4 ms·
Good time to post one of Paul Graham's essays: http://www.paulgraham.com/mean.html http://www.paulgraham.com/mean.html Most startups have the problem of accele
by yingw787 8y ago
Good time to post one of Paul Graham's essays: http://www.paulgraham.com/mean.html http://www.paulgraham.com/mean.html
Most startups have the problem of accelerating into the ground. Facebook has the problem of accelerating into the ceiling. What do you do when you capture the social networking market, and investors still expect the same growth rates as before?
Maybe founders should worry about the "What if I win?" question in addition to the oft-thought "What if I lose?" question. Taking over the world shouldn't be the only exit condition; plenty of companies should aim to be happy at some level below that.
- minikites 8y agoIf we're going by the capitalist definition of success where "more money = better than" (a reasonable assumption given Paul's occupation) then his essay doesn't pass the laugh test. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/study-rich-more-likely-to-take-candy-from-babies/2011/08/25/gIQAXE0beR_blog.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/study-r... >The “upper class,” as defined by the study, were more likely to break the law while driving, take candy from children, lie in negotiation, cheat to increase their odds of winning a prize and endorse unethical behavior at work, researchers reported today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
- rgbrenner 8y agoFacebook's net income is larger than Google's (15b vs 12b for 2017, respectively). If investors are expecting such high growth rates, it's because Zuckerberg refuses to set more reasonable expectations.