February 15, 2026
From Super Bowl to Super Broke
Ex-Tech –> Homeless in SF
From Super Bowl gigs to shelter lines — where’s the equity
TLDR: A former tech worker describes slipping into homelessness in San Francisco after building Super Bowl promos, exposing a maze of shelters and bureaucracy. Comments split between empathy and tough questions—especially about missing startup equity—while many warn it can happen to anyone, highlighting a fragile safety net.
An ex–tech worker’s gritty tale—setting up Super Bowl brand spectacles one week, recalling nights in San Francisco shelters the next—sent the comments section into overdrive. Readers latched onto the raw scenes: being turned away at DignityMoves despite standing at the gate, being told to call the SFHOT hotline without a phone, and the surreal shelter check-in where temperatures read in the 90s. Some called it a gut-punch portrait of a city that monetizes connection, then fumbles care, pointing at the Salesforce Tower as a symbol and the author’s SOMA/“soma” riff on Brave New World for dystopia vibes.
But the thread didn’t hold hands. One camp demanded receipts and backstory: you set up the Super Bowl; why no pay? what’s the “crime”? And when the author mentions being the first employee at a startup later sold for $350M, the chorus got loud: where did the equity go? Speculation flooded in—dilution, never vested, buyback, debt—but no answer yet.
Others warned this is alarmingly common: it can happen fast, to anyone. The “NPCs” detail became a mini-meme; some said it reads like fiction, others said that’s the point. One quip: it was so long it fell off trending before an upvote—bleakly funny.
Key Points
- •The author recently worked on Super Bowl brand activations in San Francisco for DraftKings, Bud Light, and Spotify.
- •In March 2025, the author arrived near Salesforce Tower with no money or phone and sought shelter.
- •At DignityMoves on Gough Street, staff directed the author to the SFHOT hotline and could not admit them directly.
- •Another shelter in SOMA only served people with addictions and referred the author to the Human Services Agency.
- •The author secured overnight accommodation at the Quaker’s Meeting Hall on 9th Street, received food, and slept on mats until morning.