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Was the article crude, and maybe more harsh then is needed? of course. Still, the general point is correct. The thing that is great about start-ups is the abi

by swalsh 14y ago

Was the article crude, and maybe more harsh then is needed? of course. Still, the general point is correct. The thing that is great about start-ups is the ability to solve real problems using innovative approaches. Large companies have processes in place to stay steady, to minimize risk. Start-ups thrive on risk. The problem though, is the glamour of the concept has made people more excited about the status of the start-up... and not the problem the start-up is solving. In fact the "problem" has almost been ignored. Look at PG's essay from a few weeks ago. The concept of using a start-up to solve A REAL PROBLEM was revolutionary to some, and debatable to others. Think about that for a moment. Looking for real problems to build a start-up around was revolutionary, and debatable. To me that says a lot. So my question... can anyone name one great entrepreneur who did it for their love of doing a start-up, and not for the passion of "The problem"?

tptacek 14y ago
The "general point" that is "correct" in this article is someone everyone commenting on this thread already knew; it's a point almost every credible technology has been making for years. A well-known Google engineer made news simply by moving from "cat picture" projects to "meaningful" projects. Anybody in the world could have made that "correct" point. The problem is that the specific points Lyons builds on "don't sell cat pictures" are either useless, false, or both. Getting a real job and learning engineering aren't a solution to the problem of selling cat pictures. When you take someone whose first instinct is to build a cat picture app and train him on type theory, the CAP theorem, quorum commits, compiler backends, and linear algebra, guess what you get? Thermonuclear cat pictures. In the end, the only actionable advice Lyons has that you should consider taking is "avoid long bus rides with Scoble". To answer your question: which person at 37signals do you think built Basecamp for the love of project management? And how many entrepreneurs can we name who are passionate about dumb problems?

by swalsh 14y ago

tptacek 14y ago

The "general point" that is "correct" in this article is someone everyone commenting on this thread already knew; it's a point almost every credible technology has been making for years. A well-known Google engineer made news simply by moving from "cat picture" projects to "meaningful" projects. Anybody in the world could have made that "correct" point. The problem is that the specific points Lyons builds on "don't sell cat pictures" are either useless, false, or both. Getting a real job and learning engineering aren't a solution to the problem of selling cat pictures. When you take someone whose first instinct is to build a cat picture app and train him on type theory, the CAP theorem, quorum commits, compiler backends, and linear algebra, guess what you get? Thermonuclear cat pictures. In the end, the only actionable advice Lyons has that you should consider taking is "avoid long bus rides with Scoble". To answer your question: which person at 37signals do you think built Basecamp for the love of project management? And how many entrepreneurs can we name who are passionate about dumb problems?