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Does anyone else think it's a bit funny to see an MMM interview on YC? Through their investments, YC seems quite pro-consumerism. Consumerism is the antithesis

Does anyone else think it's a bit funny to see an MMM interview on YC? Through their investments, YC seems quite pro-consumerism. Consumerism is the antithesis of being mustachian. It's always kind of bothered me that HN (and YC) seems to encourage conspicuous consumption.

jacquesm 9y ago
Where do HN and YC encourage conspicuous consumption? Does ramen profitable somehow equate conspicuous consumption?
- brndnmtthws 9y ago
  A significant number of YC's alumnus look like Juiceros to me. Building products nobody needs because they think there's enough stupid people to create a market. Slap together some glossy marketing materials, and now you've got a premium product ready to change the world. Frankly, most people don't need to be constantly buying new things. They should be buying less, fixing what they've got, saving more, going outside and getting exercise.
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    YC alumnus != YC. Huge difference there. Agreed on the 'changing the world' bs, though there are some that genuinely seem to have that goal (Watsi, for instance). And yes, people usually do not need all that they are buying but then again, it keeps the economy going, I'm having a hard time imagining a world where everybody behaves like MMM does, it would not scale.
loeg 9y ago
Also, startups are kind of the antithesis of early retirement.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  The few people I know that actually managed to get into early retirement (below 35) were the ones that founded very successful start-ups.
  - loeg 9y ago
    Sure, I should have been more specific. Non-founder startup employment is the antithesis of early retirement. https://danluu.com/startup-tradeoffs/ https://danluu.com/startup-tradeoffs/ And in spite of your personal anecdote, after 13-14 years (35-22) at a BigCo it is certainly possible for anyone who could have founded a successful startup to gross enough money to retire.
wojt_eu 9y ago
I don't see that much of consumerism advocacy here. Quite the contrary - being frugal to extend runway, achieving ramen profitability etc. Also with rampant ageism in tech you do need to retire before 40 /s
- brndnmtthws 9y ago
  A good example of what I'm talking about can be found in the thread here about Citibikes in NYC: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15338098 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15338098 A lot of people seem to have an incredible resistance to the idea of riding a bike in NYC based on pure nonsense. Biking is safe, fast, and cheap. We don't need self-driving cars, we need investment in walking, biking, and public transit infrastructure.
craigcannon 9y ago
Yeah, I think on the surface it could seem contradictory. MMM does advocate frugality but he also advocates spending money on things that increase happiness and don't hurt the environment. I'd say many (though obviously not all) YC companies actually do check that box.
pdog 9y ago
Technically, YC is selling consumerism if they invest in startups that encourage conspicuous consumption. If you're selling consumerism and buying mustachianism, it means you think the former is overpriced.
- brndnmtthws 9y ago
  +5 Insightful.

jacquesm 9y ago

Where do HN and YC encourage conspicuous consumption? Does ramen profitable somehow equate conspicuous consumption?

brndnmtthws 9y ago
A significant number of YC's alumnus look like Juiceros to me. Building products nobody needs because they think there's enough stupid people to create a market. Slap together some glossy marketing materials, and now you've got a premium product ready to change the world. Frankly, most people don't need to be constantly buying new things. They should be buying less, fixing what they've got, saving more, going outside and getting exercise.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  YC alumnus != YC. Huge difference there. Agreed on the 'changing the world' bs, though there are some that genuinely seem to have that goal (Watsi, for instance). And yes, people usually do not need all that they are buying but then again, it keeps the economy going, I'm having a hard time imagining a world where everybody behaves like MMM does, it would not scale.

loeg 9y ago

Also, startups are kind of the antithesis of early retirement.

jacquesm 9y ago
The few people I know that actually managed to get into early retirement (below 35) were the ones that founded very successful start-ups.
- loeg 9y ago
  Sure, I should have been more specific. Non-founder startup employment is the antithesis of early retirement. https://danluu.com/startup-tradeoffs/ https://danluu.com/startup-tradeoffs/ And in spite of your personal anecdote, after 13-14 years (35-22) at a BigCo it is certainly possible for anyone who could have founded a successful startup to gross enough money to retire.

wojt_eu 9y ago

I don't see that much of consumerism advocacy here. Quite the contrary - being frugal to extend runway, achieving ramen profitability etc. Also with rampant ageism in tech you do need to retire before 40 /s

brndnmtthws 9y ago
A good example of what I'm talking about can be found in the thread here about Citibikes in NYC: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15338098 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15338098 A lot of people seem to have an incredible resistance to the idea of riding a bike in NYC based on pure nonsense. Biking is safe, fast, and cheap. We don't need self-driving cars, we need investment in walking, biking, and public transit infrastructure.

craigcannon 9y ago

Yeah, I think on the surface it could seem contradictory. MMM does advocate frugality but he also advocates spending money on things that increase happiness and don't hurt the environment. I'd say many (though obviously not all) YC companies actually do check that box.

pdog 9y ago

Technically, YC is selling consumerism if they invest in startups that encourage conspicuous consumption. If you're selling consumerism and buying mustachianism, it means you think the former is overpriced.

brndnmtthws 9y ago
+5 Insightful.