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so if you wanted to do that why start your own company in the first place I really don't understand this sentiment. Many entrepeneurs don't found a company bec

so if you wanted to do that why start your own company in the first place I really don't understand this sentiment. Many entrepeneurs don't found a company because they don't want a regular job: they found a company because they have a good idea that they like to work on and there isn't a regular job that offers that. And because they think they can make a lot more money this way. Taking the money, while taking more money from MegaCorp for a job where you can work on what you like sounds like an excellent tradeoff, especially if you can convince them to let you work under your own rules. I am very suspicious of people that found companies only because they "don't want a regular job". There are lots of different regular jobs and many in which you have lots of responsibility and set/plan your own rules/project. They come close to a startup. In my book, generalizing 'regular jobs' implies stupidity.

fmora 18y ago
>>I am very suspicious of people that found companies only because they "don't want a regular job" Hmmmm... I am thinking is the other way around. Why would people want a regular job? Think about it, why do you want to work under someone else? Do you have such a low self esteem that you don't think you can succeed on your own? Most people get regular jobs because they don't believe they are good enough to start a company. Hurray for those of us that believe that working on a regular job is almost the same as being a looser!
- wheels 18y ago
  That's a little too echo-chamber-ish for me. I think most people have "normal" jobs because either (a) their life doesn't revolve around their work or (b) it's never occurred to them to found a company. The first takes a couple forms. During the last two "normal jobs" my life was focused on open source work and music, respectively. I didn't want to "monetize" either of them, so the best solution was having a job that was loosely connected to them and allowed for that (working in the LinuxLab of a large corporation, and then a pro-audio company, respectively). For a lot of people it's their families. The second I think is also pretty common. It just hadn't occurred to me to start a company until a couple years before I did. Not to mention, that because of visa requirements, it wasn't possible. Founding a company has been a great experience, but my life revolves around that now. For those who do not find that desirable, working for others seems a fairly sane choice.
gaius 18y ago
especially if you can convince them to let you work under your own rules In my experience (two acquisitions by public companies) it never quite works out like that. Most recent experience involved "we won't change a thing" up front then after the deal went through "stop working on cool new features until you've integrated your product with our legacy code". And from their perspective that was exactly the right thing do to; they'd bought us for what we could do for them after all. But for me personally, reverse-engineering ancient, undocumented Delphi apps wasn't what I'd signed up for.
bjelkeman-again 18y ago
Of course, what is a "regular job"? I started my own company the first time because I was tired of working for idiots. Of course, not everyone I worked for was an idiot, but enough of them poisoned my daily life that I thought I would do better without them. I did. Now I start companies to "do stuff that matters" and all the ideas I have had just don't seem to fit into a regular company. I find it easier to create something new and attract investors than to find the right company to support me doing what needs to get done.

fmora 18y ago

>>I am very suspicious of people that found companies only because they "don't want a regular job" Hmmmm... I am thinking is the other way around. Why would people want a regular job? Think about it, why do you want to work under someone else? Do you have such a low self esteem that you don't think you can succeed on your own? Most people get regular jobs because they don't believe they are good enough to start a company. Hurray for those of us that believe that working on a regular job is almost the same as being a looser!

wheels 18y ago
That's a little too echo-chamber-ish for me. I think most people have "normal" jobs because either (a) their life doesn't revolve around their work or (b) it's never occurred to them to found a company. The first takes a couple forms. During the last two "normal jobs" my life was focused on open source work and music, respectively. I didn't want to "monetize" either of them, so the best solution was having a job that was loosely connected to them and allowed for that (working in the LinuxLab of a large corporation, and then a pro-audio company, respectively). For a lot of people it's their families. The second I think is also pretty common. It just hadn't occurred to me to start a company until a couple years before I did. Not to mention, that because of visa requirements, it wasn't possible. Founding a company has been a great experience, but my life revolves around that now. For those who do not find that desirable, working for others seems a fairly sane choice.

gaius 18y ago

especially if you can convince them to let you work under your own rules In my experience (two acquisitions by public companies) it never quite works out like that. Most recent experience involved "we won't change a thing" up front then after the deal went through "stop working on cool new features until you've integrated your product with our legacy code". And from their perspective that was exactly the right thing do to; they'd bought us for what we could do for them after all. But for me personally, reverse-engineering ancient, undocumented Delphi apps wasn't what I'd signed up for.

bjelkeman-again 18y ago

Of course, what is a "regular job"? I started my own company the first time because I was tired of working for idiots. Of course, not everyone I worked for was an idiot, but enough of them poisoned my daily life that I thought I would do better without them. I did. Now I start companies to "do stuff that matters" and all the ideas I have had just don't seem to fit into a regular company. I find it easier to create something new and attract investors than to find the right company to support me doing what needs to get done.