4 ms·
> I think they're using the Peter Thiel version of the word, not the traditional economics version of the word. Which is a poor way to communicate a point when
by mbesto 11y ago
> I think they're using the Peter Thiel version of the word, not the traditional economics version of the word.
Which is a poor way to communicate a point when the widely considered definition of one of your words doesn't match the one you're articulating. It assumes everyone has read Peter Thiel's book (ps - everyone has not).
It's the same with the word "startup". For a majority of the world a startup is business that has just started, but for YC (well, pg specifically[0]), the definition is "A startup is a company designed to grow fast" and more specifically notes "Being newly founded does not in itself make a company a startup". The definitions are not only considered inconsistent but they're explicitly inconsistent.
Communication is important and this is one of those instances where I think many people might scoff at the notion that YC is building monopolies and that's "bad".
[0] - http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html
- chejazi 11y agoMaybe a clarification is in order. BUT, this is YC's attempt to make their advice available to the broader community. If you're interested in YC and listen to their advice, you will likely have heard about Peter Thiel's monopoly (see Sam Altman's "How to Start a Startup" series w/ Peter Thiel otherwise). I'm just happy they're making this advice available. EDIT: Here ya go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oKjLVECMKA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oKjLVECMKA
- staunch 11y agoContext does matter though. If you're talking about startups in Silicon Valley, it's completely correct to exclude normal small business and focus on technology-based startups aka "tech startups". They really are very different kinds of businesses. The problem may be that that "tech startup" is too verbose and lame sounding.
- increment_i 11y agoIs it really though? I'd be more surprised at the scenario where the average hacker read this piece and didn't immediately make the mental connection to "Oh, he's talking about the Thiel thing."
- CPLX 11y agoI have an economics degree and know precisely what the word means, and have never read Peter Thiel's book and am not familiar with his usage of the word, and still the concept as applied in the letter made perfect sense to me. All monopoly is contextual.