> The article suggests that it's probably better not to have that external validation, and definitely better not to take the money. Is that character-building,

> The article suggests that it's probably better not to have that external validation, and definitely better not to take the money. Is that character-building, or foolhardy? The article is wrong. Start-up failure is rarely due to lack of emotional investment, it is almost always due to lack of capital. It is better to start with the confidence, money, and connections of other people. The key is to educate yourself about startup finance issues so you don't screw yourself. Luckily there are sites like news.ycombinator and venture hacks which give you a pretty good idea of good and bad funding models.