4 ms·

I’m fed up of these “dog learns to speak” miracle stories when it comes to startups. No wonder it’s a dysfunctional society if it selects for the most lunatics

by eecc 9y ago

I’m fed up of these “dog learns to speak” miracle stories when it comes to startups. No wonder it’s a dysfunctional society if it selects for the most lunatics when it comes to change-makers. Another rich weirdo on Twitter is complaining about people not “compelled enough” to quit their day job to work on their startup (in USA, which means no more health insurance for you and your family, if you have one.) What kind of crazy, self harming culture is this? It’s not even Darwinian when it suggests to take huge disastrous gambles to chase rare unicorns! I tell you, it’s this shit that’s holding back humanity. How many are just locked back into uncomfortable routines because of this barrier? Is it perhaps the signature of a conservative society, when change requires grotesque sacrifice stories and is controlled by a small elite of gatekeepers?

jlebrech 9y ago
the most successful startups (in term of numbers that don't fail) are those where you sack your boss and do a better job, not where you create a new industry or disrupt markets.
- jcadam 9y ago
  That's why your boss makes you sign a non-compete, specifically banning you from starting a competing business :)
  - jlebrech 9y ago
    when the boss knows what he's doing :)
cheriot 9y ago
The guy is a doctor enrolled in YC. I doubt he'll end up on the street if his startup fails. A large part of other founders are engineers that can walk into a six figure job on relatively little notice. For all the talk of risking everything, most founders risk time and foregone salary, but not their future. If microsoft had failed, Bill Gates would have re-enrolled at Harvard and graduated a little late. Your average Joe or Jane that dreams of owning a coffee shop and has to put up their own capital is another story.
- enraged_camel 9y ago
  >>For all the talk of risking everything, most founders risk time and foregone salary, but not their future. Not always true. Missed salaries (and therefore savings) early in life translate to massive losses later when you take into account lost compound interest over 30+ years. The other thing is that working insane hours to get a startup off the ground can cause depression, burnout, a host of health problems, etc. Some people never recover from these regardless of their credentials or any additional opportunities they come across.
- Xylakant 9y ago
  You’re inadvertently making the parents posters point. The reason why most founders stem from a demographic that allows them to either find a solid paying job or fall back on (parents, spouses, ...) financial support is that he current way of doing startups selects harshly for exactly this. No one else can afford that risk and gamble. If you’re single, your startup fails and you have to move in to your parents place for a while, that’s tough luck. If you have a family, a few kids and maybe parents that rely on your financial support, a single dry month without income may spell disaster. The current way of doing things self-selects for types willing to put in crazy hours and with access to money.
  - samolang 9y ago
    > The current way of doing things Is there a realistic alternative? Sure, universal basic income eventually, but that's not practical at the moment.
    - eni 9y ago
      Is there a realistic alternative? I read a lot on entrepreneurship during 19th century and early 20th century US. My limited understanding: in those days entrepreneurs came from much wider range of demographics. In other words, entry barriers were much less during those days.
      - samolang 9y ago
jcadam 9y ago
I'm at the point with my side project where there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything that needs doing. I work 9 hours a day, then come home and have a long list of product development and hamfisted marketing tasks, which I can never get done. Early on, when it was all just code, my spare time was enough. Now, I would seriously quit the day job if I could (still at $0 Revenue after 6 weeks of being up and running - trying to get the word out, but it's harder to get noticed on the internet than it used to be), but I have a family (who needs health insurance). So, I'll keep sacrificing sleep.

by eecc 9y ago

jlebrech 9y ago

the most successful startups (in term of numbers that don't fail) are those where you sack your boss and do a better job, not where you create a new industry or disrupt markets.

jcadam 9y ago
That's why your boss makes you sign a non-compete, specifically banning you from starting a competing business :)
- jlebrech 9y ago
  when the boss knows what he's doing :)

cheriot 9y ago

The guy is a doctor enrolled in YC. I doubt he'll end up on the street if his startup fails. A large part of other founders are engineers that can walk into a six figure job on relatively little notice. For all the talk of risking everything, most founders risk time and foregone salary, but not their future. If microsoft had failed, Bill Gates would have re-enrolled at Harvard and graduated a little late. Your average Joe or Jane that dreams of owning a coffee shop and has to put up their own capital is another story.

enraged_camel 9y ago
>>For all the talk of risking everything, most founders risk time and foregone salary, but not their future. Not always true. Missed salaries (and therefore savings) early in life translate to massive losses later when you take into account lost compound interest over 30+ years. The other thing is that working insane hours to get a startup off the ground can cause depression, burnout, a host of health problems, etc. Some people never recover from these regardless of their credentials or any additional opportunities they come across.
Xylakant 9y ago
You’re inadvertently making the parents posters point. The reason why most founders stem from a demographic that allows them to either find a solid paying job or fall back on (parents, spouses, ...) financial support is that he current way of doing startups selects harshly for exactly this. No one else can afford that risk and gamble. If you’re single, your startup fails and you have to move in to your parents place for a while, that’s tough luck. If you have a family, a few kids and maybe parents that rely on your financial support, a single dry month without income may spell disaster. The current way of doing things self-selects for types willing to put in crazy hours and with access to money.
- samolang 9y ago
  > The current way of doing things Is there a realistic alternative? Sure, universal basic income eventually, but that's not practical at the moment.
  - eni 9y ago
    Is there a realistic alternative? I read a lot on entrepreneurship during 19th century and early 20th century US. My limited understanding: in those days entrepreneurs came from much wider range of demographics. In other words, entry barriers were much less during those days.
    - samolang 9y ago

jcadam 9y ago

I'm at the point with my side project where there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything that needs doing. I work 9 hours a day, then come home and have a long list of product development and hamfisted marketing tasks, which I can never get done. Early on, when it was all just code, my spare time was enough. Now, I would seriously quit the day job if I could (still at $0 Revenue after 6 weeks of being up and running - trying to get the word out, but it's harder to get noticed on the internet than it used to be), but I have a family (who needs health insurance). So, I'll keep sacrificing sleep.