> I can't tell, but just to make sure - I mean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expected_value https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expected_value , not the most likely

> I can't tell, but just to make sure - I mean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expected_value https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expected_value , not the most likely outcome. Of course. I'm not talking about investors investing money into a startup (in such a case, the expected value is better positive), but about some irrationally optimistic person who starts a startup because he deeply believes in his startup concept. Hoping in general that your startup concept works or even has a positive expected value is in my opinion indeed like buying lottery tickets.