4 ms·

Despite What You’ve Heard, Running a Startup Is Not That Hard

3 points by RobbieStats 11y ago

smt88 11y ago
This article should be called, "For me personally, running my current startup is not that hard". The generalization is laughable and arrogant. Here are just some of the asinine and easily-refuted parts of the article: > You don’t hear about how hard it is to be a veterinarian, scientist or politician. YES YOU DO. All the time, if you actually know these people. I dated a veterinarian and have many scientist friends. Those jobs vary quite a bit between people, so guess what? Like any job, some people have a hard time, others have an easy time, and still others are well-suited to the rigors of whatever they're doing. What a completely ridiculous, uninformed generalization! > [Running a startup is] hard in what sense of the word? Sure, long days can contribute to fatigue that make things physically and emotionally challenging, but how is that different from many (or most) jobs? It's different from most jobs because you answer to clients and are on-call all the time. You lose money every minute that you're not working. You are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the company. That's radically different! When people like Andreessen and Graham are saying that running a company is hard, I trust them, who have worked with thousands of companies, over some guy who is throwing out his own anecdotes. Don't tell people that what they do isn't hard or that it could be easier. Your experience is your own. Surveys, better-informed people, and common sense disagree with you.
- brudgers 11y ago
  I think the author is using "startup" in the mainstream sense of any new business. The narrower sense in which Graham uses is it is a technical one that outside of the bubble is not worth arguing about.Me and Frank Sinatra Disagree on This Now
  - smt88 11y ago
    I definitely think there are many mainstream businesses that are pretty easy, but these are usually rental models. Being a landlord or running a Public Storage franchise would be examples. What other categories of non-tech businesses do you think are easier to run than tech businesses? Categorically, startups are dealing with a "lit fuse" in terms of their cash and burn rate. Once they're cash-flow positive, things change, but even then, they still have to pay back lenders or investors and there's an intense pressure to grow and become profitable.

3 points by RobbieStats 11y ago

smt88 11y ago

This article should be called, "For me personally, running my current startup is not that hard". The generalization is laughable and arrogant. Here are just some of the asinine and easily-refuted parts of the article: > You don’t hear about how hard it is to be a veterinarian, scientist or politician. YES YOU DO. All the time, if you actually know these people. I dated a veterinarian and have many scientist friends. Those jobs vary quite a bit between people, so guess what? Like any job, some people have a hard time, others have an easy time, and still others are well-suited to the rigors of whatever they're doing. What a completely ridiculous, uninformed generalization! > [Running a startup is] hard in what sense of the word? Sure, long days can contribute to fatigue that make things physically and emotionally challenging, but how is that different from many (or most) jobs? It's different from most jobs because you answer to clients and are on-call all the time. You lose money every minute that you're not working. You are ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the company. That's radically different! When people like Andreessen and Graham are saying that running a company is hard, I trust them, who have worked with thousands of companies, over some guy who is throwing out his own anecdotes. Don't tell people that what they do isn't hard or that it could be easier. Your experience is your own. Surveys, better-informed people, and common sense disagree with you.

brudgers 11y ago
I think the author is using "startup" in the mainstream sense of any new business. The narrower sense in which Graham uses is it is a technical one that outside of the bubble is not worth arguing about.Me and Frank Sinatra Disagree on This Now
- smt88 11y ago
  I definitely think there are many mainstream businesses that are pretty easy, but these are usually rental models. Being a landlord or running a Public Storage franchise would be examples. What other categories of non-tech businesses do you think are easier to run than tech businesses? Categorically, startups are dealing with a "lit fuse" in terms of their cash and burn rate. Once they're cash-flow positive, things change, but even then, they still have to pay back lenders or investors and there's an intense pressure to grow and become profitable.