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OP lived in eleven countries, worked at ten companies, knows companies in and out and the signs when it's time to jump ship. Why do such people with that vast

OP lived in eleven countries, worked at ten companies, knows companies in and out and the signs when it's time to jump ship. Why do such people with that vast experience always stay employed, keep critisizing but never start their own company and show us how to run a business the right way?

codingdave 9y ago
Not everyone has the personality to start a company, or be the CEO. I've certainly had the experience to do so as well, but I really do like to be the #2 guy in the background, not the #1 guy out in public. And I know that about myself, so I seek out leaders to follow instead of starting my own thing.
- ryandrake 9y ago
  Not to mention not everyone has the capital or viable business idea either. Ive always found the “just start a company” thing to be simplistic and loaded with assumptions.
  - thinbeige 9y ago
    You don't need own capital to start a company. It sounds harder without capital but actually it is easier. The less capital you have the more creative you get and the better you business model will be. And if you still need money there are tons of investors out there. Getting their funds is not easy but having no capital shouldn't be an excuse to not start a business.
    - eropple 9y ago
      > You don't need own capital to start a company. This is fairly privileged silliness. That capital is how you pay rent and feed yourself and your family while you actually build a business. Those of us (and I am one) who are able to safely and effectively live off of savings to build a business are the vanishing exception, not the rule, in America. The next person who says "just work nights and weekends" is telegraphing how richly they morally deserve one upside. "Burn everything else in your life to probably still fail at building a company" is gross, nasty advice. And, coupled with the continual throwing out of any temperament filter with regards to whether one should create a business--at best it is a failure of compassion and empathy.
- thinbeige 9y ago
  Yes and what I was implying is: It's easy but probably wrong to critisize coming from one side when never faced the other side. It's not easy to be employed but running a company isn't easier, rather the opposite. Such posts like OP's just focus on one side only and create a very opportunistic mindset where one is good and the other is bad. I know business is most of the times an opportunistic game but I encountered often enough situations where people and companies didn't act 100% opportunistic. And you remember and recommend those people or companies.
  - codingdave 9y ago
    I didn't take this article as criticism, I took it as self-evaluation of when to leave. So it doesn't seem wrong to me. Employees leaving is just one of the risks a CEO takes on as part of their job. Their role is responsible for building a good place to work, and if they fail at that task, people leave, the company fails, and they don't take home a payout. On the other hand if they succeed, they enjoy greater financial success than the employees. So this article is not unfair criticism from the employee, is is just a manifestation of how risk/rewards balances play out.
Cederfjard 9y ago
Reexamine the very same sentence in the opening paragraph that you obviously read: >As someone who’s lived in 11 countries, worked in 10+ different companies and started a few others over the last 20 years I know the feeling all too well.
whipoodle 9y ago
Maybe they know that starting your own business means trading 1 boss for n bosses.
madmork 9y ago
Fair question man. TBH I have started two. They both cratered. Learned a lot and working on #3. It's fing hard ;)

codingdave 9y ago

Not everyone has the personality to start a company, or be the CEO. I've certainly had the experience to do so as well, but I really do like to be the #2 guy in the background, not the #1 guy out in public. And I know that about myself, so I seek out leaders to follow instead of starting my own thing.

ryandrake 9y ago
Not to mention not everyone has the capital or viable business idea either. Ive always found the “just start a company” thing to be simplistic and loaded with assumptions.
- thinbeige 9y ago
  You don't need own capital to start a company. It sounds harder without capital but actually it is easier. The less capital you have the more creative you get and the better you business model will be. And if you still need money there are tons of investors out there. Getting their funds is not easy but having no capital shouldn't be an excuse to not start a business.
  - eropple 9y ago
    > You don't need own capital to start a company. This is fairly privileged silliness. That capital is how you pay rent and feed yourself and your family while you actually build a business. Those of us (and I am one) who are able to safely and effectively live off of savings to build a business are the vanishing exception, not the rule, in America. The next person who says "just work nights and weekends" is telegraphing how richly they morally deserve one upside. "Burn everything else in your life to probably still fail at building a company" is gross, nasty advice. And, coupled with the continual throwing out of any temperament filter with regards to whether one should create a business--at best it is a failure of compassion and empathy.
thinbeige 9y ago
Yes and what I was implying is: It's easy but probably wrong to critisize coming from one side when never faced the other side. It's not easy to be employed but running a company isn't easier, rather the opposite. Such posts like OP's just focus on one side only and create a very opportunistic mindset where one is good and the other is bad. I know business is most of the times an opportunistic game but I encountered often enough situations where people and companies didn't act 100% opportunistic. And you remember and recommend those people or companies.
- codingdave 9y ago
  I didn't take this article as criticism, I took it as self-evaluation of when to leave. So it doesn't seem wrong to me. Employees leaving is just one of the risks a CEO takes on as part of their job. Their role is responsible for building a good place to work, and if they fail at that task, people leave, the company fails, and they don't take home a payout. On the other hand if they succeed, they enjoy greater financial success than the employees. So this article is not unfair criticism from the employee, is is just a manifestation of how risk/rewards balances play out.

Cederfjard 9y ago

Reexamine the very same sentence in the opening paragraph that you obviously read: >As someone who’s lived in 11 countries, worked in 10+ different companies and started a few others over the last 20 years I know the feeling all too well.

whipoodle 9y ago

Maybe they know that starting your own business means trading 1 boss for n bosses.

madmork 9y ago

Fair question man. TBH I have started two. They both cratered. Learned a lot and working on #3. It's fing hard ;)