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"we skip entirely over the value of working for large, established companies before you create your own." When I first started writing about startups, I believ

by pg 13y ago

"we skip entirely over the value of working for large, established companies before you create your own." When I first started writing about startups, I believed this. I suggested that would-be founders work for a couple years for existing companies before trying to start their own. But the empirical evidence changed my opinion. You can learn things from working at an existing company, certainly, but you learn more from trying to start a startup.

wilfra 13y ago
Selection bias? People who can get into YC at 20 are probably better off starting a company than getting a job. However what about the other 99.999% of 20-year olds?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- pg 13y ago
  There are two ways in which one might be better off starting a startup than going to work for an existing company: you might learn more, and you might have higher expected value. What I'm claiming (since this benefit of working for an existing company is what the OP is talking about) is that the former is almost always true. The latter, frankly, is never going to be true for more than a small percentage of people, regardless of age.
lifeformed 13y ago
It seems beneficial to have at least some experience with working at an existing company. Knowing how things are traditionally done, knowing where the bottlenecks and communication problems lie, can be a big help in figuring out where you can take advantage of your own situation. It also helps you not take for granted many of the more subtle benefits a startup provides.
- pg 13y ago
  It's certainly beneficial. Just not as beneficial as other things you could do with that time.
anonyfuss 13y ago
You only need a small percentage of your companies to succeed, and even then, you only need them to succeed within the constraints of delivering a great exit, not actually standing alone as a viable, well-managed company. The other N% of your mini-startups can fall on their face, and you're still doing fine. This is not evidence for anything other than what works best for you; throwing kids in the deep end and having enough of them survive that you can ignore N% that drown. Your position is not great advice for the majority that will drown.

by pg 13y ago

wilfra 13y ago

Selection bias? People who can get into YC at 20 are probably better off starting a company than getting a job. However what about the other 99.999% of 20-year olds?

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
pg 13y ago
There are two ways in which one might be better off starting a startup than going to work for an existing company: you might learn more, and you might have higher expected value. What I'm claiming (since this benefit of working for an existing company is what the OP is talking about) is that the former is almost always true. The latter, frankly, is never going to be true for more than a small percentage of people, regardless of age.

lifeformed 13y ago

It seems beneficial to have at least some experience with working at an existing company. Knowing how things are traditionally done, knowing where the bottlenecks and communication problems lie, can be a big help in figuring out where you can take advantage of your own situation. It also helps you not take for granted many of the more subtle benefits a startup provides.

pg 13y ago
It's certainly beneficial. Just not as beneficial as other things you could do with that time.

anonyfuss 13y ago

You only need a small percentage of your companies to succeed, and even then, you only need them to succeed within the constraints of delivering a great exit, not actually standing alone as a viable, well-managed company. The other N% of your mini-startups can fall on their face, and you're still doing fine. This is not evidence for anything other than what works best for you; throwing kids in the deep end and having enough of them survive that you can ignore N% that drown. Your position is not great advice for the majority that will drown.