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The Drag Coefficient Scoring System: what size startup is right for you
- cperciva 16y agoBased on people I've seen, I'd replace "1 point for every 5 years after the age of 20" with "1 point for every 3 years in full-time employment". I think a 25 year old newly minted graduate who is used to living a "student lifestyle" has far less drag than a 23 year old who has spent the last 3 years working full-time and enjoying money.
- amirmc 16y agoAgreed. I'd be more specific and say 'full time work as an (non-startup) employee'. It's easy to get used to structured work environments where lots of things are taken care of for you (not just the money). However, full-time work spent as a freelancer or self-employed would probably have less drag associated with it.
- Jun8 16y agoI don't get why drag is so proportional to age. Yes, older people have more drag (family, mortgage, etc.) but these factors are already accounted for. I am 40, so get a drag factor of 4 points right there, but do not own a home. Why should I get more drag than the 25 year-old mentioned in the article with a mortgage?
- access_denied 16y agoBecause you know what could get wrong.
- prodigal_erik 16y agoI'm also pushing 40, and part of my hesitation is the opportunity cost. Will I seriously regret foregoing a year of market rate salary during my peak earning years, when I only recently got a clue and started saving? I'm also less blasé about doing without group health insurance than I used to be, just from watching people age (and CORBA only lasts so long).
- staunch 16y agoHow about 1 point for every 50k you've made in salary so far.
- smithbits 16y agoI'd subtract two points for every startup you've already worked in, especially the failed ones. Every time you do a startup it does get easier. I've met a few people in Silicon Valley who were shoulder deep in their thirties, with kids, and working at their fourth or fifth startup.
- JoeAltmaier 16y agoThen I come out negative!
- MicahWedemeyer 16y agoNice to know that age and experience count against you, as does the potential 2nd income that a spouse brings in.
- dhimes 16y agoI score an 11. Damn.
- kirpekar 16y agoSubtract 5 points if you studied fluid mechanics and know what a drag coefficient really is.
- johnrob 16y agoIf you have a spouse (+1), subtract two points if she has a good enough job to support both of you.
- jtbigwoo 16y agoThe trouble with a spouse is the amount of time and attention he/she takes up in your life. If your spouse is ok with not seeing you for long stretches then I agree with you. If he/she demands a lot of quality and family time, then +1 is perfectly appropriate.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- brk 16y agoIt's deeper than that. Taking time off, clearing your head, and enjoying other parts of life can allow your mind to relax and will often lead to better overall productivity. Everybody has this idea that for a startup to be successful EVERYBODY must be thinking/working only on that business for the 4 hours a day that they are not asleep. I do not believe that argument.
- spydez 16y agoHe forgot at least one... In my case: Medical Issues: +1 to +inf points, depending. i.e., I have migraines, 5+ docs to see about them, lots of pills and meds to buy, etc. Definitely getting good use out of my megacorp insurance plan & psuedo-unlimited sick leave. Ignoring the migraines, I only have 1 point in his system, but there's no way I could do a startup right now... I had more sick hours than work hours last week.
- jtbigwoo 16y agoA few more revisions: First kid: +2 Each additional kid after the first: +1 Single parent with weekday custody: +10
- cedsav 16y agoFor what it's worth, I had a 'drag' score of 7 when I founded my startup. Without a wife and a child to motivate me to try harder, and without 10+ years of experience in technology, I would never have been able to accomplish half of what I've done.
- atiw 16y agoInteresting. I would like to know more about your accomplishments. I am pretty sure others here would agree. It's not every day that we find successful examples,and the general consensus has been that people over 40 are "not stupid enough". You can be a role model for us. At least to immigrants, it should be pretty comforting, considering the fact that it takes almost 10 years fo asians (esp Chinese and Indians, I am not sure what the numbers are like for others.) before they get a green card, and are free enough to move from one company/ city to another, without risking getting deported from US. I am 26, and my professor was quite clear. He said you have maybe a couple of years when you can take all the risks and pursue your startup dream. (Yes, my score is 1 and I am still close to failing. How about that...) Would really appreciate sharing your accomplishments to inspire and give hope to people, telling youngsters they have more time than they think they do, and more experienced ones the push they might need to make that jump.
