4 ms·

I'd be curious who actually gets taken by scams like this. I know 2 kinds of people who own businesses, those who worked their butts off for years building the

by edw519 16y ago

I'd be curious who actually gets taken by scams like this. I know 2 kinds of people who own businesses, those who worked their butts off for years building them themselves and those who inherited them from their parents. I've noticed a disproportionate number of the inheritors who have taken family money that took 40 years to amass and have lost it in a year or two. Founders and builders that I know seem to be much more wary of "get rich" scams. They know what it takes to be successful; they've already done it themselves. Ryan, I'm guessing that you questioned this because you built your own. But would you have been more receptive if you had inherited Daddy's business and wanted out to "live the good life"? Just wondering.

ryanwaggoner 16y ago
Ryan, I'm guessing that you questioned this because you built your own. But would you have been more receptive if you had inherited Daddy's business and wanted out to "live the good life"? Just wondering. If only I had the chance to find out :)
maxawaytoolong 16y ago
Entrepreneurs of all stripes can get taken by scams like this. Often times they are not "scams" per se, just very overpriced services. Like agile programmering groups charging $200/hr and delivering worse code than the in-house teams. I've worked for four boot-strapped-then-venture-funded startups and ALL of the founders at these startups have fallen for something like this at one point. It's pretty easy to fall for this. Startups are very frustrating and stressful, so when your in-house guys are telling you it's going to take 4 months to do something and some external guys are telling you it's only going to take them 1, you WANT to believe the external guys. And hey, they have the balls to ask for $200/hr, so they must be able to pull it off, right? There are also legitimate scams, like life coaching or various overpriced seminars or "consulting" from "strategists." I won't comment on these as there seems to be a strong internet entrepreneurial contingent who thinks this stuff is very valuable. I'm also pretty sure my founder friends who have paid out the nose for stuff like this would claim it was worth the money, so I don't really know what to say, here.
- ahoyhere 16y ago
  Are you really saying that all coaching/life coaching is a scam?
  - maxawaytoolong 16y ago
    No, if you include actual sports coaches. But life coaches, yes.
    - ahoyhere 16y ago
      How on earth do you figure? That's the exact equivalent of saying "All advice is bullshit, especially advice you pay for." And, "If you've ever read it, then having somebody tell it to you is a waste of time."
      - maxawaytoolong 16y ago
        It's not like saying either one of those things. This is a topic that is close to home. A good friend of mine turned evil one day and became a "Life Coach" simply because he wasn't making enough money in his career, and thought it would be an easy way to fleece the types of mid-range executive type people he was exposed to all the time as a "sales engineer." Why bother getting a paltry commission on some software you don't really care about, when you can charge the same person $500/hr for some bullshit unlicensed therapy? Or $5000 a head per seminar? Or $150 for some stupid mp3s? Or $75 for a PDF file? ETC, ETC. Read the Mystic Masseuse by V.S. Naipaul, it's the same idea, only 50 years in the past. In fact the idea came to him FROM reading this book. And you know what, he was RIGHT. He makes LOADS of money now. It's a bit disturbing. There are wonderful therapists and rabbis and priests and friends and grandparents, but life coaching is a scam, pure and simple. I actually don't know what to think about this, because I think the people who are buying his services believe they are getting something important out of it. So in that situation, it's good, right? But he went into it just to take their money. This is the last thing I will post about this topic.
        16y ago
slantyyz 16y ago
Well, this is just like those casting call businesses that say they'll get you acting/extra/model work. Of course, you've got to pay them a big fee for representation and and overpriced head shot... You tend to get less than you put in.

by edw519 16y ago

ryanwaggoner 16y ago

Ryan, I'm guessing that you questioned this because you built your own. But would you have been more receptive if you had inherited Daddy's business and wanted out to "live the good life"? Just wondering. If only I had the chance to find out :)

maxawaytoolong 16y ago

Entrepreneurs of all stripes can get taken by scams like this. Often times they are not "scams" per se, just very overpriced services. Like agile programmering groups charging $200/hr and delivering worse code than the in-house teams. I've worked for four boot-strapped-then-venture-funded startups and ALL of the founders at these startups have fallen for something like this at one point. It's pretty easy to fall for this. Startups are very frustrating and stressful, so when your in-house guys are telling you it's going to take 4 months to do something and some external guys are telling you it's only going to take them 1, you WANT to believe the external guys. And hey, they have the balls to ask for $200/hr, so they must be able to pull it off, right? There are also legitimate scams, like life coaching or various overpriced seminars or "consulting" from "strategists." I won't comment on these as there seems to be a strong internet entrepreneurial contingent who thinks this stuff is very valuable. I'm also pretty sure my founder friends who have paid out the nose for stuff like this would claim it was worth the money, so I don't really know what to say, here.

ahoyhere 16y ago
Are you really saying that all coaching/life coaching is a scam?
- maxawaytoolong 16y ago
  No, if you include actual sports coaches. But life coaches, yes.
  - ahoyhere 16y ago
    How on earth do you figure? That's the exact equivalent of saying "All advice is bullshit, especially advice you pay for." And, "If you've ever read it, then having somebody tell it to you is a waste of time."
    - maxawaytoolong 16y ago
      It's not like saying either one of those things. This is a topic that is close to home. A good friend of mine turned evil one day and became a "Life Coach" simply because he wasn't making enough money in his career, and thought it would be an easy way to fleece the types of mid-range executive type people he was exposed to all the time as a "sales engineer." Why bother getting a paltry commission on some software you don't really care about, when you can charge the same person $500/hr for some bullshit unlicensed therapy? Or $5000 a head per seminar? Or $150 for some stupid mp3s? Or $75 for a PDF file? ETC, ETC. Read the Mystic Masseuse by V.S. Naipaul, it's the same idea, only 50 years in the past. In fact the idea came to him FROM reading this book. And you know what, he was RIGHT. He makes LOADS of money now. It's a bit disturbing. There are wonderful therapists and rabbis and priests and friends and grandparents, but life coaching is a scam, pure and simple. I actually don't know what to think about this, because I think the people who are buying his services believe they are getting something important out of it. So in that situation, it's good, right? But he went into it just to take their money. This is the last thing I will post about this topic.
      - 16y ago

slantyyz 16y ago

Well, this is just like those casting call businesses that say they'll get you acting/extra/model work. Of course, you've got to pay them a big fee for representation and and overpriced head shot... You tend to get less than you put in.