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I may become an entrepreneur some day, but I will have to have climbed the social ladder to the upper class before I even attempt it. Being middle class in the

I may become an entrepreneur some day, but I will have to have climbed the social ladder to the upper class before I even attempt it. Being middle class in the US in a second-tier city is just totally freaking awesome. The corporate job I have now is night-and-day better than the lifestyle I had in my twenties. Breaking through to the next level is so far down the list of my current priorities that it could never happen and I'd be totally fine with it. What else do I do with my time? Learn to make music. Date. Cultivate good habits. Plan trips abroad. Have dinner with friends. Eat right and lose weight. Actually get better at programming instead of just scrambling to Get Shit Done. Read. Try out hobbies like Rubik's cube. Sit at the coffee shop on weekends and chat with random people. Go to the bar in the evenings and cultivate a social life. Work on myself and become a better person. You want me to throw that all away for a vague promise of more money, sometime in the future? I already have, right now, vastly more options for improving my life right now.

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- vinceguidry 11y ago
  > I spend my time working on my company on evenings, week-ends. I could do that. It sounds interesting enough. I do read a lot about startups and business and tech. The friends I have dinner with seem amazed at how much I know about this stuff, despite putting far less time into it. But when I get right down to it, spending all my time trying to squeeze blood from a stone doesn't really hold all that much appeal to me. Now, if I had capital at my disposal, then I could do all that instead of having a job. But a startup would be too much work, so I'd need my own capital. That's why I'd need to be upper class first.
  - r2dnb 11y ago
    I understand the reasoning but the need for capital depends on your situation. For example if you want to start a software business and are a good developer you need no capital. The only thing you need is time to work on your venture. It might look like it's the same because taking time to work on your venture requires to have money but there's a big difference. You might want to read this : http://read.reddy.today/read/4/flexible-revenue-model-vs-mvp-and-the-two-kinds-of-entrepreneurs http://read.reddy.today/read/4/flexible-revenue-model-vs-mvp... Good luck
    - vinceguidry 11y ago
      As a skilled developer I can trade time for capital, but time is the most valuable thing any of us have, so I have to be very careful about taking on commitments that will use up a lot of my time.
    - Riod 11y ago
      The author could work on getting his/her point across. I mean if I need something and see something that addresses that need, why would I not then want it? Any help would be appreciated.
      - r2dnb 11y ago
        I see your point, but this can happen both if you created a want-based venture or a need-based venture - and marketed the product correctly in the later case. Perhaps this is out of the scope of the article as it doesn't concern itself with presenting marketing techniques but focuses on contrasting Lean Startup with another model, and outlining the underlying need to differentiate need from want ventures
beachstartup 11y ago
> I may become an entrepreneur some day, but I will have to have climbed the social ladder to the upper class before I even attempt it. it sounds like you've been blessed with the temperament to not actually want either of these things. you probably don't want to buy expensive stuff or exhibit control over other people or be written about either. that's also a blessing. none of this stuff 'just happens, someday, maybe'. people who are driven by these urges are totally different than you. they wake up with the uncontrollable urge to do these things. when they see/think about something they want they are consumed by some kind of positive or negative emotion. you obviously don't experience any of this stuff because you're a normal person, but don't let yourself believe that you 'might do it someday', because you probably won't.
- vinceguidry 11y ago
  I am interested in expensive stuff and in leadership. I have to moderate my ambitions to those I can realistically try out. Two years ago I bought 3 custom suits for $3000. These days I'm happy browsing clearance racks and got a nice three-piece for under $150, a pair of secondhand Italian leather shoes for $14. I'm better dressed now than I was then because I have more variety to choose from. Instead of begging for more responsibility at my job, I cultivate community relationships and put together deals. I'm currently doing a website for a musician friend of mine. I took my side of the fee and gave it back to him in exchange for a guitar. I scratch most of the personal development itches that an entrepreneur seems to be after, and have a lot more fun (to me) doing it.
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deleted 11y ago

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vinceguidry 11y ago
> I spend my time working on my company on evenings, week-ends. I could do that. It sounds interesting enough. I do read a lot about startups and business and tech. The friends I have dinner with seem amazed at how much I know about this stuff, despite putting far less time into it. But when I get right down to it, spending all my time trying to squeeze blood from a stone doesn't really hold all that much appeal to me. Now, if I had capital at my disposal, then I could do all that instead of having a job. But a startup would be too much work, so I'd need my own capital. That's why I'd need to be upper class first.
- r2dnb 11y ago
  I understand the reasoning but the need for capital depends on your situation. For example if you want to start a software business and are a good developer you need no capital. The only thing you need is time to work on your venture. It might look like it's the same because taking time to work on your venture requires to have money but there's a big difference. You might want to read this : http://read.reddy.today/read/4/flexible-revenue-model-vs-mvp-and-the-two-kinds-of-entrepreneurs http://read.reddy.today/read/4/flexible-revenue-model-vs-mvp... Good luck
  - vinceguidry 11y ago
    As a skilled developer I can trade time for capital, but time is the most valuable thing any of us have, so I have to be very careful about taking on commitments that will use up a lot of my time.
  - Riod 11y ago
    The author could work on getting his/her point across. I mean if I need something and see something that addresses that need, why would I not then want it? Any help would be appreciated.
    - r2dnb 11y ago
      I see your point, but this can happen both if you created a want-based venture or a need-based venture - and marketed the product correctly in the later case. Perhaps this is out of the scope of the article as it doesn't concern itself with presenting marketing techniques but focuses on contrasting Lean Startup with another model, and outlining the underlying need to differentiate need from want ventures

beachstartup 11y ago

> I may become an entrepreneur some day, but I will have to have climbed the social ladder to the upper class before I even attempt it. it sounds like you've been blessed with the temperament to not actually want either of these things. you probably don't want to buy expensive stuff or exhibit control over other people or be written about either. that's also a blessing. none of this stuff 'just happens, someday, maybe'. people who are driven by these urges are totally different than you. they wake up with the uncontrollable urge to do these things. when they see/think about something they want they are consumed by some kind of positive or negative emotion. you obviously don't experience any of this stuff because you're a normal person, but don't let yourself believe that you 'might do it someday', because you probably won't.

vinceguidry 11y ago
I am interested in expensive stuff and in leadership. I have to moderate my ambitions to those I can realistically try out. Two years ago I bought 3 custom suits for $3000. These days I'm happy browsing clearance racks and got a nice three-piece for under $150, a pair of secondhand Italian leather shoes for $14. I'm better dressed now than I was then because I have more variety to choose from. Instead of begging for more responsibility at my job, I cultivate community relationships and put together deals. I'm currently doing a website for a musician friend of mine. I took my side of the fee and gave it back to him in exchange for a guitar. I scratch most of the personal development itches that an entrepreneur seems to be after, and have a lot more fun (to me) doing it.
- deleted 11y ago
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