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Silicon 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 i
by Mystalic 16y ago
Silicon 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."
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- 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.