4 ms·

While this idea will make for a good story, don't do it. Your job is to take calculated risks with money, not light it on fire.

by ryanto 16y ago

malandrew 16y ago
Again, I admit it's a crazy idea. However, taking money from a good friend or family carries with it a risk far greater than losing $100k. It carries with it the risk of losing a friend or family member in the case your startup fails and you lose their money. This idea is not one to make a good story. In fact, getting a good story out of it is incidental and that can be used in the future to generate pageviews and attention (it meets the criteria for being a "sticky" idea). The objective of this is to create a simple experiment that may possibly give you insight into whether or you may destroy your relationship with your friend or father in the case you fail and lose all $100k. Again, I don't know if this idea will even work, but it seems like it could provide insight and another piece of information to draw open to make a decision on whether or not to take their money. I would also venture that after this incident, they would withdraw their offer if they are the type that can't handle losing money. In other words it may serve to help both sides decide. It may help him decide whether he wants to take the money from his friend/father. It may also help his friend or father decide if they are really willing to put $100k in the hands of someone who would burn a $100 bill for any reason. To be an entrepreneur you need to be a little bit crazy. I think that's why my suggestion got many more upvotes than I anticipated. HN is full of entrepreneurs that are a little bit crazy at the core. Sane people don't make good entrepreneurs. If a startup founder isn't capable of taking a $100 risk like this to test an idea, would he be crazy enough to spend $10,000 on a crazy idea with lots of both risk and reward potential just to get user adoption? Here's an NY Times article on the subject: "Just Manic Enough: Seeking Perfect Entrepreneurs" http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/business/19entre.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/business/19entre.html

While this idea will make for a good story, don't do it. Your job is to take calculated risks with money, not light it on fire.

by ryanto 16y ago

While this idea will make for a good story, don't do it. Your job is to take calculated risks with money, not light it on fire.

malandrew 16y ago

Again, I admit it's a crazy idea. However, taking money from a good friend or family carries with it a risk far greater than losing $100k. It carries with it the risk of losing a friend or family member in the case your startup fails and you lose their money. This idea is not one to make a good story. In fact, getting a good story out of it is incidental and that can be used in the future to generate pageviews and attention (it meets the criteria for being a "sticky" idea). The objective of this is to create a simple experiment that may possibly give you insight into whether or you may destroy your relationship with your friend or father in the case you fail and lose all $100k. Again, I don't know if this idea will even work, but it seems like it could provide insight and another piece of information to draw open to make a decision on whether or not to take their money. I would also venture that after this incident, they would withdraw their offer if they are the type that can't handle losing money. In other words it may serve to help both sides decide. It may help him decide whether he wants to take the money from his friend/father. It may also help his friend or father decide if they are really willing to put $100k in the hands of someone who would burn a $100 bill for any reason. To be an entrepreneur you need to be a little bit crazy. I think that's why my suggestion got many more upvotes than I anticipated. HN is full of entrepreneurs that are a little bit crazy at the core. Sane people don't make good entrepreneurs. If a startup founder isn't capable of taking a $100 risk like this to test an idea, would he be crazy enough to spend $10,000 on a crazy idea with lots of both risk and reward potential just to get user adoption? Here's an NY Times article on the subject: "Just Manic Enough: Seeking Perfect Entrepreneurs" http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/business/19entre.html http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/business/19entre.html