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Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

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Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

#11

Post by radmuzom »

Ten years back, when I was fresh out of college, I joined a startup - not as a founder but as the first employee. A lot of it was driven by reading Paul Graham's essays, and I was naive and immature enough to believe that I was doing something great (as an aside, I came from an economically disadvantaged family; and every cent of my assets today is something I have earned and not something which I have inherited or obtained from anyone including my family). Two important things I learned from the experience - 1. The experience as an employee is completely different from being a founder; a lot of my friends have deluded themselves into believing that early employees enjoy as much benefits as the founders. 2. It is very hard to take risks when you are not financially secure; yes, I am pretty sure that there are counterexamples but I believe my statement is true on average. Now after ten years mostly working in large companies, I have some savings which will allow me to last two years in case I lose my job. Also, I like to think that I have enough skills not to die of hunger if it happens. This has resulted in me being much more "entrepreneurial" and I am already working towards starting a company in the next two years.

TL, DR; On an average, it is much easier to start a start-up if you have some basic level of financial security in your life.

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

#12

Post by warkid »

bildung wrote: post #9
warkid wrote: post #7

“This whole bulk of the population is being seduced into thinking that they can just go out and pursue their dream anytime, but it’s not true.” Cool. Know your place, leave enterpreneurship to blue bloods - that's the conclusion?

> “This whole bulk of the population is being seduced into thinking that they can just go out and pursue their dream anytime, but it’s not true.” > Cool. Know your place, leave enterpreneurship to blue bloods - that's the conclusion? No. "When basic needs are met, it’s easier to be creative; when you know you have a safety net, you are more willing to take risks. “ The solution is providing a social safety net that e…

> The solution is providing a social safety net that enables...

In other words - "to each according to his needs"?

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

#13

Post by thaumaturgy »

bildung wrote: post #9
warkid wrote: post #7

“This whole bulk of the population is being seduced into thinking that they can just go out and pursue their dream anytime, but it’s not true.” Cool. Know your place, leave enterpreneurship to blue bloods - that's the conclusion?

> “This whole bulk of the population is being seduced into thinking that they can just go out and pursue their dream anytime, but it’s not true.” > Cool. Know your place, leave enterpreneurship to blue bloods - that's the conclusion? No. "When basic needs are met, it’s easier to be creative; when you know you have a safety net, you are more willing to take risks. “ The solution is providing a social safety net that e…

(To hopefully avoid some arguments I should probably preface this with saying that I am 100% in favor of something like basic income.)

> The solution is providing a social safety net that enables that bulk of the population to pursue their dream.

I don't think that will make most people into successful businesspeople (let alone "entrepreneurs" in any non-facile sense of the word), and I don't think that was entirely the point the article was trying to make.

Even with basic needs supported, you still need capital to get a business off the ground "correctly". Unfortunately, in a basic income environment, I bet the people taking full advantage of it still wouldn't have access to that kind of capital.

I've had my own small business for several years now, but I'm looking for work again. The business has several promising irons in the fire, but I lack either the skill or resources to make any of them take off. Having access to basic income wouldn't substantially change my predicament; having access to good credit, capital, or talent would.

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

#14

Post by bakhy »

warkid wrote: post #7

“This whole bulk of the population is being seduced into thinking that they can just go out and pursue their dream anytime, but it’s not true.” Cool. Know your place, leave enterpreneurship to blue bloods - that's the conclusion?

No, the conclusion is, people should stop just saying that anybody can do it, that all it takes is willingness to take chances, to dare to fail etc. These are important things, as the article also takes care to clarify, but if you fail to mention the importance of a safety net, or you fail to mention the fact that most entrepreneurs come from well-off backgrounds, then you're implying (probably unwillingly) that people who don't go into startups are simply lazy or cowards. While in reality there exists a pretty good reason why many might not dare to take the leap just yet.

It's basically giving people complexes. And it might be further exacerbated by the need we all have to ascribe our success exclusively to our own work, never to any external factors (luck, rich parents).

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

#15

Post by metasean »

dylanjermiah wrote: post #6
pkorzeniewski wrote: post #5

In other words, starting a business isn't much different than it was in the past - capital and connections are essential. Sure, there're exceptions when someone with little money and hard work managed to grow their business, but they're that - exceptions. The older I am the more I realize how naive thinking "I just need to create something better than my competitors!" really is. You can have a mediocre product but wi…

No matter how good the product is, if the distribution is poor, it will go no where.

