4 ms·

We've seen many businesses attempt to exploit the lack of regulation at their peril. Ride-sharing companies come to mind as one example. I think it is more use

by xpe 7y ago

We've seen many businesses attempt to exploit the lack of regulation at their peril. Ride-sharing companies come to mind as one example. I think it is more useful to think of regulations in the context of history and societal values. For example, an oilspill off the shore of California helped galvanize support for the clean air movement. Perhaps it is possible to hypergrow a business before regulation catches up. I think expecting such an outcome risks the long-term viability of a business, since ultimately its foundation rests upon trust in its brand. Companies (in a competitive environment at least) must earn goodwill from their customers to do well. I hope all entrepreneurs think about building businesses that can thrive even as regulations shift as society changes. In other words, build in some resilience into your business model. For example, you don't have to have a crystal ball to recognize when a business model over-relies on certain power imbalances. If you want to extract value from such power imbalances, don't be surprised when there is a backlash. For example, ride-sharing companies skirted with employee/contractor definitions. Flirting with this boundary is risky -- and naively hoping that one narrow interpretation is shared by society and lawmakers is, frankly, over-optimism. Realism combined with long-term thinking, I think, tends to lead to similar decisions as "strive to do the right thing".

wallawe 7y ago
that's not the question
- xpe 7y ago
  Some general responses to "that's not the question": There are different ways to respond to a question; some responses push back on the premise of the question. Some ask about the why behind a question. Both are valuable. A mix of thoughtful responses is the whole idea. There are plenty of places for more constrained styles of discussions, such as any of the topical Stack Exchange web sites. HN is built for open-ended discussion, best I can tell, based on some years of using it. I regularly see comments meander somewhat; discussion takes many forms. Anyhow, I'll try rewriting some of my arguments in a few different ways, in case it helps connect the dots: First, some people have a blanket view regarding regulated industries as 'lesser' opportunities (for starting a company or technical innovation in general). Such a generic belief may lead to the premature dismissal of opportunities. Second, what may appear to be "unregulated" at one point in time may not be a strong signal as to what happens going forward. Third, (and I didn't touch on this in my comment above) it might be useful to think of regulation as one signal that a market area is mature and predictable. (Think of this story: if you want to buy a house, which of the following two choices has more variability? House A in an incorporated city of 100,000 people with known zoning laws and a more-or-less predictable economic and political situation? Or house B at the edge of a sprawling city where an influx of people could lead to dozens of different outcomes? Choosing the best house depends on what outcomes you value and your risk tolerance. With regards to regulation, my point is to say that you can often use regulation to your advantage in choosing a business plan. Fourth, as a general principle, understanding how a range of possible situations affects your objectives is more useful than simply "avoiding regulation". Designing a new method to ingest nicotine that currently sidesteps regulation might work fine until one day it doesn't. You might want to know how regulators might respond to these sorts of situations. Hence my points about history and ethics. These ideas are all connected and relevant. I hope this is of some value to those who seek unregulated (for now) opportunities.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- pjc50 7y ago
  Questions aren't regulated.
xpe 7y ago
Correction: I shouldn't have said "clean air movement" in particular -- it included the creation of the EPA (during President Nixon) [1] > The public outrage engendered by the spill, which received prominent media coverage in the United States, resulted in numerous pieces of environmental legislation within the next several years, legislation that forms the legal and regulatory framework for the modern environmental movement in the U.S. [2] [1] https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/richard-nixon-and-the-rise-of-american-environmentalism https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/richar... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_Santa_Barbara_oil_spill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_Santa_Barbara_oil_spill

by xpe 7y ago

wallawe 7y ago

that's not the question

xpe 7y ago
Some general responses to "that's not the question": There are different ways to respond to a question; some responses push back on the premise of the question. Some ask about the why behind a question. Both are valuable. A mix of thoughtful responses is the whole idea. There are plenty of places for more constrained styles of discussions, such as any of the topical Stack Exchange web sites. HN is built for open-ended discussion, best I can tell, based on some years of using it. I regularly see comments meander somewhat; discussion takes many forms. Anyhow, I'll try rewriting some of my arguments in a few different ways, in case it helps connect the dots: First, some people have a blanket view regarding regulated industries as 'lesser' opportunities (for starting a company or technical innovation in general). Such a generic belief may lead to the premature dismissal of opportunities. Second, what may appear to be "unregulated" at one point in time may not be a strong signal as to what happens going forward. Third, (and I didn't touch on this in my comment above) it might be useful to think of regulation as one signal that a market area is mature and predictable. (Think of this story: if you want to buy a house, which of the following two choices has more variability? House A in an incorporated city of 100,000 people with known zoning laws and a more-or-less predictable economic and political situation? Or house B at the edge of a sprawling city where an influx of people could lead to dozens of different outcomes? Choosing the best house depends on what outcomes you value and your risk tolerance. With regards to regulation, my point is to say that you can often use regulation to your advantage in choosing a business plan. Fourth, as a general principle, understanding how a range of possible situations affects your objectives is more useful than simply "avoiding regulation". Designing a new method to ingest nicotine that currently sidesteps regulation might work fine until one day it doesn't. You might want to know how regulators might respond to these sorts of situations. Hence my points about history and ethics. These ideas are all connected and relevant. I hope this is of some value to those who seek unregulated (for now) opportunities.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
pjc50 7y ago
Questions aren't regulated.

xpe 7y ago

Correction: I shouldn't have said "clean air movement" in particular -- it included the creation of the EPA (during President Nixon) [1] > The public outrage engendered by the spill, which received prominent media coverage in the United States, resulted in numerous pieces of environmental legislation within the next several years, legislation that forms the legal and regulatory framework for the modern environmental movement in the U.S. [2] [1] https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/richard-nixon-and-the-rise-of-american-environmentalism https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/richar... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_Santa_Barbara_oil_spill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_Santa_Barbara_oil_spill