2026/06/11 by Robert Dorschel
Business, Management and Accounting · Social Sciences · #Digital Economy and Work Transformation #Elite Sociology and Global Capitalism #Entrepreneurship Studies and Influences
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/03085147.2026.2661546
openalex publication_date 2026/06/11 · openalex created_date 2026/06/12 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/24
Scholars have unearthed how tech companies exert unprecedented power through new modes of accumulation and control. Less attention has been paid to the social actors who command these companies. In particular, the subjectivities that characterize the entrepreneurial class remain largely unexplored. Drawing on Foucault, this paper develops the concept of the entrepreneurial gaze by examining a unique data set from Y Combinator, a prominent Silicon Valley-based ‘accelerator’. The empirical analysis reconstructs an entrepreneurial gaze within the tech elite structured by three central schemas: (1) need-spotting through personal experiences; (2) a faithful vision and (3) a short-cut orientation.