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> To proverbially prove all the haters wrong I disagree on both points 1) that only young, inexperienced founders have this mindset and 2) that this mindset is
by bschmidt1 2y ago
> To proverbially prove all the haters wrong
I disagree on both points 1) that only young, inexperienced founders have this mindset and 2) that this mindset is somehow better than other forms of inspiration/opportunity.
No amount of "being angry" equals having the skill, finesse, or revenues to see a successful exit. I recently read the avg. age of a founder who exits (acquisition or IPO) was age 45. The 20-something founders who "grind" are not more successful.
Creating a company to "prove the haters wrong" seems misguided and actually far less potent than doing it out of survival, or because there is an incredible financial opportunity in front of you.
> Is it sustainable?
An adjacent question, but the answer is an obvious "No" right? Anyway I was really getting at the question: Is this what to expect from YC founders in 2024+? Context being I've never been asked to work weekends as a normal schedule in 15+ years of working at startups in San Francisco, but recently got asked twice in a row, both from YC.
- 2-3-7-43-1807 2y agointeresting that you interpreted you interpreted the text as praise. to me it sounds more like a caricature of some hustle bros with anger issues.
- bschmidt1 2y agoIt sounded like glamorizing because of: > YC sincerely wants people to succeed. It's attractive for people who deal with their anger by working a lot. Equating the success metric to people who have anger problems from the perspective of YC.
- 2-3-7-43-1807 2y agopeople who are angry are easy to manipulate. so, it's a win for yc. but of course for anybody else it's at best financially lucrative but more often than not just a highway to hell.
- bschmidt1 2y agoMaybe they should recruit founders out of prison, surely they're angrier. I still don't see a correlation to a lucrative exit.
- antisthenes 2y ago> The 20-something founders who "grind" are not more successful. Was there ever a consensus that 20-somethings who grind are more successful? I don't think so. They simply do not have the requisite broad life skills that are required in business to succeed. They may have the energy, grit, a narrow set of skills and then stumble upon a goldmine product, but the combination of these factors results in what, a 1-2% successful exit rate? As for the answer of "is it sustainable", it really depends how rich their parents are and how much they can fail upwards. Apparently, there are a lot of rich parents in the US.
- doctorpangloss 2y ago> Apparently, there are a lot of rich parents in the US. Another point of view is that, if what you say is true, then this isn't as important as it seems.