4 ms·

Survivor bias is a thing. It reminds me of all the stories of the young college drop out with the successful company… that’s been funded by their rich parents.

cryptica 5y ago
This is definitely a thing. Nowadays, the only thing I care about when considering to join a startup is "Does this founder have a rich daddy?"
goodpoint 5y ago
Not only that, but many billionaires came from influential families with political connections, e.g. bill gates. Next thing, the majority of the top 100 billionaires came from families with wealth and education far above average, and from wealthy countries. Social mobility can be measured and numbers show that the rags-to-riches stories are statistically very rare. The best success advice is "be lucky" but the narrative of "hard work" is more convenient.
nickpp 5y ago
- cryptica 5y ago
  If you look at who is getting all the funding, you will see that they have rich and/or politically connected family members in 99.9% of cases.
  - nickpp 5y ago
    That is simply not true. There are countless angel, pre-seed, seed and VC funds begging founders to apply and funding any idea with the slightest chance of success. We are rather living boom times in funding, both in US and EU. What we are lacking is entrepreneurs: people willing try to work and prove ideas.
    - andrewnicolalde 5y ago
      Could that be due to the increasingly severe consequences of failure?
      - nickpp 5y ago
        What "severe consequences" are you talking about?! With increased funding founders are paid better and better during startup years. And with a blossoming employment market, failed founders will easily find themselves jobs which will quite appreciate the earned experience. I believe it's more about the comfort of regular employment which is more and more cozy and attractive (including from a financial perspective). Startups are risky and intense and for a lot of people the extra stress just isn't worth it. They can be happy with a regular 9-5 job and more free time for fun and hobbies. Culture is another thing. Society does not value success as it used to be, the self-made rich are reviled while luck, conformity and integration in society held in high regards. Unfortunately this comes exactly as future's challenges can only by solved with courage and entrepreneurship...
    - cryptica 5y ago
      That's simply not true. The process is highly selective. Though maybe they only select from 20 year old inexperienced people on purpose (I'm in early 30s)? Otherwise, I can't reconcile observable reality with what you're describing. I've applied to 100s of incubators and seed investors over 10 years and got 2 interviews (one was from A16z though... What are the odds?) and my CV as a tech person is excellent (with a proven track record in a startup and in open source) and I've been hustling pretty hard to get interviews (e.g. attending company events where I knew the VCs would be going and talking to them). I never got any seed funding from any VC. Then I bootstrapped my project myself and it was enough of a success to allow me to not work... It could have been a far bigger success with funding.

cryptica 5y ago

This is definitely a thing. Nowadays, the only thing I care about when considering to join a startup is "Does this founder have a rich daddy?"

goodpoint 5y ago

Not only that, but many billionaires came from influential families with political connections, e.g. bill gates. Next thing, the majority of the top 100 billionaires came from families with wealth and education far above average, and from wealthy countries. Social mobility can be measured and numbers show that the rags-to-riches stories are statistically very rare. The best success advice is "be lucky" but the narrative of "hard work" is more convenient.

nickpp 5y ago

cryptica 5y ago
If you look at who is getting all the funding, you will see that they have rich and/or politically connected family members in 99.9% of cases.
- nickpp 5y ago
  That is simply not true. There are countless angel, pre-seed, seed and VC funds begging founders to apply and funding any idea with the slightest chance of success. We are rather living boom times in funding, both in US and EU. What we are lacking is entrepreneurs: people willing try to work and prove ideas.
  - andrewnicolalde 5y ago
    Could that be due to the increasingly severe consequences of failure?
    - nickpp 5y ago
      What "severe consequences" are you talking about?! With increased funding founders are paid better and better during startup years. And with a blossoming employment market, failed founders will easily find themselves jobs which will quite appreciate the earned experience. I believe it's more about the comfort of regular employment which is more and more cozy and attractive (including from a financial perspective). Startups are risky and intense and for a lot of people the extra stress just isn't worth it. They can be happy with a regular 9-5 job and more free time for fun and hobbies. Culture is another thing. Society does not value success as it used to be, the self-made rich are reviled while luck, conformity and integration in society held in high regards. Unfortunately this comes exactly as future's challenges can only by solved with courage and entrepreneurship...
  - cryptica 5y ago
    That's simply not true. The process is highly selective. Though maybe they only select from 20 year old inexperienced people on purpose (I'm in early 30s)? Otherwise, I can't reconcile observable reality with what you're describing. I've applied to 100s of incubators and seed investors over 10 years and got 2 interviews (one was from A16z though... What are the odds?) and my CV as a tech person is excellent (with a proven track record in a startup and in open source) and I've been hustling pretty hard to get interviews (e.g. attending company events where I knew the VCs would be going and talking to them). I never got any seed funding from any VC. Then I bootstrapped my project myself and it was enough of a success to allow me to not work... It could have been a far bigger success with funding.