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Seriously, who's stopping you? It's ironic to say that on HN when YC has helped launch thousands of companies and several self-made billionaires. The ability t

Seriously, who's stopping you? It's ironic to say that on HN when YC has helped launch thousands of companies and several self-made billionaires. The ability to hire and fire fast is undeniably helpful for companies, and being able to quit and move to new jobs is just as useful for personal career development. It might not be for everyone, but it's not any less valid.

adrianN 7y ago
The typical member of the precariat doesn't have the financial means of taking an unpaid sick day. How on earth do you imagine that they have the means of starting their own company?
- manigandham 7y ago
  The discussion was about at-will employment in America. There are pros/cons to both employee and employer, and it is an absolute truth that this arrangement helps companies grow and helps employees eventually start their own companies - as opposed to different regulatory environments. Adding more regulations will bring equivalent trade-offs because that's the reality of economics. Do you disagree? If you want to get bogged down in technicalities and anecdotes though, then sure life isn't fair. I worked manual labor before and now own multiple properties. I guess it's just magic.
  - slumpt_ 7y ago
    No one suggested it was magic. What it often is - statistically - is socioeconomics. It’s more or less the single best predictor of outcomes for you and yours. There are outliers, but we’re talking about broad systemic patterns. You evidently went to an okay UC - you probably had supportive parents. Be it emotional or financial support. Perhaps both! Perhaps your family life was reasonably stable. Perhaps you had three square meals most of your youth. The point is that you are in a position to access capital that is markedly different from a lot of individuals born into lower socioeconomics striations in society and the statistics are weighed :heavily: against them. This is often through no fault of their own. Thank your lucky stars the world aligned for you as it did. Where and with whom you started that life made a far bigger difference than any perceived grit you might think you exercised.
ryandrake 7y ago
Let me just go find a cash machine and withdraw the $X million needed to buy me a factory. Nobody’s stopping me!
- manigandham 7y ago
  That's called venture capital, or a loan, or a mortgage; things that millions of others have used to start their own businesses. Happy to make some intro's for you. Let me know.
  - LunaSea 7y ago
    Loans with no collateral ... right.
    - manigandham 7y ago
      Sometimes. Or you give up equity. Or secure it some other way. What's your point? That it's hard to do?
      - LunaSea 7y ago
        That you can't get a loan when you don't have collateral which is the case when you are not already wealthy.
        manigandham 7y ago
        Then get a job and save up some collateral. That's how many people start. This is really not that complicated.
        LunaSea 7y ago
        But that's not always possible when you don't have a good enough job to save which is the reality for a majority of Americans since they live pacheck to paycheck.

adrianN 7y ago

The typical member of the precariat doesn't have the financial means of taking an unpaid sick day. How on earth do you imagine that they have the means of starting their own company?

manigandham 7y ago
The discussion was about at-will employment in America. There are pros/cons to both employee and employer, and it is an absolute truth that this arrangement helps companies grow and helps employees eventually start their own companies - as opposed to different regulatory environments. Adding more regulations will bring equivalent trade-offs because that's the reality of economics. Do you disagree? If you want to get bogged down in technicalities and anecdotes though, then sure life isn't fair. I worked manual labor before and now own multiple properties. I guess it's just magic.
- slumpt_ 7y ago
  No one suggested it was magic. What it often is - statistically - is socioeconomics. It’s more or less the single best predictor of outcomes for you and yours. There are outliers, but we’re talking about broad systemic patterns. You evidently went to an okay UC - you probably had supportive parents. Be it emotional or financial support. Perhaps both! Perhaps your family life was reasonably stable. Perhaps you had three square meals most of your youth. The point is that you are in a position to access capital that is markedly different from a lot of individuals born into lower socioeconomics striations in society and the statistics are weighed :heavily: against them. This is often through no fault of their own. Thank your lucky stars the world aligned for you as it did. Where and with whom you started that life made a far bigger difference than any perceived grit you might think you exercised.

ryandrake 7y ago

Let me just go find a cash machine and withdraw the $X million needed to buy me a factory. Nobody’s stopping me!

manigandham 7y ago
That's called venture capital, or a loan, or a mortgage; things that millions of others have used to start their own businesses. Happy to make some intro's for you. Let me know.
- LunaSea 7y ago
  Loans with no collateral ... right.
  - manigandham 7y ago
    Sometimes. Or you give up equity. Or secure it some other way. What's your point? That it's hard to do?
    - LunaSea 7y ago
      That you can't get a loan when you don't have collateral which is the case when you are not already wealthy.
      - manigandham 7y ago
        Then get a job and save up some collateral. That's how many people start. This is really not that complicated.
        LunaSea 7y ago
        But that's not always possible when you don't have a good enough job to save which is the reality for a majority of Americans since they live pacheck to paycheck.