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Should You Really Be A Startup Entrepreneur?
- Mystalic 16y agoSilicon valley romanticizes the startup life. We read about Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs and dream of doing 1/10 of what they did. The reality is that the startup life can be hell, and if you aren't prepared to walk through fire for your startup, then you shouldn't do it.
- shantanubala 16y agoYeah, but I actually find the less glamorous startups to be a lot more interesting and inspiring. Bingo Card Creator is one of the best examples of how to keep things simple, and it's working pretty damn well.
- guptaneil 16y agoWhile nobody will deny that startup life is hell, it also is very much as good as the Valley makes it sound for the right type of people. Most people aren't the right people though, so it sounds romanticized. edit: To clarify, "right type of people" doesn't necessarily mean successful people, just people who enjoy this kind of lifestyle. Success is just a bonus.
- idlewords 16y agoI would strenuously deny that the startup life is hell. Go pick fruit for a few months, for instance. The amount of assumed privilege in these discussions is shocking.
- guptaneil 16y agoWell it's assumed that if you're in a position to begin a startup, then you are capable of a comfortable and successful life outside of one. So relative to the alternative for the entrepreneur, startup life could be called hell. But yes, relative to all the possible situations one could be in, startup life is quite pleasant.
- jeromec 16y agoAh, yes. Everything is relative. :) For example, I imagine life is Hell right now for Egypt President Mubarak, although this probably only means losing power and living the rest of his life quite comfortably exiled in some other country.
- michaelty 16y agoI think he meant hell in terms of stress on your family. Those 90 hour work weeks aren't exactly relationship-building material.
- Mystalic 16y agoThere are many different types of hell.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- hugh3 16y agoPicking fruit is hell? Sheesh, in Australia picking fruit is considered a "working holiday" for middle-class European kids.
- jacques_chester 16y agoIt depends on the fruit. Mangoes a) only grow in the tropics and b) have acidic sap. Most people who pick mangoes only do it once.
- patio11 16y agoThe experience of picking fruit is rather different for middle-class European kids and poor Mexican kids/parents/old folks. Two salient differences, among many: middle-class European kids can at any time stop picking fruit and resume being middle-class Europeans, and there is no outcome to middle-class European fruit picking which reads "fruit picker's family goes hungry." I was not exactly thrilled with the experience of my old day job, and complained about it frequently, but never at church. Odds are on any given day I would be sitting next to at least one guy who did about as many hours at one third the pay working in a factory for people who treated him as a necessary reagent in an industrial process. Heck if I'm going to say "Waily waily I was in my air conditioned office yesterday at 1:30 AM when I could have been at home playing PS3."
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- brandnewlow 16y agoI doubt those guys ever felt like they were walking through fire. Sure, times are tough, but the guys who make it through are the ones who find stuff to enjoy in the lows AND the highs.
- dotBen 16y agoSilicon valley romanticizes the startup life. We read about Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs... Curiously, two of those entrepreneurs didn't create their then-startup in Silicon Valley.
- staunch 16y agoFacebook the best endorsement of The Silicon Valley Way that exists.
- Joakal 16y agoThe romantic version doesn't appeal to me. The challenges do.
- idlewords 16y agoThat is still romanticizing the startup life, just in a different direction.
- patio11 16y agoPreach it. "Not everyone is man enough to do startups. Don't worry, you won't be the first to wuss out." is a string in the Gordion knot of cultural pathologies we have in our industry. (Gendered language not accidental.)
- louhong 16y agoAgreed, startup life and entrepreneurship is hell for all the points Mark outlined. Dave McClure has a slide titled "Why not to do a startup" (http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/dmc500hats/why-not-to-do-a-startup http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/dmc500hats/why-not-to-do-a-...) The thing is, if after reading that and hearing about all the failures, if you're still passionate enough to try and change the world then by all means, go for it.
- guptaneil 16y agoIt's both intimidating and exciting to read about what awaits me as an entrepreneur in a very early stage startup in such a straightforward manner. I'm looking forward to it. :)
- ericmsimons 16y agoI agree with Mystalic. You better be ready to drop your entire life for your startup otherwise you will not succeed. It's easy to say that you're ready but you will know if you actually are by the end of the first week at your startup.
- a2tech 16y agoI know I shouldn't. It may be a terrible thing, but I like to check in at a certain time, work for a predetermined amount of time, and then go home. I work to enjoy the rest of my life, I don't want my work consuming my life. I worked in a startup for a few years, and the way it crept into all the other aspect of my life was disquieting.
- robryan 16y agoWhile you may be in the minority on HN your definitely in the majority overall. Different people want/ enjoy different things, no real right or wrong here.
