4 ms·

In general I would like to throw PlentyOfFish out as a bad data point. His experience has been atypical, although he doesn't seem to agree. He was a single fou

In general I would like to throw PlentyOfFish out as a bad data point. His experience has been atypical, although he doesn't seem to agree. He was a single founder, and he did everything himself... which is better phrased as 'everything that got done, he did'. He didn't have any plan or roadmap; he went along and did what he wanted to, and it worked out well. Much (most?) of his revenue comes from Google AdSense, which has not been as generous to many other who have chosen it as their primary source of revenue (this is largely helped by his site being lower on resources (some pictures and a lot of text), instead of media intensive).

staunch 19y ago
It is a bad data point. It's an SEO site that managed to become a destination, almost purely by accident. Sort of like AdultFriendFinder, which makes hundreds of millions doing a similar thing.
Tichy 19y ago
Getting rich by doing a startup seems to be atypical. I don't see why that data point shouldn't count. My impression so far is that "doing what you want to do" is among the most promising strategies for success.
- willarson 19y ago
  My point is that it is a bad point among successful startups, not that it is a bad point among startups in general. Looking at startups in general isn't particularly interesting for an entrepreneur compared to looking at those that are particularly successful (or fail in epic flames). Doing what you want is a good way to make macro decisions. Should I try to be a dentist or a programmer? I like programming, I'll do that. Unless your psychological makeup is perfect, it doesn't do quite as well for micro decisions. Should I eat that chocolate cake? Well, I want to. Should I go to work today? Nah, I'm tired. Should I drink that next beer? Why the hell not? I guess it comes down to that I should have been clearer in drawing the distinctions I was trying to make.

staunch 19y ago

It is a bad data point. It's an SEO site that managed to become a destination, almost purely by accident. Sort of like AdultFriendFinder, which makes hundreds of millions doing a similar thing.

Tichy 19y ago

Getting rich by doing a startup seems to be atypical. I don't see why that data point shouldn't count. My impression so far is that "doing what you want to do" is among the most promising strategies for success.

willarson 19y ago
My point is that it is a bad point among successful startups, not that it is a bad point among startups in general. Looking at startups in general isn't particularly interesting for an entrepreneur compared to looking at those that are particularly successful (or fail in epic flames). Doing what you want is a good way to make macro decisions. Should I try to be a dentist or a programmer? I like programming, I'll do that. Unless your psychological makeup is perfect, it doesn't do quite as well for micro decisions. Should I eat that chocolate cake? Well, I want to. Should I go to work today? Nah, I'm tired. Should I drink that next beer? Why the hell not? I guess it comes down to that I should have been clearer in drawing the distinctions I was trying to make.