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And this is why entrepreneurs should never be worried about competitors. You will fail entirely on your own. In the unlikely event that you are smart, hard wor

And this is why entrepreneurs should never be worried about competitors. You will fail entirely on your own. In the unlikely event that you are smart, hard working, and rational, you will be better positioned than almost everyone else in your field.

1cvmask 5y ago
Precisely true. Especially when you have co-founders who are irrational. They will drag you down before competitors even have a chance.
- javajosh 5y ago
  "Rational founder" is a contradiction, at least if you believe that a rational actor maximizes the expected value of their life. The modern rational actor pursues the low-risk, high reward professions in finance, law, and medicine if you have good grades and access to capital, and regular entrepreneurship (e.g. start a plumbing business) if you don't. (And if you're a child of the .01%, you're rich no matter what you do, and heaven help you and your character survive the damage that will cause you!) To believe that starting a new business on the internet is a path to riches is irrational, similar to believing that buying a lottery ticket will lead to wealth. However, it IS a path to valuable pain, learning, and again, with luck, wisdom. The riches are optional, unlikely, and probably means something a lot different once you get them, because by that time you've probably come to appreciate the striving for it's own sake.
  - iamstupidsimple 5y ago
    Which level of 'riches' are we talking about though? If you're not aiming for a unicorn then the goal of a small, sustainable internet business is much more reasonable. Your main problem at that point becomes your competitors growing faster and smothering you out of the market.
    - javajosh 5y ago
      Do a lot of people start internet businesses aiming for a small sustainable lifestyle business? I personally think that's a very healthy place to end-up, but I suspect that a lot of ambitious people would consider it a kind of consolation prize. You are not, in that mode, "changing the world". (But then, as we have learned over the last 25 years, changing the world with the internet isn't exactly without downside!)
  - hutzlibu 5y ago
    "To believe that starting a new business on the internet is a path to riches is irrational" Why? There are plenty of examples of smart, educated people having success on the internet, so it is rational to see this as a path to riches, if you are smart, too. Of course the assumption, that you yourself are smart, might be wrong. As might other delusional expectations. But copying what lead to success for others in similar situations is a very rational, I would say evolutionary concept.
    - javajosh 5y ago
      There are examples of people getting rich playing the lottery. That does not make it rational to play the lottery.
      - hutzlibu 5y ago
        Yes, because lottery is random and unrelated to skill, unlike starting a buissness. So there surely is no guarantee for anything, as your assumptions about some market for example might be wrong - but again, making right assumptions is related to being smart. Picking the right numbers is related to chance and unless you believe in magic, you cannot influence your chances.
  - SyzygistSix 5y ago
    That depends upon a person's values. People do not only start businesses and organizations just to get rich. Although that is certainly a common reason among founders, along with other reasons.
  - Buttons840 5y ago
    > a rational actor maximizes the expected value of their life If the definition of human value is "money" then you're probably right. But I would question whether someone who has the drive to found some new venture, but never does, has really maximized their personal value.
SyzygistSix 5y ago
So true. I have held myself back far more effectively than anyone else ever has.

1cvmask 5y ago

Precisely true. Especially when you have co-founders who are irrational. They will drag you down before competitors even have a chance.

javajosh 5y ago
"Rational founder" is a contradiction, at least if you believe that a rational actor maximizes the expected value of their life. The modern rational actor pursues the low-risk, high reward professions in finance, law, and medicine if you have good grades and access to capital, and regular entrepreneurship (e.g. start a plumbing business) if you don't. (And if you're a child of the .01%, you're rich no matter what you do, and heaven help you and your character survive the damage that will cause you!) To believe that starting a new business on the internet is a path to riches is irrational, similar to believing that buying a lottery ticket will lead to wealth. However, it IS a path to valuable pain, learning, and again, with luck, wisdom. The riches are optional, unlikely, and probably means something a lot different once you get them, because by that time you've probably come to appreciate the striving for it's own sake.
- iamstupidsimple 5y ago
  Which level of 'riches' are we talking about though? If you're not aiming for a unicorn then the goal of a small, sustainable internet business is much more reasonable. Your main problem at that point becomes your competitors growing faster and smothering you out of the market.
  - javajosh 5y ago
    Do a lot of people start internet businesses aiming for a small sustainable lifestyle business? I personally think that's a very healthy place to end-up, but I suspect that a lot of ambitious people would consider it a kind of consolation prize. You are not, in that mode, "changing the world". (But then, as we have learned over the last 25 years, changing the world with the internet isn't exactly without downside!)
- hutzlibu 5y ago
  "To believe that starting a new business on the internet is a path to riches is irrational" Why? There are plenty of examples of smart, educated people having success on the internet, so it is rational to see this as a path to riches, if you are smart, too. Of course the assumption, that you yourself are smart, might be wrong. As might other delusional expectations. But copying what lead to success for others in similar situations is a very rational, I would say evolutionary concept.
  - javajosh 5y ago
    There are examples of people getting rich playing the lottery. That does not make it rational to play the lottery.
    - hutzlibu 5y ago
      Yes, because lottery is random and unrelated to skill, unlike starting a buissness. So there surely is no guarantee for anything, as your assumptions about some market for example might be wrong - but again, making right assumptions is related to being smart. Picking the right numbers is related to chance and unless you believe in magic, you cannot influence your chances.
- SyzygistSix 5y ago
  That depends upon a person's values. People do not only start businesses and organizations just to get rich. Although that is certainly a common reason among founders, along with other reasons.
- Buttons840 5y ago
  > a rational actor maximizes the expected value of their life If the definition of human value is "money" then you're probably right. But I would question whether someone who has the drive to found some new venture, but never does, has really maximized their personal value.

SyzygistSix 5y ago

So true. I have held myself back far more effectively than anyone else ever has.