- crgwbr 16y agoThere's no shame in wanting to have a life outside work, especially if you have a family to take care of. I think far too many entrepreneurs deceive themselves into thinking 80 hour weeks will pay off so they can be happy later
- redthrowaway 16y agoI think it's less deceiving themselves that that's the likely outcome, and more setting that as a goal and trying not to think about the likelihood of failure.
- robryan 16y agoMany more are probably working the hours because they are enjoying it right now.
- StavrosK 16y agoThat's true, startup work is just too damn enjoyable to quit... However, everything in moderation.
- noodle 16y agoi'd point out that you can be an entrepreneur without working crazy hours. lifestyle businesses are perfectly legitimate, you just probably won't get any of the cashouts that people seem to (somewhat unrealistically) idolize and strive for.
- brandnewlow 16y agoTechcrunch guest posts are often incoherent and largely self-promotional, but I appreciated hearing the perspective of someone who did the startup cycle a few times and then ran off to VC-land where he gets more variety and balance.
- namityadav 16y ago"Techcrunch guest posts are often incoherent" More incoherent than their writers' posts? :-)
- brandnewlow 16y agoYes. Most definitely. The guest posts on the weekend always seem to be written by execs at startups who are looking to build their reputation and to plant an idea or set of ideas in the media so they can point potential partners and customers to it and say "see, what we're doing is legitimate." As these people aren't trained writers I often find their central points hard to suss out.
- bdclimber14 16y agoOne real test to see if you're ready to be an entrepreneur is seeing if you would do a startup for 2 years, working 80+ hours with the emotional roller-coaster while knowing you would certainly fail. Personally, I would. I enjoy it way too much.
- Joakal 16y agoIf you're certain to fail, why do the startup? Did you mean the uncertainty of success?
- bdclimber14 16y agoNot even the uncertainty of success, but the certainty of failure. The learning experience is the reason. I'm a firm believer of "Fail early to succeed often."
- rwhitman 16y ago"The certainty of failure". I like that.
- zackattack 16y agoWhy not at least aim for success so you don't accidentally program yourself for failure?
- bdclimber14 16y agoWell definitely, and I'd hope every entrepreneur has the confidence in their company to think he will be successful. I just meant, given the hypothetical situation where you knew you would fail, would you still do it? Basically, are you doing it just for money, or is it for more than that?
- zackattack 16y agoYour argument doesn't make sense because even if you're doing it just to learn, you're learning entrepreneur skills so you can do it for other reasons later.
- tokenadult 16y agoI was especially struck by the point about being willing to give up hobbies. How many programming fans are able to give up playing their favorite computer game while building the start-up? Is that what it takes to build a start-up that really hits the big time?
- fezzl 16y agoYou don't have to have a start-up that "really hits the big time" to have to give up things in return. Trust me, "hobbies" are easy to give up; it's relationships that are harder yet mandatory (to some extent) to give up.
- JabavuAdams 16y agoQuite possibly. Is that a large sacrifice? I spend way less time playing games, now that I make them. EDIT> There's this real-time strategy game called Life. The achievements are really cool. Problem is, it's actually hard, since it hasn't been engineered to stroke your cortex.
- keyle 16y agoI think it can be all summed up to "Do you always want more from your life? Or are you content?"
- idlewords 16y agoThis kind of attitude is just self-serving. There are plenty of experiences you can have at a large company that you won't be able to get from a startup. It boils down to what you want out of your work life.
- ipster 16y agoI have always felt that deep down you know whether or not you want to be an entrepreneur, even if there are day to day doubts. Mark describes characteristics, but most entrepreneurs just know.
- jaltucher 16y agoI've started, with success, 4 companies, and I'm invested in about 12 other startups. I have an easy list you can go by when you are trying to decide whether to call yourself an entrepreneur or not. If you aren't willing to experience the things on this list, then stick with the corporate job: http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/01/you-can-call-yourself-an-entrepreneur-when/ http://www.jamesaltucher.com/2011/01/you-can-call-yourself-a...
- thewordpainter 16y agofor those that really want it, money comes with the territory. it's not the driving force. i think mark is spot on with his first bullet-point in particular (not very status-oriented) i'm not building a startup for the money. i just want to do what i want to do when i want to do it.
- jwang815 16y agoFinally a great article saying how it really is. We only see the huge successes and failures in the blog and PR world.
- 3pt14159 16y agoIf you want my advice, don't fucking do it. If you never asked for advice you will anyway. Startup life is hell, but some of us have to do it.
- mark_l_watson 16y agoGood advice for a lot of people. Odd article for HN though since so many of our discussions deal with doing startups. I consider myself to be a bit of a "lurker" enjoying hearing about entrepreneurs' experiences in the sense that I have been happy working only part time for almost all of my adult life on many interesting jobs and having lots of time off for family, friends, writing, and hobbies. That said, I have two childhood friends who have had big payouts doing software startups (one for $20m+ and the other for $300m+) and they seem happy also :-)
- keeptrying 16y agoMy favorite Mark Suster quote : "I became an entrepreneur so I could tell people to go f!ck themselves." And that basically sums it up for me. I've said this to enough bosses that, this is a huge appeal for me. If you check my performance reviews they all list "has a problem with authority". I've been to a QnA session with Mark and I learned so damn much from him. He's very open about the workings of VC. And I don't think I've laughed so much at any other entrepreneur Meetup. Guy is hilarious.
