5 ms·

Another explanation of why girls don't start companies: maybe they are smarter? The median outcome of a startup is a loss of time and money.

by johnrob 13y ago

the_watcher 13y ago
PG would tell you that you shouldn't start a startup based on the median outcome.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- baddox 13y ago
  In all seriousness, why would that be the case? I assume you mean that you should start a startup if you believe that you can outperform the median, although presumably all (or most) founders believe that of themselves. I guess gambling based on your confidence in your ability is preferable to gambling on something else with poor performance at the median, like the lottery.
  - the_watcher 13y ago
    No, he would say you should start a startup because you want to start one. Your reading of it as "I should only start a startup if I think I am above median" is probably even more risk averse than he would advise, since he thinks many more people can start companies than do.
    - baddox 13y ago
      I should have been more explicit, and said "I should only start a startup if I think I am above median if my goal is to build a company that makes a net gain."
evincarofautumn 13y ago
“Smarter” is too blunt a point. Your average young woman is probably more risk-averse than your average young man.
- MrZongle2 13y ago
  Or perhaps a sizeable number of women simply don't find the idea of starting a business as interesting as other endeavors. Less than 10% of nurses in the United States are male. Why isn't there a hue and cry about this gender imbalance? Is it even a real problem? And guys, what could the nursing industry do to make it more welcoming to you? Anything? Or are you simply not interested in it? Could women in technology be the flip side of that coin, when sexism by bosses and coworkers is eliminated?
  - matthewmacleod 13y ago
    Less than 10% of nurses in the United States are male. Why isn't there a hue and cry about this gender imbalance? Is it even a real problem? There is, but you're probably not that exposed to it often by dint of (presumably) not being part of that industry. But if you look into it, there's concern about the lack of male nurses and a concerted effort to improve diversity (the same for other professions with traditionally female-skewed demographics, like teaching).
    - MartinCron 13y ago
      Shame on you, letting facts and reality ruin what some poor guy thought must be a really good argument.
    - thenomad 13y ago
      Really? That's very good news, and I hadn't heard about it at all. Do you have some links to orgs working to get more men into female-skewed professions? I'd be very interested to read them.
      - sanxiyn 13y ago
Tycho 13y ago
It would be smart to recognise that startup returns aren't normally distributed.
- johnrob 13y ago
  The expected monetary return on a startup is positive, because the giant win at the end of the tail more than pays for the losses. However, the expected happiness is probably negative (unless people like failing). The guy at the end of the tail is not 10,000X happier than the average person.
  - frandroid 13y ago
    People do more than win and fail at startups. They mostly spend their time trying, and there are great personal rewards for that. For entrepreneurs, failing is just another step towards success.
wellboy 13y ago
If you're only looking at cash in the bank afterwards from the exit maybe. What doing a startup does is worst case, that it accelerates your carreer a lot. If you do startups for 2 years, you can get the jobs (if you want) that people working at a corporation will get within 10 years, so it accelerates your career by the factor of around 5. Examples? Myself and all my startup-friends who have to work for someone every now and then when the bank balance nears 0 again are offered very high-paying/high responsibility jobs. The reason for that is that the education about business, building a product and personal growth that you get out of a startup is simply unmatched. For that reason, it's smarter to do a startup in all cases. However, only if you want to accelerate your career of course. If you don't want to make career in your life, then doing a startup is not smarter, because it does take a toll.

Another explanation of why girls don't start companies: maybe they are smarter? The median outcome of a startup is a loss of time and money.

by johnrob 13y ago

Another explanation of why girls don't start companies: maybe they are smarter? The median outcome of a startup is a loss of time and money.

the_watcher 13y ago

PG would tell you that you shouldn't start a startup based on the median outcome.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
baddox 13y ago
In all seriousness, why would that be the case? I assume you mean that you should start a startup if you believe that you can outperform the median, although presumably all (or most) founders believe that of themselves. I guess gambling based on your confidence in your ability is preferable to gambling on something else with poor performance at the median, like the lottery.
- the_watcher 13y ago
  No, he would say you should start a startup because you want to start one. Your reading of it as "I should only start a startup if I think I am above median" is probably even more risk averse than he would advise, since he thinks many more people can start companies than do.
  - baddox 13y ago
    I should have been more explicit, and said "I should only start a startup if I think I am above median if my goal is to build a company that makes a net gain."

evincarofautumn 13y ago

“Smarter” is too blunt a point. Your average young woman is probably more risk-averse than your average young man.

MrZongle2 13y ago
Or perhaps a sizeable number of women simply don't find the idea of starting a business as interesting as other endeavors. Less than 10% of nurses in the United States are male. Why isn't there a hue and cry about this gender imbalance? Is it even a real problem? And guys, what could the nursing industry do to make it more welcoming to you? Anything? Or are you simply not interested in it? Could women in technology be the flip side of that coin, when sexism by bosses and coworkers is eliminated?
- matthewmacleod 13y ago
  Less than 10% of nurses in the United States are male. Why isn't there a hue and cry about this gender imbalance? Is it even a real problem? There is, but you're probably not that exposed to it often by dint of (presumably) not being part of that industry. But if you look into it, there's concern about the lack of male nurses and a concerted effort to improve diversity (the same for other professions with traditionally female-skewed demographics, like teaching).
  - MartinCron 13y ago
    Shame on you, letting facts and reality ruin what some poor guy thought must be a really good argument.
  - thenomad 13y ago
    Really? That's very good news, and I hadn't heard about it at all. Do you have some links to orgs working to get more men into female-skewed professions? I'd be very interested to read them.
    - sanxiyn 13y ago

Tycho 13y ago

It would be smart to recognise that startup returns aren't normally distributed.

johnrob 13y ago
The expected monetary return on a startup is positive, because the giant win at the end of the tail more than pays for the losses. However, the expected happiness is probably negative (unless people like failing). The guy at the end of the tail is not 10,000X happier than the average person.
- frandroid 13y ago
  People do more than win and fail at startups. They mostly spend their time trying, and there are great personal rewards for that. For entrepreneurs, failing is just another step towards success.

wellboy 13y ago

If you're only looking at cash in the bank afterwards from the exit maybe. What doing a startup does is worst case, that it accelerates your carreer a lot. If you do startups for 2 years, you can get the jobs (if you want) that people working at a corporation will get within 10 years, so it accelerates your career by the factor of around 5. Examples? Myself and all my startup-friends who have to work for someone every now and then when the bank balance nears 0 again are offered very high-paying/high responsibility jobs. The reason for that is that the education about business, building a product and personal growth that you get out of a startup is simply unmatched. For that reason, it's smarter to do a startup in all cases. However, only if you want to accelerate your career of course. If you don't want to make career in your life, then doing a startup is not smarter, because it does take a toll.