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One thing in the article struck me as way too optimistic: > What actually makes money hasn't changed. You find something people need. You get good at providing
by pdonis 6mo ago
One thing in the article struck me as way too optimistic:
> What actually makes money hasn't changed. You find something people need. You get good at providing it. You charge a fair price and you keep showing up even when it's tedious and even when you don't want to. You build relationships over years. You build reputation over years.
You can make money doing this, yes--but most people who are really rich don't. There are lots of ways to game the system that don't involve the kinds of wacky things the article talks about.
- grebc 6mo agoShe does just mention passive income covering your monthly spend, which to be fair is not ‘really rich’.
- pdonis 6mo agoIn what I quoted, she wasn't talking about passive income; she was talking about making money by actually creating value. I'm saying it's a shame that our system is set up so people who actually create value don't end up really rich, while people who game the system do.
- jimbokun 6mo agoApple makes devices people like and use. Many people loved their Teslas. Netflix makes shows people enjoy. Facebook really did help people stay in touch with friends and family before replacing it with the Feed of Rage. Google was far better than anyone else at finding things on the early web. I would say really successful companies at least go through a stage of Building Something People Want. Even if they stray from that as they become more successful.
- pdonis 6mo agoHow many people got really rich as a result of Apple, Facebook, and Google doing things that created actual value? I get that all those companies are really rich, but most of the people involved aren't.
- mikestew 6mo agoPerhaps I misunderstand you, but I imagine those three companies have minted quite a few IC millionaires (let alone management). But maybe high single-digit millions isn't what you consider to be "really rich", dunno.
- pdonis 6mo ago> I imagine those three companies have minted quite a few IC millionaires How would that compare with, say, the average IC (not management) employee of an investment bank or a hedge fund?
- mikestew 6mo agoIt's not a comparison, people either got "really rich" working for a big tech company, or they didn't.
- pdonis 6mo ago> It's not a comparison Trying to set a threshold for what counts as "really rich" is the reason for the comparison I was asking about. My sense is that the average employee of an investment bank or hedge fund is a lot richer than the average employee of Apple, Facebook, or Google.
- mikestew 6mo agoOkay, point taken.