- random42 16y ago> I've said this to enough bosses that, this is a huge appeal for me. If you check my performance reviews they all list "has a problem with authority". I dont understand why you are seeing it as a positive thing? Do you think entrepreneurs dont have to answer to authority?
- nostrademons 16y agoEntrepreneurs trade having to answer to one particular authority figure for having to answer to many authorities. For many people with authority issues, that's a much better situation. When one person has a problem with you, you don't know whether the problem is with you or with them, but when many people have a problem with you, there's a fairly high likelihood that the the problem lies with you. It's basically more data and less arbitrariness.
- keeptrying 16y agoGreat answer. Also when the people you have to answer to are only customers, then fixing that should lead to profit if you have the right type of customers.
- tastybites 16y agoWhen you have 20 clients (or 20,000), firing one or two has much smaller consequences than quitting a job.
- dmor 16y agoIf you're asking yourself this question and currently work on BigCo, you might consider working for a startup first, as opposed to founding one. In the Bay Area, startups pass their series A round provide comparable salary and benefits to BigCo jobs. You won't get as much equity or exposure to as many of the ups-and-downs, but making the transition from BigCo to a 30 person company is a big jump. I quit my BigCo job 2 weeks before my wedding to join a friend's startup as employee 20-something, quit after 18 months, and then joined my current startup as employee #1. With each move, my risk tolerance increased alongside my confidence that I wouldn't die. It has been almost a 4 year process (and still going), but I feel much more prepared now than I would have been in the summer of 2007
- nostrademons 16y agoAlso, starting anything, whether it's a business or not, will give you exposure to many of the same ups and downs as a startup. You can get much of the experience with essentially zero risk (except to your ego) by starting a social club, student organization, hobby website, or open-source project. Just as long as you make an honest goal of adoption and don't just put it out there with a "whatever happens, happens" attitude. My first major programming project was a complete rewrite in college of a Harry Potter fansite that grew from 2000 to 100,000 registered users during my time on staff. Relative to my skill level at the time, it was probably the hardest thing I've ever done, and it taught me a lot about the emotional roller coaster and persevering through the lows where I really want to quit.
- ido 16y agoYou can get much of the experience with essentially zero risk (except to your ego) by starting a social club, student organization, hobby website, or open-source project. Unless you are supporting a family, where's the big risk in trying to start up your own business? It's not like you will be reduced to living under a bridge and panhandling if things don't pan out - if you're a good programmer finding a new job isn't that hard.
- villagegal 16y agoResonates very well :)
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- Mz 16y agoAnd if you are wondering if it's for you or not, here is an excerpt that might help you think it through: I’m sure everybody has their own definition of the attributes of an entrepreneur. Some of the ones I would identify are: Not very status-oriented Doesn’t follow rules very well and questions authority Can handle high degrees of ambiguity or uncertainty Can handle rejection, being told “no” often and yet still have the confidence in your idea Very decisive. A bias toward making decisions – even when only right 70% of the time – moving forward & correcting what doesn’t work A high level of confidence in your own ideas and ability to execute Not highly susceptible to stress Have a high risk tolerance Not scared or ashamed of failure Can handle long hours, travel, lack of sleep and the trade-offs of having less time for hobbies & other stuff
- speleding 16y agoA lot of people here seem to think the "Mark Zuckerberg" way of starting a business is the only way to be an entrepreneur. Perhaps if you want to start something that has no barrier to entry and few qualities that cannot be imitated then yes, execution becomes everything and the only way is to run faster and work harder than everyone else. A lot of startup that get attention here fit that mold. There are plenty of other opportunities out there though. You don't have to invent a new technology to get an advantage. You can lease patents, you can target niche's, you can become the local representative of a foreign startup, etcetera.
- BornInTheUSSR 16y agoIt seems as though many people on here buy into the myth that entrepreneurship is something that has to be this life-draining all-consuming beast to wrestle. I agree with his list of qualities, but we need to question the assumption that it has to be that way and if it does, why are we not being lazier and more efficient? Maybe I'm being naive, but if we can pinpoint those actions that are driving us forward and have the wisdom to leave the rest alone or to someone better we can work happily and in good measure. Isn't the point of entrepreneurialism to create the kind of life, product and company where we can have the best of all worlds?
- jg2009 16y agoYes to death !!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you !
- jg2009 16y agoYes to death !!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you !