5 ms·

Five signs you’re a wantrepreneur

18 points by pr0zac 13y ago

tikhonj 13y ago
The whole idea of "wantrepreneur" and getting an "entrepreneur badge" just rubs me the wrong way. The rest of the points in the post--some of which are definitely useful--just get tarred by that. The implicit equivalence between "app" and "startup" doesn't help either. The main reason I'm attracted to startups is that, unlike established companies or academia, there is no exclusive "startup club". No prescribed way of doing things, no particular hoops to jump through. Ultimately, anything goes and you'll probably fail regardless :P. There is a lot of room to do things differently and to do them the way you want. Subscribing to some strict delineation between "entrepreneur" and "wantrepreneur" just goes against all that.
liquidise 13y ago
"If you’re not willing to give up everything for your dream, you’re not dedicated enough or your dream isn’t big enough." Or logistically you are not in a place to do so? I have heard this very sentiment echoed more and more lately, and it feels short-sighted. Every business or product has its own story. To claim that the above statement is a ubiquitous characteristic of successful products is patently false. While they all share a passion and desire to problem solve, not all of them require a person to set everything else aside to achieve levels of success.
- joseph_cooney 13y ago
  In the absence of any evidence in the article to the contrary, I think point #1 is pretty suspect. A friend of mine built a business that was very much aligned with his personality and interests, but he did so in his spare time, until it was bringing in about 300K/year in profits, and he literally didn't have a spare minute more to devote to it. Only then he quit his well paying day-job.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
RKoutnik 13y ago
A big extra one is "Are you spending more time pitching your product than building it?" I myself have fallen into this trap in the past and see many others doing it on social media/meetups/etc. Yes, talking about your great idea is great but it doesn't actually help make it happen. I think that this comes from wanting the idea, but not being willing to put forward the effort with the risk of failing. I know lots of smart people who never strive for anything lest they fail.
steveplace 13y ago
Get a paying customer. If you get that, this list doesn't matter. You don't have to give up everything. You don't have to use your own product. You don't have to be the top in your field. You don't have to be a super connector. You don't need to build a brand. In fact, this list can actually prevent you from building your business. If you're focused on sacrifice, domain knowledge, network building and brand building then you can't focus on the one thing that matters.
- lowglow 13y ago
  How are you going to build a product, or convince someone to use your product if you're not trying hard enough for someone to care? Am I living in some weird world where 'get a paying customer' is super easy? All of these things in this list help to build a product that people might actually pay for.
  - steveplace 13y ago
    Are those points helpful? Sure, why not. Are they absolutely required (as the post proclaims) if you want to start a business? Nope.
aantix 13y ago
First you read this : >If you’re not willing to give up everything for your dream, you’re not dedicated enough or your dream isn’t big enough And then read this : >Founder of several startups, previously worked at a venture capital firm as an EIR, went through YC, and 500 Startups. It's the line that's fed over and over again, but generally these are people with investor hats on. They want you to go all in, work at breakneck speed, because time lost is opportunity cost to them (where they could have invested elsewhere). But there's so many other counter examples of slow and steady organic growth, stuff that was started on the side, that ended successfully that we simply can't take this bait. Just do what empowers you. If slow and deliberate is your game, play that. Know thyself and be honest with yourself about the results you're producing.
jessedhillon 13y ago
Sign #0: you care about a list like this and how it applies to you
benologist 13y ago
Biggest sign you're not an entrepreneur: you worry about other people calling themselves one, one of the least important problems entrepreneurs and even humanity has ever faced.

18 points by pr0zac 13y ago

The whole idea of "wantrepreneur" and getting an "entrepreneur badge" just rubs me the wrong way. The rest of the points in the post--some of which are definitely useful--just get tarred by that. The implicit equivalence between "app" and "startup" doesn't help either. The main reason I'm attracted to startups is that, unlike established companies or academia, there is no exclusive "startup club". No prescribed way of doing things, no particular hoops to jump through. Ultimately, anything goes and you'll probably fail regardless :P. There is a lot of room to do things differently and to do them the way you want. Subscribing to some strict delineation between "entrepreneur" and "wantrepreneur" just goes against all that.

liquidise 13y ago

"If you’re not willing to give up everything for your dream, you’re not dedicated enough or your dream isn’t big enough." Or logistically you are not in a place to do so? I have heard this very sentiment echoed more and more lately, and it feels short-sighted. Every business or product has its own story. To claim that the above statement is a ubiquitous characteristic of successful products is patently false. While they all share a passion and desire to problem solve, not all of them require a person to set everything else aside to achieve levels of success.

joseph_cooney 13y ago
In the absence of any evidence in the article to the contrary, I think point #1 is pretty suspect. A friend of mine built a business that was very much aligned with his personality and interests, but he did so in his spare time, until it was bringing in about 300K/year in profits, and he literally didn't have a spare minute more to devote to it. Only then he quit his well paying day-job.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

RKoutnik 13y ago

A big extra one is "Are you spending more time pitching your product than building it?" I myself have fallen into this trap in the past and see many others doing it on social media/meetups/etc. Yes, talking about your great idea is great but it doesn't actually help make it happen. I think that this comes from wanting the idea, but not being willing to put forward the effort with the risk of failing. I know lots of smart people who never strive for anything lest they fail.

steveplace 13y ago

Get a paying customer. If you get that, this list doesn't matter. You don't have to give up everything. You don't have to use your own product. You don't have to be the top in your field. You don't have to be a super connector. You don't need to build a brand. In fact, this list can actually prevent you from building your business. If you're focused on sacrifice, domain knowledge, network building and brand building then you can't focus on the one thing that matters.

lowglow 13y ago
How are you going to build a product, or convince someone to use your product if you're not trying hard enough for someone to care? Am I living in some weird world where 'get a paying customer' is super easy? All of these things in this list help to build a product that people might actually pay for.
- steveplace 13y ago
  Are those points helpful? Sure, why not. Are they absolutely required (as the post proclaims) if you want to start a business? Nope.

aantix 13y ago

First you read this : >If you’re not willing to give up everything for your dream, you’re not dedicated enough or your dream isn’t big enough And then read this : >Founder of several startups, previously worked at a venture capital firm as an EIR, went through YC, and 500 Startups. It's the line that's fed over and over again, but generally these are people with investor hats on. They want you to go all in, work at breakneck speed, because time lost is opportunity cost to them (where they could have invested elsewhere). But there's so many other counter examples of slow and steady organic growth, stuff that was started on the side, that ended successfully that we simply can't take this bait. Just do what empowers you. If slow and deliberate is your game, play that. Know thyself and be honest with yourself about the results you're producing.

jessedhillon 13y ago

Sign #0: you care about a list like this and how it applies to you

benologist 13y ago

Biggest sign you're not an entrepreneur: you worry about other people calling themselves one, one of the least important problems entrepreneurs and even humanity has ever faced.