3 ms·

> some left their corporate job and are mindlessly trying to be entrepreneurs "mindlessly"? What are they missing? I'm curious, because this is a path that ha

> some left their corporate job and are mindlessly trying to be entrepreneurs "mindlessly"? What are they missing? I'm curious, because this is a path that has always appealed to me, but that I didn't take in my twenties or early thirties. I hope to be in a position to be able to do it in my late thirties, but am not committed to the idea.

chatmasta 9y ago
To be clear, I don’t mean to apply that sentiment to every ex-BigCo entrepreneur. Of course many are successful. However, in my experience the skillset that makes a good $BigCo employee is often distinct from, or even mutually incompatible with, the skillset that makes a good entrepreneur. Since ex-BigCo employees are likely to get funding even with very little traction (because VCs like to invest in ex-BigCo teams), those entrepreneurs are more likely to found a business that is well-funded but fundamentally doomed to fail. The founders want to feel like they’re running a business, and they go through the motions of it, despite little substance or strategy behind the product. I believe Paul Graham calls it “playing house.”
cVwEq 9y ago
This resonated with me because I was a corporate drone that left to "mindlessly" become an entrepreneur. More charitably, I believe it's being in love with the idea of being an entrepreneur but pursuing that path based on pop-culture information (think Entrepreneur magazine articles) and less on direct experience. Nonetheless, even though my business ultimately failed, I thank my lucky stars I'm not working in the cube farm anymore. On to business #2!
- ILikeConemowk 9y ago
  >Nonetheless, even though my business ultimately failed, I thank my lucky stars I'm not working in the cube farm anymore. On to business #2! Mind sharing the story of your first business and what you're working on now?

3 ms·

> some left their corporate job and are mindlessly trying to be entrepreneurs "mindlessly"? What are they missing? I'm curious, because this is a path that ha

by LyndsySimon 9y ago

chatmasta 9y ago
To be clear, I don’t mean to apply that sentiment to every ex-BigCo entrepreneur. Of course many are successful. However, in my experience the skillset that makes a good $BigCo employee is often distinct from, or even mutually incompatible with, the skillset that makes a good entrepreneur. Since ex-BigCo employees are likely to get funding even with very little traction (because VCs like to invest in ex-BigCo teams), those entrepreneurs are more likely to found a business that is well-funded but fundamentally doomed to fail. The founders want to feel like they’re running a business, and they go through the motions of it, despite little substance or strategy behind the product. I believe Paul Graham calls it “playing house.”
cVwEq 9y ago
This resonated with me because I was a corporate drone that left to "mindlessly" become an entrepreneur. More charitably, I believe it's being in love with the idea of being an entrepreneur but pursuing that path based on pop-culture information (think Entrepreneur magazine articles) and less on direct experience. Nonetheless, even though my business ultimately failed, I thank my lucky stars I'm not working in the cube farm anymore. On to business #2!
- ILikeConemowk 9y ago
  >Nonetheless, even though my business ultimately failed, I thank my lucky stars I'm not working in the cube farm anymore. On to business #2! Mind sharing the story of your first business and what you're working on now?