4 ms·

> "Forced entrepreneurs" risk great personal consequences because they have no other options. Anyone capable of starting a tech company has the skills and moti

> "Forced entrepreneurs" risk great personal consequences because they have no other options. Anyone capable of starting a tech company has the skills and motivation required to get a reasonably well paying tech job. And that's more or less what most of them do when their startups fail. I see a lot of resumes from people listing themselves as CEO or CTO of a tech startup that barely registers in a Google search. I know at least one recruiter who makes a habit of calling up people at Crunchbase companies with <10 employees and letting them know to reach out if they're ever thinking about going back to the job market. Turns out, a lot of them are ready to go back to regular jobs after realizing that startup life isn't as glamorous as it sounds.

jbay808 5y ago
That might be less true outside of the US.
sdevonoes 5y ago
Not everyone works in tech. I know some "forced entrepreneurs" that failed big. They were "forced" in the sense that the country in which they were living was just not able to provide them a decent job.
sokoloff 5y ago
> Anyone capable of starting a tech company has the skills and motivation required to get a reasonably well paying tech job. I say that's mostly true, provided they're authorized to work in the US and move there.
krono 5y ago
Back then when, lacking formal education in this field, I was unable to get anything better than unpaid traineeships. Since I needed income those were no viable option, plus I was demonstratively far beyond that skill level and felt I was being taken advantage of to an unfair degree. If I wanted to stay in this field, my only option was to start my own business which I ended up doing. Things worked out quite well. > Anyone capable of starting a tech company has the skills and motivation required to get a reasonably well paying tech job. I find that way too simplistic and too blankety even for a blanket statement.
icedchai 5y ago
They may have the skills, but not the attitude. I've met several entrepreneurs who simply can't work for someone else due to their own personality traits.
- PragmaticPulp 5y ago
  In practice it's rare that someone simultaneously can't work for someone else yet can work for some combination of customers, investors, and employees. Running a business is rarely about working in isolation, taking orders from no one, and letting the money roll in.
  - devoutsalsa 5y ago
    Have you been both an entrepreneur and an employee (after having been an entrepreneur)? I have. I'm pretty sure the skillsets for each are completely different.
  - icedchai 5y ago
    Many of them can work for someone else, but it would be incredibly difficult. Imagine being founding engineer at a small startup that fails, then joining a large company and having to deal with tons of bureaucracy, slow processes, and red tape. Sure, you can "do" it. You can do the work. You can follow the processes. The money is nice. But it's frustrating.
- granshaw 5y ago
  Very true. I dunno what OP is on about saying they’re interchangeable. In a similar boat now after having had a taste of entrepreneurship but running out of runway. I used to be a model tech worker but now being back at a regular job just seems so... pointless, even though it pays well Strategizing and executing at the business level is so much more fun than back and forth discussion about how to best fit something into a large existing codebase and making sure your PRs are small enough... but it’s hard to get employment doing that kind of work with a SW engineer’s resume
  - vagrantJin 5y ago

jbay808 5y ago

That might be less true outside of the US.

sdevonoes 5y ago

Not everyone works in tech. I know some "forced entrepreneurs" that failed big. They were "forced" in the sense that the country in which they were living was just not able to provide them a decent job.

sokoloff 5y ago

> Anyone capable of starting a tech company has the skills and motivation required to get a reasonably well paying tech job. I say that's mostly true, provided they're authorized to work in the US and move there.

krono 5y ago

Back then when, lacking formal education in this field, I was unable to get anything better than unpaid traineeships. Since I needed income those were no viable option, plus I was demonstratively far beyond that skill level and felt I was being taken advantage of to an unfair degree. If I wanted to stay in this field, my only option was to start my own business which I ended up doing. Things worked out quite well. > Anyone capable of starting a tech company has the skills and motivation required to get a reasonably well paying tech job. I find that way too simplistic and too blankety even for a blanket statement.

icedchai 5y ago

They may have the skills, but not the attitude. I've met several entrepreneurs who simply can't work for someone else due to their own personality traits.

PragmaticPulp 5y ago
In practice it's rare that someone simultaneously can't work for someone else yet can work for some combination of customers, investors, and employees. Running a business is rarely about working in isolation, taking orders from no one, and letting the money roll in.
- devoutsalsa 5y ago
  Have you been both an entrepreneur and an employee (after having been an entrepreneur)? I have. I'm pretty sure the skillsets for each are completely different.
- icedchai 5y ago
  Many of them can work for someone else, but it would be incredibly difficult. Imagine being founding engineer at a small startup that fails, then joining a large company and having to deal with tons of bureaucracy, slow processes, and red tape. Sure, you can "do" it. You can do the work. You can follow the processes. The money is nice. But it's frustrating.
granshaw 5y ago
Very true. I dunno what OP is on about saying they’re interchangeable. In a similar boat now after having had a taste of entrepreneurship but running out of runway. I used to be a model tech worker but now being back at a regular job just seems so... pointless, even though it pays well Strategizing and executing at the business level is so much more fun than back and forth discussion about how to best fit something into a large existing codebase and making sure your PRs are small enough... but it’s hard to get employment doing that kind of work with a SW engineer’s resume
- vagrantJin 5y ago