4 ms·

The argument could be made that giving as much of yourself as possible is a crucial ingredient to making the startup worth it. After all if you are holding back

The argument could be made that giving as much of yourself as possible is a crucial ingredient to making the startup worth it. After all if you are holding back the product and business isn't building itself. Of course it probably isn't healthy to make a business the center of your life, but people who do will likely have a higher chance of success in that business because they are willing to put forth a lot more effort to keep it going than someone who isn't as committed, and therefore not as concerned if the business fails.

CamperBob2 14y ago
Of course it probably isn't healthy to make a business the center of your life If you don't, though, you will likely be outcompeted by those who do. It's a simple, obvious truth, not a value judgement.
- rhizome 14y ago
  Are you really being outcompeted if the startup winds up going basically nowhere and you've put a year or two of huge time and opportunity costs into a failure? What if startups weren't worth it unless they were well-run enough to require very few hours over 40 from its employees?
  - CamperBob2 14y ago
    What if startups weren't worth it unless they were well-run enough to require very few hours over 40 from its employees Are we talking about employees, or founders?
    - rhizome 14y ago
      I'm talking about well-run startups.
      - CamperBob2 14y ago
        Oh, OK. I guess I haven't known any of those.
- rwallace 14y ago
  It's a falsehood that appears intuitively obvious. Working stupid hours destroys not only your productivity and personal life but also your judgment, to the extent that you lose the ability to judge your degree of cognitive impairment. It's like coming into work blind drunk: not only are you a liability to yourself and others but you don't realize how much of a liability you are. You may well end up being outcompeted by someone who put in forty hours a week of smart, correctly applied work.
  - CamperBob2 14y ago
    I didn't say anything about "working stupid hours," did I? However: You may well end up being outcompeted by someone who put in forty hours a week of smart, correctly applied work. Let me know when that actually happens.

CamperBob2 14y ago

Of course it probably isn't healthy to make a business the center of your life If you don't, though, you will likely be outcompeted by those who do. It's a simple, obvious truth, not a value judgement.

rhizome 14y ago
Are you really being outcompeted if the startup winds up going basically nowhere and you've put a year or two of huge time and opportunity costs into a failure? What if startups weren't worth it unless they were well-run enough to require very few hours over 40 from its employees?
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  What if startups weren't worth it unless they were well-run enough to require very few hours over 40 from its employees Are we talking about employees, or founders?
  - rhizome 14y ago
    I'm talking about well-run startups.
    - CamperBob2 14y ago
      Oh, OK. I guess I haven't known any of those.
rwallace 14y ago
It's a falsehood that appears intuitively obvious. Working stupid hours destroys not only your productivity and personal life but also your judgment, to the extent that you lose the ability to judge your degree of cognitive impairment. It's like coming into work blind drunk: not only are you a liability to yourself and others but you don't realize how much of a liability you are. You may well end up being outcompeted by someone who put in forty hours a week of smart, correctly applied work.
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  I didn't say anything about "working stupid hours," did I? However: You may well end up being outcompeted by someone who put in forty hours a week of smart, correctly applied work. Let me know when that actually happens.