• Sand Hill Slave

    Valleywag exclusive: Interview with Sand Hill Slave

    stocking-ball-chain.jpgSand Hill Slave has been bitching — hilariously — about her work as an admin assistant at a couple of VC firms. The anonyblogger's tagline, "I No Longer Fear Hell for I work in Venture Capital," implies that she's just the sort of girl Valleywag should chat with. So I did.

    Sand Hill Slave: Hey Valley Wag :-) How goes it the land of tech gossip?
    Valleywag: Hey!
    Valleywag: Right, so, Sand Hill Slave, you've been all over the blogosphere, planting joy in comment threads by linking to your blog.
    Valleywag: How long have you been working in the valley?
    Sand Hill Slave: long enough to make these observations :-)
    Sand Hill Slave: about 5-6 years I guess
    Sand Hill Slave: it's like dog years to me.
    Valleywag: and you've climbed up the ladder?
    Sand Hill Slave: yeah you could say that. climbed up, fallen, climbed back up again
    Valleywag: Just confess it — you're John Doerr, right?
    Sand Hill Slave: No it's me, Vinod.
    Valleywag: vinod, eh?
    Valleywag: the former golden-touch vc?
    Sand Hill Slave: I'm not so sure any of these guys even pay attention
    Sand Hill Slave: I mean an admin.. come on
    Valleywag: john, you can't stall us. WHAT WAS WITH THE SEGWAY, JOHN?
    Sand Hill Slave: Hey I like segways they are kind of cool
    Sand Hill Slave: oooh are you flirting with me?
    Sand Hill Slave: I could be a boy
    Valleywag: oh, DO tell me that you aspire higher than dating gossip bloggers.
    Valleywag: which vcs have you slept with?

    Porn in the office and bad Banana Republic after the jump.

    Sand Hill Slave: Yes the irony of it all is...I JUST WANT TO DATE A VC.
    Sand Hill Slave: umm I've never slept with one
    Valleywag: none yet? and you're already blogging?
    Valleywag: So tell me about the partners with porn in the office.
    Sand Hill Slave: yeah it was awhile back.
    Sand Hill Slave: I was cleaning out an office...old board books and the like
    Sand Hill Slave: and lo and behold
    Sand Hill Slave: I couldn't help but start laughing
    Valleywag: it'd make a killing on ebay
    Sand Hill Slave: the porn on the computer
    Sand Hill Slave: is the big one
    Valleywag: so you go around searching for this?
    Sand Hill Slave: it's more about cleaning out a messy office
    Valleywag: and now you secretly want steve jurvetson to whisk you away on his chariot?
    Sand Hill Slave: blonds are ok. but not really into them.
    Sand Hill Slave: I just saw that movie Batman Returns and the guy in there...
    Sand Hill Slave: He was in American Psycho.
    Sand Hill Slave: Wow. how come men I work for do not look like that
    Sand Hill Slave: Then I'd really have something to blog about-
    Valleywag: so none of the vcs actually turn you on?
    Sand Hill Slave: nope.
    Valleywag: you must be hiding a raging crush for one of them
    Sand Hill Slave: I need someone with a sense of humor. That's my first prerequisite.
    Valleywag: and vcs...
    Sand Hill Slave: I don't know every VC in the valley, but most of the ones I see/hear/meet
    Sand Hill Slave: they are just...well...it is what it is.
    Valleywag: and it is...?
    Sand Hill Slave: Bland.
    Sand Hill Slave: I'm just saying this from a perspective of a woman
    Valleywag: so imagine the entire VC partner line-up is in front of you
    Valleywag: and right now
    Valleywag: RIGHT NOW
    Valleywag: you have to get it on with one — or at least suffer through a date with the guy
    Sand Hill Slave: hmmm
    Sand Hill Slave: I have to look at pictures
    Sand Hill Slave: most of them are older you know
    Valleywag: that's what makes it so fun for ya
    Sand Hill Slave: yeah Viagra has really f*cked things up for the trophy wives man
    Valleywag: oldest vc with porn on the computer?
    Sand Hill Slave: umm the oldest at the time... I think he was
    Sand Hill Slave: probably around mid to late 40's
    Valleywag: oh, that's disappointing
    Sand Hill Slave: Well to be fair, I'm sure plenty of SV CEOs have smut rags stuffed somewhere in their offices or on their computer...
    Valleywag: surely
    Sand Hill Slave: why is it disappointing? Men around that age are most likely to stray from their wives
    Valleywag: good point. ever found evidence?
    Sand Hill Slave: there are plenty of stories in the valley about VCs CEOs etc sleeping with assistants
    Sand Hill Slave: the Dresdner Wasserstein case in NYC
    Sand Hill Slave: I've had married guys flirt with me
    Valleywag: how high up?
    Valleywag: can you name just one name?
    Sand Hill Slave: people that have worked at my firms
    Valleywag: about how many partners have flirted with you?
    Sand Hill Slave: you know it's tough because you want to foster a good environment where everyone can joke around
    Sand Hill Slave: so it's difficult to determine. and it's an individual assessment
    Sand Hill Slave: what you might consider over the line
    Valleywag: right, like, if a vc just wants to ride his admin's bare back like a horse
    Sand Hill Slave: HAHAHHA
    Valleywag: could all be in jest, no harm done
    Valleywag: long as it's after noon
    Sand Hill Slave: after everyone's gone....
    Valleywag: everyone in suits anyway
    Sand Hill Slave: yeah you can always tell the east coast guys from that one
    Sand Hill Slave: when they show up in suits
    Sand Hill Slave: I sometime think "That's some bad Banana Republic you got going on there"
    Sand Hill Slave: whatever look you were going for.. you missed.
    Sand Hill Slave: (things that go on in sand hill slaves head)
    Valleywag: who, among all vcs you've worked for or not, was the most hopeless case, the biggest ego in the most undeserving container?
    Sand Hill Slave: hahaha again.. no names from me. As for egos, COME most of them do. It's their nature.
    Sand Hill Slave: (come on)
    Valleywag: nice freudian slip
    Valleywag: you want them BAD
    Sand Hill Slave: uhh ok (sand hill slave breaks down)
    Sand Hill Slave: (wipes her eyes on her thomas pink shirt and almost takes an eye out with the cufflink)
    Sand Hill Slave: you caught me
    Valleywag: so when do you show up on yahoo and reveal you're just part of an online reality show?
    Sand Hill Slave: I'm sure I'll be outed at one point
    Valleywag: yeah, with that self-publicity, how afraid are you of being named?
    Sand Hill Slave: Not really.
    Sand Hill Slave: Whether it's me or someone else that is doing a blog like this
    Sand Hill Slave: a firm would be hard pressed to fire someone
    Valleywag: you don't think this blog could get you fired?
    Sand Hill Slave: there is no specific mention of the firm or the goings on
    Sand Hill Slave: if it did they would have one hell of a lawsuit
    Sand Hill Slave: on thier hands
    Sand Hill Slave: we might "part ways" with a hefty severance payment
    Valleywag: and if you left the business, would you name names?
    Sand Hill Slave: maybe
    Sand Hill Slave: but these people haven't done real harm to me
    Sand Hill Slave: no need to embarrass them
    Sand Hill Slave: some guys can be jerks to work for. But maybe in their personal life they are sweet as kittens...
    Valleywag: do promise you'll be in touch with me when you're fired
    Sand Hill Slave: hahaha
    Sand Hill Slave: you bet

    Sand Hill Slave [anonymous blog]

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