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I’ve set up my life so I have my own safety net (I made lots of money as an employee then saved it) Now at age ~40 I can afford to take risks like zuck and gat

by sjducb 3y ago

I’ve set up my life so I have my own safety net (I made lots of money as an employee then saved it) Now at age ~40 I can afford to take risks like zuck and gates could when they were 20. I’m my own rich parents.

fragmede 3y ago
Except you're not 20. You don't have the same vitality as someone half your age, and you have relationships befitting a 40 year old and not a 20 year old so you still can't take the same risks. You're better capitalized and have deeper relationships than a 20 year old but you're not 20 years old able to. live off ramen and going out for a night of binge drinking with a fellow 20 year old who's going to go on to write Napster or Facebook. You won't wake up at 7 am after that night to roll into class at 9am where you'll network and build relationships where you can both drop out of college to start a new computer company. Where do you find fellow 40 year olds that can also take risks like you're both 20? I'm asking seriously because I'm also 40 and able to take a risk thanks to saving up some money, but imagining that I'm in the same boat as if I had this kind of backing when I was 20 is, I'm sorry, delusional.
- pphysch 3y ago
  I think being "20 years old" in this context is more about "20 years ago". Where are the successful young 20yo founders in 2024? Recent golden-child SBF is 31 and ran a failed crypto scam! It would be unhealthy to misinterpret "youth" and "economic golden age" as the same thing. It is purely a coincidence that they may coincide for some generations.
- antisthenes 3y ago
  > Where do you find fellow 40 year olds that can also take risks like you're both 20? I'm asking seriously because I'm also 40 and able to take a risk thanks to saving up some money On HN, apparently! You guys should get together and take some risks. Frankly, I'd much rather work with 40-year olds than 20-year olds. You may not get the same energy, but you're also much less likely to see your coworker throwing up in the office for half the day after that binge drinking night before.
- em-bee 3y ago
  but many successful startups are by people in their 40s. i don't think you need to act like a 20 year old in order to start a business. on the contrary. you can start without taking huge risks. i am obviously not in the same boat as when i was 20. at 20 i knew nothing, i had dumb ideas, and i would have worked my ass off building something that noone needs. now i have experience, and i know that i am not going to waste one minute on coding until i have found customers that will pay for it. i am building a new consultancy right now. i just need a partner to help me with sales. once we get projects i can start hiring and together we can grow the business. it's low risk because looking for projects is more or less like looking for jobs. anyone interested?
  - exe34 3y ago
    > but many successful startups are by people in their 40s. No, they are made by people who failed since their twenties and learnt a great deal along the way and made the right connections. There are powerlifters in their 40s - but I suspect you'd damage something if you just marched into a gym and started lifting twice your weight.
    - em-bee 3y ago
      the statistics are talking about first time entrepreneurs, so they didn't fail in their 20s because they didn't try until they were 40.
  - fragmede 3y ago
    At 20 you knew nothing and that was a strength. You didn't know any better and went against giants to start Microsoft, Apple, and Google instead of joining HP or IBM. At 40 we could start McDonalds, LinkedIn or Walmart.
- AndrewKemendo 3y ago
  Hi nice to meet you I’m a 40 year old with no safety net but the one I made for myself I was just out of for a year and had to live off savings and do small gigs. My community I’ve built on my own for the last 20 years (including my friend jacquesm) sent me money and bought me food and took me to the doctor… Luckily I got a full time startup job a month before i was insolvent but i have to rebuild my finances Oh and simultaneously I’m starting a residential waste cooperative that won’t make me any money by design Risk taking tolerance can be taught but you need to have an unquenchable fire and be intelligent
  - fragmede 3y ago
    Nice to meet you, is Twitter dm's the best way to contact you?
    - AndrewKemendo 3y ago
      Probably I’ll give you my email from there
wing-_-nuts 3y ago
I understand where you're coming from, but there's a fine distinction. Most never wind up testing their safety net. In my mind, the real benefit is the risk tolerance you develop knowing you have one as a young adult. When you don't that drive for safety can leave one with a very risk adverse mindset. So yeah, you can be FI at 40, but that won't magically change the temperament that got you there.