Distribution is crucial, but I think pkorzeniewski was highlighting how marketing and networking can trump product quality, and his disillusionment with realizing how often this happens.

For many products distribution is correlated with marketing and networking, this isn't true for all products (e.g. web-apps).

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

#16

Post by branchless »

thaumaturgy wrote: post #13
bildung wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “This whole bulk of the population is being seduced into thinking that they can just go out and pursue their dream anytime, but it’s not true.” > Cool. Know your place, leave enterpreneurship to blue bloods - that's the conclusion? No. "When basic needs are met, it’s easier to be creative; when you know you have a safety net, you are more willing to take risks. “ The solution is providing a social safety net that e…

(To hopefully avoid some arguments I should probably preface this with saying that I am 100% in favor of something like basic income.) > The solution is providing a social safety net that enables that bulk of the population to pursue their dream. I don't think that will make most people into successful businesspeople (let alone "entrepreneurs" in any non-facile sense of the word), and I don't think that was entirely…

The rich and powerful lionize the rare exception who does make it out of poverty because it justifies the (largely) unfair system.

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

#17

Post by maratd »

radmuzom wrote: post #11

Ten years back, when I was fresh out of college, I joined a startup - not as a founder but as the first employee. A lot of it was driven by reading Paul Graham's essays, and I was naive and immature enough to believe that I was doing something great (as an aside, I came from an economically disadvantaged family; and every cent of my assets today is something I have earned and not something which I have inherited or o…

> It is very hard to take risks when you are not financially secure

There's a caveat here. It depends on your responsibilities. If you have children, fixed expenses, then absolutely.

If you have nothing to your name and no responsibilities, it's very easy to take risks without anything to fall back on. After all, you have very little to lose.

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

#18

Post by bakhy »

thaumaturgy wrote: post #13
bildung wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “This whole bulk of the population is being seduced into thinking that they can just go out and pursue their dream anytime, but it’s not true.” > Cool. Know your place, leave enterpreneurship to blue bloods - that's the conclusion? No. "When basic needs are met, it’s easier to be creative; when you know you have a safety net, you are more willing to take risks. “ The solution is providing a social safety net that e…

(To hopefully avoid some arguments I should probably preface this with saying that I am 100% in favor of something like basic income.) > The solution is providing a social safety net that enables that bulk of the population to pursue their dream. I don't think that will make most people into successful businesspeople (let alone "entrepreneurs" in any non-facile sense of the word), and I don't think that was entirely…

ergo, the condition is necessary, but not sufficient.

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

#19

Post by bildung »

thaumaturgy wrote: post #13
bildung wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “This whole bulk of the population is being seduced into thinking that they can just go out and pursue their dream anytime, but it’s not true.” > Cool. Know your place, leave enterpreneurship to blue bloods - that's the conclusion? No. "When basic needs are met, it’s easier to be creative; when you know you have a safety net, you are more willing to take risks. “ The solution is providing a social safety net that e…

(To hopefully avoid some arguments I should probably preface this with saying that I am 100% in favor of something like basic income.) > The solution is providing a social safety net that enables that bulk of the population to pursue their dream. I don't think that will make most people into successful businesspeople (let alone "entrepreneurs" in any non-facile sense of the word), and I don't think that was entirely…

>> The solution is providing a social safety net that enables that bulk of the population to pursue their dream.

> I don't think that will make most people into successful businesspeople (let alone "entrepreneurs" in any non-facile sense of the word), and I don't think that was entirely the point the article was trying to make.

I fully agree! While financial safety is by no means sufficient as a base for successfully starting a business, I do think the article makes a good point of it being necessary, though.

(And I think its important to emphasize that most businesses are not of the venture-backed startup type mostly discussed on this site.)

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money

#20

Post by vixen99 »

branchless wrote: post #16
thaumaturgy wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

(To hopefully avoid some arguments I should probably preface this with saying that I am 100% in favor of something like basic income.) > The solution is providing a social safety net that enables that bulk of the population to pursue their dream. I don't think that will make most people into successful businesspeople (let alone "entrepreneurs" in any non-facile sense of the word), and I don't think that was entirely…

The rich and powerful lionize the rare exception who does make it out of poverty because it justifies the (largely) unfair system.

The dictionary I've used comes up for 'unfair' as

1. Contrary to justice or a sense of fairness 2. Contrary to laws or conventions, especially in commerce; unethical: unfair dealing and 3. Not kind or considerate.

Which one do you mean?

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