To clarify that comment: you get into the semantics of "startup" and "founder" here a bit. But most folks starting companies or working in startups on Hacker

To clarify that comment: you get into the semantics of "startup" and "founder" here a bit. But most folks starting companies or working in startups on Hacker News are in the kind of startups where even an early angel round has a starting valuation north of $1million. So, that's what I mean by the starting line. Obviously, selling for a million dollars will work in some circumstances for some folks. But also it's worth remembering that it's not as much money as it once was. I once had a startup that for various reasons we chose to exit for right around GBP1million. It's not retiring money for someone who is (as I was) still young and has a lot of years to go. It's helpful, but not where most folks on here are aiming to be when they build a company. I doubt most people driven to start companies need the perverse incentive of being broke to light a fire under their ass. Most founders I know are incredibly driven and motivation of that kind is seldom necessary or helpful.