Signal vs. Noise This Week: The Tech Industry Has a Trust Problem

From the CEO of Valere – Your Weekly Dose of Industry Insight, Buzzword-Free.

TL;DR: The Bottom Line Up Front

Trust used to be a moat in tech. Now, it’s a casualty.

Fake resumes. Fake traction. Fake influence. If you’re building something real, you’re competing against smoke and mirrors, and the cost is higher than most founders think.

I. The Trust Erosion in Tech

The public used to believe tech was leading us forward. Now, they’re not so sure.

The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer shows a plateau in global trust in tech, and an especially sharp dip when it comes to AI. People aren’t just skeptical of what’s being built; they’re skeptical of the builders.

And they’re right to be.

Tech culture rewarded confidence over credibility for too long. What we’re seeing now isn’t a trust problem. It’s a trust reckoning.

II. The Hiring Problem

Let’s start with recruiting, because it’s broken.

According to Business.com, 32% of job seekers admit to lying on their resumes, with fake experience, fake projects, and AI-generated qualifications.

Even worse? Many of these candidates are hoping to “learn on your dime.” That’s not just dishonest, it’s dangerous.

At Valere, we built our hiring process like we build software: test, verify, review. If someone can’t walk us through the work they actually did, we cut fast.

Why? Because every fake resume that slips through isn’t just a bad hire; it’s a threat to company trust, team morale, and customer outcomes.

III. The Influencer Problem

It’s not just resumes being faked. It's also reputation.

Take this Reddit thread: a founder almost dropped $10K on an influencer, only to discover they were running a bot network of fake followers, fake likes, fake DMs.

This isn’t rare. It’s the playbook for a growing class of “techfluencers” selling courses, clout, and consulting off of fabricated success.

Here’s how you can tell:

• Traction that can’t be traced
• Metrics with no context
• Advice with no skin in the game

And while it’s easy to write off as cringe, this kind of deception creates real harm. It distorts expectations, crowds out legitimate voices, and builds an ecosystem where lies get more likes than substance.

IV. What It Costs Us

So what’s the price of all this?

Ellow.io estimates a bad tech hire can cost up to $240,000, and that’s just on paper.

In reality, the cost is bigger:

• Bad hires drain team velocity
• Bad partnerships create operational drag
• A disillusioned user base becomes impossible to engage

We’re not just bleeding money. We’re bleeding belief. And when people stop believing, they stop buying… And building.

V. What Founders Should Do Differently

Rebuilding trust won’t happen from the top down. It starts with founders, and it starts now.

Here’s where to begin:

1. Be radically honest, especially about what you don’t know. Transparency is now a differentiator.
2. Vet people like you vet code: test, verify, review. Don’t take portfolios or personas at face value.
3. Prioritize ethics over growth-at-all-costs. It’s not idealistic; it’s strategic. SCU’s guide makes a strong case for how an ethical foundation builds long-term defensibility.

This isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being real and building in a way that earns belief.

Closing Thought

According to Ethisphere, companies with strong reputations consistently outperform competitors. Reputational damage, on the other hand, can wipe out years of progress overnight.

Reputation used to mean something. It still can, but only if we stop rewarding the lie.

Your Turn:  

Have you spotted lies in the tech industry? Fake traction, fake resumes, fake success stories?

Reach out and tell me what you saw and how you handled it. I read every response.

Guy Pistone CEO, Valere | Building meaningful things