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You really don't have to become a psychopath to start a company. Many people do it all the time while going to school, raising a family, working other jobs...

You really don't have to become a psychopath to start a company. Many people do it all the time while going to school, raising a family, working other jobs... Now they may just be opening up a restaurant or dry cleaner rather than a high-tech CRUD mobile app which makes their "startup" less sexy than one run by Ivy Leaguers who swear by not-sleeping, setting dogs on fire for fun and mainlining Thai crank as their secret to success. Those people advocating for crazy off-the-wall "one weird secret" cargo-cult schemes succeeded in spite of themselves, and not because of. So really, becoming a psychopath is probably the last thing any aspiring business person should become. It won't help you balance the books. It won't bring in new business. And it won't help form and maintain lasting personal relationships that are the real secret to business success.

yuna 12y ago
Not that I agree with the grandparent's sweeping statements about psychopaths, but your comment also makes a sweeping statement that "becoming a psychopath is probably the last thing any aspiring business person should become". No evidence is provided in either case. It's also pretty insulting to both psychologists and psychopaths alike that you think a psychopath is just something you decide one day to become. It's also jarring that in one paragraph you bash crazy "one weird secrets" to success, when in the next paragraph you claim that the one weird secret to success is "personal relationships".
- wavefunction 12y ago
  My response was tongue-in-cheek because the original supposition that someone should become/becomes a psychopath while finding success with a startup is so ludicrous. You've made a number of unsupported suppositions about my intentions, how frightful! I forgot where I was though, when I posted that bit of dry humor. Self-important "founders" or at least "founder wannabes" is super serious guys!!!!
wellboy 12y ago
Ok, I didn't mean you literally have to become a psychopath, but that there are some parallels. I think if you ask people who built a startup if they sometimes felt like a psychopath, I think many of them will not say no. Some quick googling also gave a lot of articles, such as that even HN readers are more psychopathic than the average internet users. http://blog.statwing.com/starting-a-company-can-turn-you-into-a-psychopath/ http://blog.statwing.com/starting-a-company-can-turn-you-int.... I'm not advocating in any way that college students should try to become psychopaths in order to start a startup, however, I don't think there is value in excluding a correlation between psychopatic behaviour and building a huge company. In fact, I think the founder of the largest companies we have to day are pretty insane and not in a good way. I think this helps bringing to the company to traction, but like Ron Conway was saying in the "How to start a startup"-lecture today about fundraising, what he found most impressive about the AirBnb founders is that the bigger their company becomes, the more mature they become, but also the more humble. I think that's the mix of crazy and humility you need to build the most successful companies.
chmike 12y ago
Becoming a psychopath is not possible. I mean a true psychopath. The initial point made is however pertinent. In some particular context, like military or startups, the psychopathic traits may seam an advantage. So why don't we see more psychopaths in those fields ? This question has caught the attention of many scientists, hence the interest in finding successful psychopaths. One answer regarding startups could be that empathy with user experience could be an advantage. At some point one also need empathy with employees. Fear is also an advantage because one should better be paranoid to anticipate dangers and avoid them. Soon or later a fearless person would wet it's match.

yuna 12y ago

Not that I agree with the grandparent's sweeping statements about psychopaths, but your comment also makes a sweeping statement that "becoming a psychopath is probably the last thing any aspiring business person should become". No evidence is provided in either case. It's also pretty insulting to both psychologists and psychopaths alike that you think a psychopath is just something you decide one day to become. It's also jarring that in one paragraph you bash crazy "one weird secrets" to success, when in the next paragraph you claim that the one weird secret to success is "personal relationships".

wavefunction 12y ago
My response was tongue-in-cheek because the original supposition that someone should become/becomes a psychopath while finding success with a startup is so ludicrous. You've made a number of unsupported suppositions about my intentions, how frightful! I forgot where I was though, when I posted that bit of dry humor. Self-important "founders" or at least "founder wannabes" is super serious guys!!!!

wellboy 12y ago

Ok, I didn't mean you literally have to become a psychopath, but that there are some parallels. I think if you ask people who built a startup if they sometimes felt like a psychopath, I think many of them will not say no. Some quick googling also gave a lot of articles, such as that even HN readers are more psychopathic than the average internet users. http://blog.statwing.com/starting-a-company-can-turn-you-into-a-psychopath/ http://blog.statwing.com/starting-a-company-can-turn-you-int.... I'm not advocating in any way that college students should try to become psychopaths in order to start a startup, however, I don't think there is value in excluding a correlation between psychopatic behaviour and building a huge company. In fact, I think the founder of the largest companies we have to day are pretty insane and not in a good way. I think this helps bringing to the company to traction, but like Ron Conway was saying in the "How to start a startup"-lecture today about fundraising, what he found most impressive about the AirBnb founders is that the bigger their company becomes, the more mature they become, but also the more humble. I think that's the mix of crazy and humility you need to build the most successful companies.

chmike 12y ago

Becoming a psychopath is not possible. I mean a true psychopath. The initial point made is however pertinent. In some particular context, like military or startups, the psychopathic traits may seam an advantage. So why don't we see more psychopaths in those fields ? This question has caught the attention of many scientists, hence the interest in finding successful psychopaths. One answer regarding startups could be that empathy with user experience could be an advantage. At some point one also need empathy with employees. Fear is also an advantage because one should better be paranoid to anticipate dangers and avoid them. Soon or later a fearless person would wet it's match.