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I think about this most days. The problem is that startups that fail put you very far behind relative to peers and the majority of startups fail. It's fun, but

I think about this most days. The problem is that startups that fail put you very far behind relative to peers and the majority of startups fail. It's fun, but it's also gambling with your financial future.

michaelmior 6y ago
> startups that fail put you very far behind relative to peers I think this really depends on what metric you're using for success. If it's finances, a failed startup is almost certainly a significant setback. In terms of experience, that's much more debatable.
- xwdv 6y ago
  Believe me, finances is the metric of success for 95% of people and for the 5% where it isn’t they are either independently wealthy already or so delusional that failure is guaranteed.
  - michaelmior 6y ago
    I would disagree so I guess that just leaves me in the delusional category :)
  - convolvatron 6y ago
    if no one did anything because they loved it, or because they thought it would help humankind, the world would be a much sadder and more transactional place. i dont know that we would have mathematicians, musicians, writers, costumers, chefs...or really much of anything maybe just replace delusional with 'idealistic' or some other dismissive but less directly offensive term
    - bradlys 6y ago
      Or maybe it's that many people who did those things and became successful with it are from privileged positions that allowed them to do such things... And so if we lifted people into positions where they didn't feel like their basic needs would be taken away if they didn't work some job making money then they could experiment and do things that were less transactional... But until we have that Star Trek future - we gonna be transactional.
      - convolvatron 6y ago
        i guess i was talking sideways...was trying to say that some of the most valuable things we do as a species are already non or quasi transactional.
  - jjoonathan 6y ago
    Re: the inevitable "money isn't the metric of success" replies You're not just saying that money isn't your metric of success, you are saying that nothing money can buy is your metric of success. Money can buy runway for your next startup, it can buy safety & security for your family, it can buy political influence, it can buy food for starving African children, and it can even buy time (shorter commutes and other peoples' time). The world is full of people trying to convince you that making money for yourself shouldn't be a goal, but that helping them make money should be. These people don't ultimately care about money either, but they do care about something that money can buy, and they have internalized this fact. If you truly don't care about anything that money can buy, all the power to you -- just please make sure you aren't being taken for a ride by someone using "money isn't the metric of success" to vampire your time and energy.

michaelmior 6y ago

> startups that fail put you very far behind relative to peers I think this really depends on what metric you're using for success. If it's finances, a failed startup is almost certainly a significant setback. In terms of experience, that's much more debatable.

xwdv 6y ago
Believe me, finances is the metric of success for 95% of people and for the 5% where it isn’t they are either independently wealthy already or so delusional that failure is guaranteed.
- michaelmior 6y ago
  I would disagree so I guess that just leaves me in the delusional category :)
- convolvatron 6y ago
  if no one did anything because they loved it, or because they thought it would help humankind, the world would be a much sadder and more transactional place. i dont know that we would have mathematicians, musicians, writers, costumers, chefs...or really much of anything maybe just replace delusional with 'idealistic' or some other dismissive but less directly offensive term
  - bradlys 6y ago
    Or maybe it's that many people who did those things and became successful with it are from privileged positions that allowed them to do such things... And so if we lifted people into positions where they didn't feel like their basic needs would be taken away if they didn't work some job making money then they could experiment and do things that were less transactional... But until we have that Star Trek future - we gonna be transactional.
    - convolvatron 6y ago
      i guess i was talking sideways...was trying to say that some of the most valuable things we do as a species are already non or quasi transactional.
- jjoonathan 6y ago
  Re: the inevitable "money isn't the metric of success" replies You're not just saying that money isn't your metric of success, you are saying that nothing money can buy is your metric of success. Money can buy runway for your next startup, it can buy safety & security for your family, it can buy political influence, it can buy food for starving African children, and it can even buy time (shorter commutes and other peoples' time). The world is full of people trying to convince you that making money for yourself shouldn't be a goal, but that helping them make money should be. These people don't ultimately care about money either, but they do care about something that money can buy, and they have internalized this fact. If you truly don't care about anything that money can buy, all the power to you -- just please make sure you aren't being taken for a ride by someone using "money isn't the metric of success" to vampire your time and energy.