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I don't disagree with the philosophy here, but the examples given are deeply flawed. Ben Silbermann kept working on Pinterest because he didn't want to admit t

I don't disagree with the philosophy here, but the examples given are deeply flawed. Ben Silbermann kept working on Pinterest because he didn't want to admit to failing. His parents are both specialist doctors who could certainly afford to pass him $50k/year to make sure he was "okay". There was no desperation, just the fact that he kept perpetuating the lie that everything was okay with his business, thus by telling this lie, quitting would make him feel like a dishonest person (I have told the same lie as well. Thank god it worked out.). The AirBnB founders sold cereal because they are hustlers, not because they were desperate. I'd be willing to be it was more of a drunken idea backed by "fuck it, let's do it", more than desperation. If there is startup lesson to be learned from these two examples, it is that never giving up, and "fuck it, why not" are beneficial. Desperation may be helpful, but I think the author needs to find better examples.

orangethirty 14y ago
If there is startup lesson to be learned from these two examples, it is that never giving up, and "fuck it, why not" are beneficial. Well put. In terms of never giving up, I think its necessary to explain that it does not mean sticking to one idea per se. But to the goal of growing one succesful business (whatever it may end up being). One can iterate over many ideas, failure after failure, and not need to give up in the grand scheme of things. Sure, it is a bit demoralizing, but some of us manage to get back on the horse and keep going. The fuck it let's do it attitude is very important. Nothing happens until you make it happen. Nobody is going to serve you your startup on a silver platter. Nobody. Desperation may be helpful, but I think the author needs to find better examples. Desperation is helpful, but in my experience it is not a good driving force. It clouds judgement and is usually aimed at short term success.

orangethirty 14y ago

If there is startup lesson to be learned from these two examples, it is that never giving up, and "fuck it, why not" are beneficial. Well put. In terms of never giving up, I think its necessary to explain that it does not mean sticking to one idea per se. But to the goal of growing one succesful business (whatever it may end up being). One can iterate over many ideas, failure after failure, and not need to give up in the grand scheme of things. Sure, it is a bit demoralizing, but some of us manage to get back on the horse and keep going. The fuck it let's do it attitude is very important. Nothing happens until you make it happen. Nobody is going to serve you your startup on a silver platter. Nobody. Desperation may be helpful, but I think the author needs to find better examples. Desperation is helpful, but in my experience it is not a good driving force. It clouds judgement and is usually aimed at short term success.