"One big con is that it’s easy to start a company for the wrong reasons—usually so that you can say you’re starting a company—and this makes it easy to cloud yo

"One big con is that it’s easy to start a company for the wrong reasons—usually so that you can say you’re starting a company—and this makes it easy to cloud your judgment." Recently, I've randomly come across a lot of people here in Lisbon, all in their 20s, saying they're in a brand-new startup or starting one. When I ask them about it, mum is the word. They hesitate and fumble for words, say a key word or two, then speak very generally before clamming up. It's amazing how many times I've seen this exact scene play itself out in the last few months. It's a mixture of being unsure about what they're doing and not wanting someone to steal their idea. They're all either novice coders without a business-minded partner, or vice-versa. It's to the point that I often feel like I'm in a scene from the Truman Show. Seeing this happen, and while being in the midst of starting my own thing, I'm hesitant to say I'm doing a startup. I find myself preferring to say 'I'm starting a business online'.