3 ms·

> (a) at least a 7-figure initial capital I don't think Michael Dell, Li Ka-Shing, Slim Helu, or Larry Ellison actually started out with anywhere near that sum

> (a) at least a 7-figure initial capital I don't think Michael Dell, Li Ka-Shing, Slim Helu, or Larry Ellison actually started out with anywhere near that sum of initial capital. From everything I've read, they started in ghettos and middle-to-working-class voids, or as immigrants. I've read that it just takes extreme, almost Asperger's level of apathy toward risk (AKA chutzpah, balls, juevos, etc), and business acumen from a young age. Oh, and often a cold, utilitarian view of relationships, but not always.

mojuba 16y ago
Bill Gates wouldn't have taken off without his mother's help who arranged a contract with IBM for her son in the beginning. And I'm sure there are similar stories for the others too. Let's take Ellison's Government project called "Oracle" that the Govt. never used - looks very suspicious and we know very little about how exactly this turned into a private company. I don't believe in their cheesy "self-made" stories with $1000 put into the company that eventually turns into a multi-billion corporation. That's just impossible.
- muhfuhkuh 16y ago
  It is? Well then what the hell are we doing wasting our time on this damn board, then? We should be looking into Build-a-Bear and 10-minute oil change franchises. I guess Sam's 5&10 shop was just as much BS as Betty Crocker, too. I noticed you left out Dell's story. Did his orthodontist dad brace up all the kids in his hometown to afford the million to put down on Michael's computer-makin' biz? Sometimes a businessman starts out with squat. If there is no "there" there, then what are we doing here?
- pg 16y ago
  The DOS deal was not the beginning of Microsoft. It was already a well-established company.
starkfist 16y ago
To be a world class investor you need to start out with a huge bankroll. Horatio Alger stories are more prevalent with entrepreneurs. However, the list you gave doesn't really match up with your description. None of those people are "immigrants," Li Ka-Shing was from a wealthy family, Dell was the son of a stockbroker and orthodontist, etc.
- jakarta 16y ago
  I have a number of friends who started funds straight out of college. In almost all of these cases, these friends had been able to get in touch with wealthier, more established fund managers early on via the internet and have gotten their help with raising capital. So this wasn't a case of rich kids getting bankrolled by their parents. These guys don't come from money. One started out with $2M in AUM in NYC, lives with two roommates, eats tuna fish every day, and has no entertainment budget. He doesn't go out to bars but spends his time at the library, museum, parks, etc -- free stuff. But, that is the kind of sacrifice that has to be made in order to make living off of a $2M fund work. In the long run it makes sense because if you put up good returns, that $2M can scale fast. Two years into it, a friend that was managing $2M is up to $50M in AUM.

mojuba 16y ago

Bill Gates wouldn't have taken off without his mother's help who arranged a contract with IBM for her son in the beginning. And I'm sure there are similar stories for the others too. Let's take Ellison's Government project called "Oracle" that the Govt. never used - looks very suspicious and we know very little about how exactly this turned into a private company. I don't believe in their cheesy "self-made" stories with $1000 put into the company that eventually turns into a multi-billion corporation. That's just impossible.

muhfuhkuh 16y ago
It is? Well then what the hell are we doing wasting our time on this damn board, then? We should be looking into Build-a-Bear and 10-minute oil change franchises. I guess Sam's 5&10 shop was just as much BS as Betty Crocker, too. I noticed you left out Dell's story. Did his orthodontist dad brace up all the kids in his hometown to afford the million to put down on Michael's computer-makin' biz? Sometimes a businessman starts out with squat. If there is no "there" there, then what are we doing here?
pg 16y ago
The DOS deal was not the beginning of Microsoft. It was already a well-established company.

starkfist 16y ago

To be a world class investor you need to start out with a huge bankroll. Horatio Alger stories are more prevalent with entrepreneurs. However, the list you gave doesn't really match up with your description. None of those people are "immigrants," Li Ka-Shing was from a wealthy family, Dell was the son of a stockbroker and orthodontist, etc.

jakarta 16y ago
I have a number of friends who started funds straight out of college. In almost all of these cases, these friends had been able to get in touch with wealthier, more established fund managers early on via the internet and have gotten their help with raising capital. So this wasn't a case of rich kids getting bankrolled by their parents. These guys don't come from money. One started out with $2M in AUM in NYC, lives with two roommates, eats tuna fish every day, and has no entertainment budget. He doesn't go out to bars but spends his time at the library, museum, parks, etc -- free stuff. But, that is the kind of sacrifice that has to be made in order to make living off of a $2M fund work. In the long run it makes sense because if you put up good returns, that $2M can scale fast. Two years into it, a friend that was managing $2M is up to $50M in AUM.