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This is the point that I'm trying to get at. For Arrington to assert that entrepreneurs are "different" because they like risk, adventure, he is claiming that t

This is the point that I'm trying to get at. For Arrington to assert that entrepreneurs are "different" because they like risk, adventure, he is claiming that they knowingly choose bad deals. He is saying that these bad deals are compensated for not by money, reward, but the thrill of doing a startup. Hmm. We get a thrill from gambling sometimes even though we know that the odds are stacked against us. Arrington is drawing the same analogy for entrepreneurs, and that's a bad analogy. It's a romantic notion, but I don't think the monetary valuation of an entrpreneurial venture is negative in the minds of entrepreneurs.

StavrosK 16y ago
"Would you rather have a $100k steady job, or a 5% chance to make $1m in a year with a startup?" -> Definitely startup, even if the expected utility is half.
- siglesias 16y ago
  Would you pay 50k to join a startup and work for free as a consultant?
  - StavrosK 16y ago
    What is this, an anchoring exercise? :P Are you asking if I would pay to work in a startup? No, I can start my own for free.
    - siglesias 16y ago
      Actually this question has large implications for pay-to-pitch, investment, incorporation fees, legal fees, and consulting services. No startup cost is zero. If there were a very large non-monetary utility gained from starting a startup from nothing, it would be interesting to see how the market has come around to charging for it.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - siglesias 16y ago
    And just so everyone knows what I mean by this, 50k is the opportunity cost of the other job that's being forfeited. This means that the "thrill" of working in a startup must be worth at least 50k.
    - dazmax 16y ago
      But part of the thrill would be the possibility of the million.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
ahoyhere 16y ago
IMO, you're right about the romanticism, but it'll be hard to tell anything from this survey because of the tendency for nerds to overthink! Tell you what: I tried to go with my gut feeling on every question. I am very risk-averse, but the idea of gaining money doesn't mean that much to me. Winning $100 vs $1000 isn't that emotional for me. Oh, sure, I'd like $1000 but I don't even care about $100. I thought about scaling the numbers up til they mattered to me, and decided I'd almost always take the sure thing because I could turn that money into a higher amount thru investing it in expanding my product. But I would gladly pay $250 instead of even a slight risk of losing $1000. (Or whatever the numbers were I've forgotten already!) IRL, I've bought a new car because I'd rather pay a couple grand more than have the uncertainty of potential repair bills, etc. Clearly I hate negative unknowns. That risk aversion has clearly influenced the type of "startup life" I've chosen. My products are "boring," but quite profitable. No funding, no 80 hour weeks, no sleeping under the desk, and no potential to be gobbled up by Google, either. Nevertheless, I find this far less risky than having a job, because nobody can fire me from my own company! Plus, I'm not miserable because people are always screwing with my work. That said, I think part of the special startup mindset is similar to the people who will bet more on dice they've rolled than dice rolled by someone else... whether a startup is acquired feels like something they can control, however irrationally. Maybe you could ask what people believe is the average chance of acquisition for a startup in general, and what they believe their chance is?

StavrosK 16y ago

"Would you rather have a $100k steady job, or a 5% chance to make $1m in a year with a startup?" -> Definitely startup, even if the expected utility is half.

siglesias 16y ago
Would you pay 50k to join a startup and work for free as a consultant?
- StavrosK 16y ago
  What is this, an anchoring exercise? :P Are you asking if I would pay to work in a startup? No, I can start my own for free.
  - siglesias 16y ago
    Actually this question has large implications for pay-to-pitch, investment, incorporation fees, legal fees, and consulting services. No startup cost is zero. If there were a very large non-monetary utility gained from starting a startup from nothing, it would be interesting to see how the market has come around to charging for it.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- siglesias 16y ago
  And just so everyone knows what I mean by this, 50k is the opportunity cost of the other job that's being forfeited. This means that the "thrill" of working in a startup must be worth at least 50k.
  - dazmax 16y ago
    But part of the thrill would be the possibility of the million.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

ahoyhere 16y ago

IMO, you're right about the romanticism, but it'll be hard to tell anything from this survey because of the tendency for nerds to overthink! Tell you what: I tried to go with my gut feeling on every question. I am very risk-averse, but the idea of gaining money doesn't mean that much to me. Winning $100 vs $1000 isn't that emotional for me. Oh, sure, I'd like $1000 but I don't even care about $100. I thought about scaling the numbers up til they mattered to me, and decided I'd almost always take the sure thing because I could turn that money into a higher amount thru investing it in expanding my product. But I would gladly pay $250 instead of even a slight risk of losing $1000. (Or whatever the numbers were I've forgotten already!) IRL, I've bought a new car because I'd rather pay a couple grand more than have the uncertainty of potential repair bills, etc. Clearly I hate negative unknowns. That risk aversion has clearly influenced the type of "startup life" I've chosen. My products are "boring," but quite profitable. No funding, no 80 hour weeks, no sleeping under the desk, and no potential to be gobbled up by Google, either. Nevertheless, I find this far less risky than having a job, because nobody can fire me from my own company! Plus, I'm not miserable because people are always screwing with my work. That said, I think part of the special startup mindset is similar to the people who will bet more on dice they've rolled than dice rolled by someone else... whether a startup is acquired feels like something they can control, however irrationally. Maybe you could ask what people believe is the average chance of acquisition for a startup in general, and what they believe their chance is?