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Why is it disappointing to that he points out that "having a safety net" and "being rich" are different things? The whole thread seems to revolve around people

• ricardobeat 7y ago
  The “rich kids” qualifier came from his own tweet. I think it shows a big disconnect with how average the average potential-startup-entrepreneur is, and how privileged most successful ones are.
  • dantheman 7y ago
    What percentage of potential start up founders don't have a 'safety net'?
    • ricardobeat 7y ago
      I don’t live in the US, but some numbers from a quick search for ages ~18-35: - average pay 35k - 78% of people live paycheck-to-paycheck (zero savings) In other countries the situation can be a lot worse. Even excluding the 12% below the poverty line, the vast majority can not afford to leave their jobs even for a couple months without going homeless. Being able to experiment with business that has a 90% chance of failure, even for a short while, is out of reach for most people unless sacrifices much larger than “moving back in with parents” are made. It should be possible to motivate people to be entrepreneurs without being insensitive to reality. “Rich kids” might be a stretch, but hyperbole is an effective form of communication.
• idlewords 7y ago
  He specifically says later in his replies that he's debunking "the meme that you have to be upper middle class to start a startup." But his chosen example is exactly that, three upper-middle-class kids (Harvard and RISD grads).