewald on June 5, 2015 Posted in Other

Episode 16 culminates with a disastrous end to the Intersite bake-off, and highlights an issue that’s cropped up in several episodes: troublesome or under-performing board members. To recap, Pied Piper is competing against nemesis Endframe in a “bake-off” to win a $15 million contract with Intersite. In the course of the bake-off, Pied Piper’s (formerly) … Continue Reading

Other Peoples’ Content (Episode 15)

By Tenaya Rodewald on May 29, 2015 Posted in Other

There are so many legal issues in Episode 15 that it’s hard to know where to begin, so I’m going to start at the end: porn. Pied Piper is competing against nemesis Endframe for a $15 million contract from the online porn company Intersite. If Pied Piper wins the contract it will allow Pied Piper … Continue Reading

“‘Say it ain’t so!’” (Episode 14)

By Tenaya Rodewald on May 22, 2015 Posted in Other

Previously we’ve discussed Hooli’s reverse engineering of Pied Piper’s technology and the threatened lawsuit for ownership of the technology. In Episode 14, Pied Piper faces a new threat: Endframe, a Pied Piper competitor, has also stolen Pied Piper’s technology, in collusion with VC firm Branscomb Ventures. This started back in Episode 10, when the Pied Piper … Continue Reading

Hooli is suing Pied Piper (Episodes 9 and 10) continued

By Tenaya Rodewald on May 18, 2015 Posted in Other

Last post I mused that had Richard taken certain steps in the first season of Silicon Valley, he might now have ammunition to use against Hooli’s lawsuit. What am I talking about? To very crudely recap what happened last season, Richard invented Pied Piper, a music copyright search service that hid within it amazing lossless … Continue Reading

Hooli is suing Pied Piper (Episodes 9 and 10)

By Tenaya Rodewald on May 15, 2015 Posted in Other

HBO’s “Silicon Valley” has quickly become a must watch for all budding entrepreneurs, but the second season has opened up with a multitude of real world risks and roadblocks that could be faced by real world entrepreneurs. Here, we take a light look at the legal issues arising from the latest episodes. Click here to … Continue Reading

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