4 ms·

What drives founders?

32 points by rvivek 15y ago

hluska 15y ago
In the pivoted section, the author wrote, "It’s an unparalleled feeling interacting with initial users, probably the best way to get high." This is probably the best description I have ever read for this part of the entrepreneurship experience. Thanks for posting this article!
alexkearns 15y ago
I think developers found start-ups for different reasons to other entrepreneurs. As an employee, being a developer is largely a crap job in which you get little respect and virtually no power (on the plus side, you get pretty good remuneration). The only way a developer can get the respect and power (over what work they do) they desire is by setting up on their own. This is why so many developers have side projects, I think. In short, I think developers are driven by the desire to escape the monotony and powerlessness of the typical developer role in a company, and they are prepared to forego a huge wad of cash to do this. Making loads of cash is a bonus.
- dhruval 15y ago
  "As an employee, being a developer is largely a crap job in which you get little respect and virtually no power" Incidentally this is also why having a developer-centric culture is important in a technology company. I use the term 'technology company' broadly as one that is attempting to leverage technology to make a profit. Big media companies seem unable to do things involving even simple technology well, even with big budgets, existing audiences, and partnerships. eg the New York Times' $40 million dollar 'paywall'. I suspect this is because their management simply view tech as a commodity defined by its feature set, as opposed to a skilled craft like journalism where quality matters.
lowglow 15y ago
I love building products and knowing people use them and appreciate their usefulness, but the real reason that drives me is a fear of being poor.
- skrebbel 15y ago
  So why don't you just get a job? Much safer.
  - lowglow 15y ago
    But far less reward.
  - mike_esspe 15y ago
    When you do it for yourself, you spends less time on work and gets a larger reward.
rdl 15y ago
I'm driven by (roughly in this order): 1) Desire to have a minimum standard of living (basically, $100-200k in the bay area); you could get this from a lot of sources beyond entrepreneurship. Also, safety (physical, employment even if a startup fails, etc.). This is basically "satisficed"; $100k and $300k are obviously different, but the annual salary difference isn't 3x improvement. Say it is sublinear. 2) Desire to change the world (this can scale, and is almost superlinear; making a major positive change is worth more than a few smaller changes) I think "huge wealth" (>$10mm personal exit, etc.) goes into the latter category, since it lets you influence a lot of things, including other startups. Smaller wealth is more like a personal annuity, so if the alternative were not having a job at all, it would be important, but it's easy enough to get a great job in the bay area even if you don't have $2mm in the bank.

32 points by rvivek 15y ago

In the pivoted section, the author wrote, "It’s an unparalleled feeling interacting with initial users, probably the best way to get high." This is probably the best description I have ever read for this part of the entrepreneurship experience. Thanks for posting this article!

alexkearns 15y ago

I think developers found start-ups for different reasons to other entrepreneurs. As an employee, being a developer is largely a crap job in which you get little respect and virtually no power (on the plus side, you get pretty good remuneration). The only way a developer can get the respect and power (over what work they do) they desire is by setting up on their own. This is why so many developers have side projects, I think. In short, I think developers are driven by the desire to escape the monotony and powerlessness of the typical developer role in a company, and they are prepared to forego a huge wad of cash to do this. Making loads of cash is a bonus.

dhruval 15y ago
"As an employee, being a developer is largely a crap job in which you get little respect and virtually no power" Incidentally this is also why having a developer-centric culture is important in a technology company. I use the term 'technology company' broadly as one that is attempting to leverage technology to make a profit. Big media companies seem unable to do things involving even simple technology well, even with big budgets, existing audiences, and partnerships. eg the New York Times' $40 million dollar 'paywall'. I suspect this is because their management simply view tech as a commodity defined by its feature set, as opposed to a skilled craft like journalism where quality matters.

lowglow 15y ago

I love building products and knowing people use them and appreciate their usefulness, but the real reason that drives me is a fear of being poor.

skrebbel 15y ago
So why don't you just get a job? Much safer.
- lowglow 15y ago
  But far less reward.
- mike_esspe 15y ago
  When you do it for yourself, you spends less time on work and gets a larger reward.

rdl 15y ago

I'm driven by (roughly in this order): 1) Desire to have a minimum standard of living (basically, $100-200k in the bay area); you could get this from a lot of sources beyond entrepreneurship. Also, safety (physical, employment even if a startup fails, etc.). This is basically "satisficed"; $100k and $300k are obviously different, but the annual salary difference isn't 3x improvement. Say it is sublinear. 2) Desire to change the world (this can scale, and is almost superlinear; making a major positive change is worth more than a few smaller changes) I think "huge wealth" (>$10mm personal exit, etc.) goes into the latter category, since it lets you influence a lot of things, including other startups. Smaller wealth is more like a personal annuity, so if the alternative were not having a job at all, it would be important, but it's easy enough to get a great job in the bay area even if you don't have $2mm in the bank.