4 ms·

This strikes me as a very good thing. Yes, many of them will fail but they'll learn a huge amount in the process and make themselves more employable at the end

by d4nt 16y ago

This strikes me as a very good thing. Yes, many of them will fail but they'll learn a huge amount in the process and make themselves more employable at the end of it all. Others will succeed of course. Meanwhile, the state isn't so many economically inactive people.

JoachimSchipper 16y ago
With respect to "more employable", consider http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1287110 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1287110 and similar screeds against people not holding long-term steady jobs. It's better than being unemployed, but may still "count against" people in the future. (Note that this does not mean I agree with such assessments, and also note that there is a difference between a startup and hand-to-mouth freelancing.) EDIT: The second paragraph previously just said "It's better than being unemployed, but not all that much." Replaced with the above.
- robryan 16y ago
  Depends on industry I guess, if a company didn't want to hire me because I'd spent a couple of years founding (and programming) a startup then I wouldn't want to work there. I think one of the great things about programming is that there is always a way to make a living. Can always start a startup or freelance.
  - timwiseman 16y ago
    I agree with what you are saying. Someone who spent years trying to build a real startup and working hard at it would likely make a fine employee if they failed (and have no need to work if they didn't want to if they succeeded in a big way). But that is not what this article is about. Most the entrepreneurs they are talking about are not startup founders in the sense you mean. They are not trying to build the next big thing. They are instead working as individual contractors at poor pay (compared to what they had before at least) soley because they cannot get full time work. While I do not necessarily think this should be held against them, especially not with the way the global economy has been lately, this is still a very different situation than being a startup founder trying to build something brand new.
- loewenskind 16y ago
  Actually the reason this "screed" is news is because it was so thouroughly rebutted. "Steady long-term jobs" is something for our fathers. We're all capitalists now.
JoeAltmaier 16y ago
Well, some in the 55-65 age range didn't expect to be in this position. "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"

by d4nt 16y ago

JoachimSchipper 16y ago

With respect to "more employable", consider http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1287110 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1287110 and similar screeds against people not holding long-term steady jobs. It's better than being unemployed, but may still "count against" people in the future. (Note that this does not mean I agree with such assessments, and also note that there is a difference between a startup and hand-to-mouth freelancing.) EDIT: The second paragraph previously just said "It's better than being unemployed, but not all that much." Replaced with the above.

robryan 16y ago
Depends on industry I guess, if a company didn't want to hire me because I'd spent a couple of years founding (and programming) a startup then I wouldn't want to work there. I think one of the great things about programming is that there is always a way to make a living. Can always start a startup or freelance.
- timwiseman 16y ago
  I agree with what you are saying. Someone who spent years trying to build a real startup and working hard at it would likely make a fine employee if they failed (and have no need to work if they didn't want to if they succeeded in a big way). But that is not what this article is about. Most the entrepreneurs they are talking about are not startup founders in the sense you mean. They are not trying to build the next big thing. They are instead working as individual contractors at poor pay (compared to what they had before at least) soley because they cannot get full time work. While I do not necessarily think this should be held against them, especially not with the way the global economy has been lately, this is still a very different situation than being a startup founder trying to build something brand new.
loewenskind 16y ago
Actually the reason this "screed" is news is because it was so thouroughly rebutted. "Steady long-term jobs" is something for our fathers. We're all capitalists now.

JoeAltmaier 16y ago

Well, some in the 55-65 age range didn't expect to be in this position. "Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?"