- cedsav 16y agoI started my business on my own (and that's one of the downside of starting late, none of my friends where up for this kind of adventure, plus I'm an expat, so the people I knew and trusted best were 4k miles away), so I did everything myself: web development, graphic design, business, legal stuff, etc.. I'm by no mean an expert in any of these domains, but it's all stuff I've done at one point or another in my career. I build the thing, got customers, and was lucky enough to find a few good people to help me run this thing. If you're going to wait before going on your own, just make sure you get the most out of your job. Avoid boring and routine stuff, venture out of your comfort zone, learn skills beyond your own specialty.
- atiw 16y ago
- skmurphy 16y agoThere is a second peak of entrepreneurship for folks in their 40's that this does not model accurately at all. Supportive spouse is a plus. Deep domain knowledge and rich social networks are both a plus that come with age and work experience. I agree with his advice to the newly minted MBA but I think his rules of thumb break down for older entrepreneurs.
- ww520 16y agoThis formula is for someone who has relatively little money. Don't discount the impact of built-up netegg or trust fund baby. People who have money don't have the financial pressure to hold a job and can pursue things interested them, like starting a company. And older people who have done well tend to have a large netegg to enable them to strike out, which explain the surge of entrepreneurship in 40's. The formula is simple: incomings - expenses = netflow; if netflow > 0, you are good to go, else if netegg/netflow > years-of-comfortable-living, you are good to go; otherwise get a job.
- atiw 16y agoScore 1, Still feel like I am close to failing. I hope I was in CA, but then again, my problem was so peculiar, and so tough ( NP-Complete), it will probably take more time to build than it might require doing other parts of business. I certainly hope so. That making it work will pay off eventually. I like to compare myself to Google guys. Only in that they tok close to three years before the search engine was good enough to take investments. Of course, I think they were smarter, so does that give me more years to work on. I hope not.. :)
- alttab 16y agoThere's something about this approach I don't want to grok. This would mean that if you are young with little experience, you live in an apartment and you're alone - you should be a founder, not a part of the "hiring wave" for a more mature start up. This also means that a more experienced, successful, and wealthy man with a small family may too be old or have too many children to start his own company. Logic should suggest that its the perfect time, when you have 25 years of experience under your belt. Personally, there should only be two real indicators of any size start up you take: 1) what do you feel you are capable of and 2) how far you are willing to go (whatever your priorities may be).
- brk 16y agoI have to say, this is utter garbage. Or, it's an interesting concept poorly thought out and implemented. You get "a point" for having a significant other or a serious relationship? Well, what if your significant other (like my wife) is a very smart person you can bounce ideas off of, and makes enough money on their own to pay all your basic bills and living expenses (also canceling out your +1 for a mortgage drag point)? And you get 1 point for every 5 years after 20? Maybe make 30 the baseline there, but really that whole calculation is just off. When I'm hiring someone at a startup I tend to cringe at the 25-and-under crowd with startup stars in their eyes and no experience. THEY are drag on the organization because the majority of them don't know how to work independently and don't know what the company is supposed to look like in 5 years, so they lack a lot of vision and understanding (sorry if this offends anyone reading this, but I've always advocated that people get some real-company experience BEFORE joining a startup). I can see how the kids thing might cramp things a bit (in theory I guess, I don't have any kids, so no real experience there). I also wouldn't recommend that someone rush into their next venture after something else winds down or blows up (as the author of this article did). That seems like a great formula for making poor decisions, fighting some invisible ticking clock. Ugh. I hope nobody actually takes this article too much to heart.
- swombat 16y agoSo how does the "5 points for every 5 years above 20" stack up against the fact that most successful founders are in their 30s? Seems like a 20-year-old's idealised conceptions of founding start-ups.