Growing up I had a friend whose dad was a regular business starter. At first he had his own computer stores, which was put out of business by CompUSA, who sold

Growing up I had a friend whose dad was a regular business starter. At first he had his own computer stores, which was put out of business by CompUSA, who sold parts cheaper than he could source them. Then he started his own internet cafes, which the ubiquity of broadband put out of business. Eventually he moved onto various profitable online websites. The point is he made money every step of the way. You never heard of his companies, he never took VC, and despite starting companies at the edge of what was modern technology he never ran a "startup" by Paul Graham's definition, and he still made fuck you money.