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Yes. But would it qualify as 'surround yourself with others you want to be like?' Do you want to be like your typical drug smuggler? Do they have happy endin

by rjurney 18y ago

Yes. But would it qualify as 'surround yourself with others you want to be like?' Do you want to be like your typical drug smuggler? Do they have happy endings? ;)

ojbyrne 18y ago
To your first 2 questions - maybe? I have read a few books about drug smugglers, and they're often quite interesting people. I've certainly met some entrepreneurial types I didn't at all like, plus there's plenty of them out there who basically get screwed (down rounds, recapitalization, etc). Assuming entrepreneurship always leads to happy endings seems to be a common fallacy. And while we always hear about the entrepreneurs who succeed, we always hear about the drug smugglers who fail. It's difficult to estimate proportions in both cases.
- rjurney 18y ago
  The guys who are worth telling popular stories about are the 'good guy' exceptions. The typical large-scale cocaine trafficker is not a nice person. That being said, you're probably about as likely to get busted as you are to go broke, but at least in a startup you just lose all your money.
- geeko 18y ago
  This is a good point. We just lack the data to make any predictions whether going the "road less traveled by" leads to success (whatever that means) and assume that "all the difference" equals good (whereas it's rather neutral). [1] Robert Frost: The Road Not Taken (http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html)
bigbang 18y ago
The article does say, "I’m not talking stupid risks. But smart, calculated ones." :)
- tomjen 18y ago
  If you succed you are basically set for life. If you fail you loose 4-6 years of your life. How is that different from a startup?
  - bigbang 18y ago
    In startup, if you fail you dont lose 4-6 years of your life. Moreover people wont consider you a failure if you fail in a startup, as opposed to say landing up in a prison.
  - zackattack 18y ago
    This is such a stupid comment, I don't know where to begin. Possible attacks on your argument: 1. "set for life" - not necessarily, plus you would have to sell the drugs, etc. 2. just lose 4-6 years of your life - criminal penalties likely greater 3. horrible effects of prison on your psyche and future work possibilities 4. possible death from involvement w/ criminal underworld 5. with a start-up you get transferable experience Other reasons why this is a stupid comment: 1. Learn to spell succeed 2. Learn to spell lose If you are not a native speaker, I apologize for #1 but #2 can be corrected with a spellcheck plugin. But it seems like you just typed quickly without thinking your comment through.

by rjurney 18y ago

Yes. But would it qualify as 'surround yourself with others you want to be like?' Do you want to be like your typical drug smuggler? Do they have happy endings? ;)

ojbyrne 18y ago

To your first 2 questions - maybe? I have read a few books about drug smugglers, and they're often quite interesting people. I've certainly met some entrepreneurial types I didn't at all like, plus there's plenty of them out there who basically get screwed (down rounds, recapitalization, etc). Assuming entrepreneurship always leads to happy endings seems to be a common fallacy. And while we always hear about the entrepreneurs who succeed, we always hear about the drug smugglers who fail. It's difficult to estimate proportions in both cases.

rjurney 18y ago
The guys who are worth telling popular stories about are the 'good guy' exceptions. The typical large-scale cocaine trafficker is not a nice person. That being said, you're probably about as likely to get busted as you are to go broke, but at least in a startup you just lose all your money.
geeko 18y ago
This is a good point. We just lack the data to make any predictions whether going the "road less traveled by" leads to success (whatever that means) and assume that "all the difference" equals good (whereas it's rather neutral). [1] Robert Frost: The Road Not Taken (http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html)

bigbang 18y ago

The article does say, "I’m not talking stupid risks. But smart, calculated ones." :)

tomjen 18y ago
If you succed you are basically set for life. If you fail you loose 4-6 years of your life. How is that different from a startup?
- bigbang 18y ago
  In startup, if you fail you dont lose 4-6 years of your life. Moreover people wont consider you a failure if you fail in a startup, as opposed to say landing up in a prison.
- zackattack 18y ago
  This is such a stupid comment, I don't know where to begin. Possible attacks on your argument: 1. "set for life" - not necessarily, plus you would have to sell the drugs, etc. 2. just lose 4-6 years of your life - criminal penalties likely greater 3. horrible effects of prison on your psyche and future work possibilities 4. possible death from involvement w/ criminal underworld 5. with a start-up you get transferable experience Other reasons why this is a stupid comment: 1. Learn to spell succeed 2. Learn to spell lose If you are not a native speaker, I apologize for #1 but #2 can be corrected with a spellcheck plugin. But it seems like you just typed quickly without thinking your comment through.