4 ms·

Being naive - in the sense of looking the world through the eyes of a child - is one of the best qualities in a founder because startups are so counterintuitive

Being naive - in the sense of looking the world through the eyes of a child - is one of the best qualities in a founder because startups are so counterintuitive. How many grown-ups with lots of industry experience said no for young Microsofties, Googles or Facebooks? - A social network for college students? What a stupid idea!

beat 11y ago
Look at it this way... older founders may be less likely to create a unicorn, but they're more likely to create a business.
- fsk 11y ago
  I'm more interested in starting a business that has a 90% chance of being worth $10M than a business that has a 1% chance of being worth $1B. A business that has a 90% chance of being worth $10M isn't suitable for VC.
  - balls187 11y ago
    Perhaps I'm missing something, but the expected value is higher on the 1% chance for 1B
    - fsk 11y ago
      As a founder, you only get to invest in one business at a time, so the high chance of $10M is worth more than the longshot chance of $1B. Even if the latter has higher EV, the former has higher average quality-of-life EV. Working as an employee vs owning a $10M business is a BIG lifestyle jump. From $10M to $1B, not as much.
balls187 11y ago
Founders aren't children. They are typically post college graduates. And they typically must include one that has an engineering degree, hopefully with some pedigree to it.
alaskamiller 11y ago
Microsoft invested in Facebook 3 years after it was made at a 15 billion dollar valuation and everyone laughed.
cookiecaper 11y ago
>Being naive - in the sense of looking the world through the eyes of a child This is not the sense that I meant. I meant naive in the sense that they're ignorant of many subtle but important behavioral practices in both corporations and people, and that they often haven't developed much personal discipline. It's not their fault, of course; they're just young. Youth is good for its zeal, but corporations should generally not be run by zealots, they should be run by mature, calculating, and sensitive persons (and very few young people qualify). Zealots belong in the marketing and sales departments. By the age they become founders, I think most people have had most of the child-like wonder beat out of them, and in fact I think the early and mid 20s are a dark time for a lot of people, with the pressures of exiting the scholastic world and entering the professional world, frequently with a beast of debt on their backs, and the rejection and failure incumbent in trying to date and find a lifelong companion.

beat 11y ago

Look at it this way... older founders may be less likely to create a unicorn, but they're more likely to create a business.

fsk 11y ago
I'm more interested in starting a business that has a 90% chance of being worth $10M than a business that has a 1% chance of being worth $1B. A business that has a 90% chance of being worth $10M isn't suitable for VC.
- balls187 11y ago
  Perhaps I'm missing something, but the expected value is higher on the 1% chance for 1B
  - fsk 11y ago
    As a founder, you only get to invest in one business at a time, so the high chance of $10M is worth more than the longshot chance of $1B. Even if the latter has higher EV, the former has higher average quality-of-life EV. Working as an employee vs owning a $10M business is a BIG lifestyle jump. From $10M to $1B, not as much.

balls187 11y ago

Founders aren't children. They are typically post college graduates. And they typically must include one that has an engineering degree, hopefully with some pedigree to it.

alaskamiller 11y ago

Microsoft invested in Facebook 3 years after it was made at a 15 billion dollar valuation and everyone laughed.

cookiecaper 11y ago

>Being naive - in the sense of looking the world through the eyes of a child This is not the sense that I meant. I meant naive in the sense that they're ignorant of many subtle but important behavioral practices in both corporations and people, and that they often haven't developed much personal discipline. It's not their fault, of course; they're just young. Youth is good for its zeal, but corporations should generally not be run by zealots, they should be run by mature, calculating, and sensitive persons (and very few young people qualify). Zealots belong in the marketing and sales departments. By the age they become founders, I think most people have had most of the child-like wonder beat out of them, and in fact I think the early and mid 20s are a dark time for a lot of people, with the pressures of exiting the scholastic world and entering the professional world, frequently with a beast of debt on their backs, and the rejection and failure incumbent in trying to date and find a lifelong companion.