by sjducb 3y ago

fragmede 3y ago

Except you're not 20. You don't have the same vitality as someone half your age, and you have relationships befitting a 40 year old and not a 20 year old so you still can't take the same risks. You're better capitalized and have deeper relationships than a 20 year old but you're not 20 years old able to. live off ramen and going out for a night of binge drinking with a fellow 20 year old who's going to go on to write Napster or Facebook. You won't wake up at 7 am after that night to roll into class at 9am where you'll network and build relationships where you can both drop out of college to start a new computer company. Where do you find fellow 40 year olds that can also take risks like you're both 20? I'm asking seriously because I'm also 40 and able to take a risk thanks to saving up some money, but imagining that I'm in the same boat as if I had this kind of backing when I was 20 is, I'm sorry, delusional.

pphysch 3y ago
I think being "20 years old" in this context is more about "20 years ago". Where are the successful young 20yo founders in 2024? Recent golden-child SBF is 31 and ran a failed crypto scam! It would be unhealthy to misinterpret "youth" and "economic golden age" as the same thing. It is purely a coincidence that they may coincide for some generations.
antisthenes 3y ago
> Where do you find fellow 40 year olds that can also take risks like you're both 20? I'm asking seriously because I'm also 40 and able to take a risk thanks to saving up some money On HN, apparently! You guys should get together and take some risks. Frankly, I'd much rather work with 40-year olds than 20-year olds. You may not get the same energy, but you're also much less likely to see your coworker throwing up in the office for half the day after that binge drinking night before.
em-bee 3y ago
but many successful startups are by people in their 40s. i don't think you need to act like a 20 year old in order to start a business. on the contrary. you can start without taking huge risks. i am obviously not in the same boat as when i was 20. at 20 i knew nothing, i had dumb ideas, and i would have worked my ass off building something that noone needs. now i have experience, and i know that i am not going to waste one minute on coding until i have found customers that will pay for it. i am building a new consultancy right now. i just need a partner to help me with sales. once we get projects i can start hiring and together we can grow the business. it's low risk because looking for projects is more or less like looking for jobs. anyone interested?
- exe34 3y ago
  > but many successful startups are by people in their 40s. No, they are made by people who failed since their twenties and learnt a great deal along the way and made the right connections. There are powerlifters in their 40s - but I suspect you'd damage something if you just marched into a gym and started lifting twice your weight.
  - em-bee 3y ago
    the statistics are talking about first time entrepreneurs, so they didn't fail in their 20s because they didn't try until they were 40.
- fragmede 3y ago
  At 20 you knew nothing and that was a strength. You didn't know any better and went against giants to start Microsoft, Apple, and Google instead of joining HP or IBM. At 40 we could start McDonalds, LinkedIn or Walmart.
AndrewKemendo 3y ago
Hi nice to meet you I’m a 40 year old with no safety net but the one I made for myself I was just out of for a year and had to live off savings and do small gigs. My community I’ve built on my own for the last 20 years (including my friend jacquesm) sent me money and bought me food and took me to the doctor… Luckily I got a full time startup job a month before i was insolvent but i have to rebuild my finances Oh and simultaneously I’m starting a residential waste cooperative that won’t make me any money by design Risk taking tolerance can be taught but you need to have an unquenchable fire and be intelligent
- fragmede 3y ago
  Nice to meet you, is Twitter dm's the best way to contact you?
  - AndrewKemendo 3y ago
    Probably I’ll give you my email from there

wing-_-nuts 3y ago

I understand where you're coming from, but there's a fine distinction. Most never wind up testing their safety net. In my mind, the real benefit is the risk tolerance you develop knowing you have one as a young adult. When you don't that drive for safety can leave one with a very risk adverse mindset. So yeah, you can be FI at 40, but that won't magically change the temperament that got you there.