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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

#61

Post by bakhy »

aianus wrote: post #50
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…

> 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. After 10 years of being a software engineer you should have enough to retire forever (albeit in some third world country).

if you have no life outside work, sure ;)

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

#62

Post by EGreg »

This is what I've been saying. The ability to quit college or stay with a startup long enough until it starts succeeding, or better yet, borrowing money to pay off those loans you took on while believing deeply in your startup, depends on being able to ask your parents for money while things are going not-so-good.

For everyone else, there's Limited Liability.

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

#63

Post by efaref »

lint_roller wrote: post #34
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…

I have a very similar story, except I'm on part one. Recent graduate, very modest family, and drank all the Paul G koolaid which got me to jump into the whole scene just to realize I'm mostly surrounded by upper middle class types where there's still risk being taken just not nearly as much. This has taught me to always consider the source of advice more rigorously. I still think he's a great thinker, but some of the…

Agree. The risk of having to run back to mummy and daddy with their tail between their legs is no risk at all. I could be quite entrepreneurial if I didn't also have to pay for my apartment and food every month without fail.

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

#64

Post by artmageddon »

beambot wrote: post #53
aianus wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. After 10 years of being a software engineer you should have enough to retire forever (albeit in some third world country).

From a disadvantaged family (no initial savings) and perhaps student loans (ill-advised, but not uncommon) -- it's not unthinkable that he hasn't hit "soft retire" numbers after 10 years. But your sentiment is correct: If you're debt-free, you should be able to "soft retire" after 10 years as a software engineer in today's markets.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by "soft retire"?

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

#65

Post by brightball »

If the middle class didn't lose so much of its income on taxes, it would be a lot easier to save money for them to start businesses. The tighter you get squeezed, the longer it takes to save money and the more the actual risk increases based on sheer time value.

The unfortunate result of that is that in order to start a business that requires more than an investment of spare time and professional skill (programming or a service based business) everything else is left to the mercy of investors.

It's an unfortunate reality.

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

#66

Post by totallystupid »

klibertp wrote: post #54
totallystupid wrote: post #33

Friends! If you find someone trying to criticize your achievement as being "just because you are privileged" say "I'm now further from where I started, than where I started was from where you started. So if you couldn't even make it from where you started to where I started, how do you expect that you could have made it from where I started to where I am now?" People may choose to respond to this by saying something…

> Being a fake victim doesn't work What if you're a real victim, I wonder? What works then?

If you're a real victim, then you have encountered a force unreasonable to overcome on your own, or you've been the victim of a crime, or both, and then it works to have help from something more powerful, like the Law, or the State. And if the State has made you a real victim? Go to another state.

And if there is no higher force to help you -- spiritual victory is one possibility: "Your life is what your thoughts make of it."

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

#67

Post by realusername »

UK-AL wrote: post #43
patrickaljord wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The solution is providing a social safety net that enables that bulk of the population to pursue their dream. We have a huge "social safety net" here in France and yet we are way less entrepreneurial than in the US. I moved to Peru for 4 years to save some money and then came back to start a business, the entrepreneurial spirit was way strong stronger there even though the social safety net is inexistent. Fact is,…

It's hard to start business in france because of the regulatory bs. Even trying to register a company is a right pain.

Indeed, the problem is more with the bureaucratic paperwork more than anything else, it takes 6 months to just have the legal paperwork to start a company there.

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

#68

Post by aianus »

bakhy wrote: post #61
aianus wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. After 10 years of being a software engineer you should have enough to retire forever (albeit in some third world country).

if you have no life outside work, sure ;)

No, that's if you take home $100k and 'only' spend half of it (which already represents the median household income in the US)

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

#69

Post by swalsh »

beambot wrote: post #53
aianus wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. After 10 years of being a software engineer you should have enough to retire forever (albeit in some third world country).

From a disadvantaged family (no initial savings) and perhaps student loans (ill-advised, but not uncommon) -- it's not unthinkable that he hasn't hit "soft retire" numbers after 10 years. But your sentiment is correct: If you're debt-free, you should be able to "soft retire" after 10 years as a software engineer in today's markets.

Another thing to factor in is being from a lower income area will distort your perception of what a large number is. I come from a town where the per capita income is 20k. My first "real" job was doing tech support at $16/hr. It felt like A LOT of money to me. I thought I was getting overpaid, that sentiment followed me for years. Today making 125k I still feel overpaid, though when I look at the value I produce for the company, and the numbers of my peers I know it's not. It took me many years to get to 125k because each step up the ladder felt pretty big to me even though it probably wasn't compared to my peers.

Pay is very relative. I look at my old high school buddies, they range from 25k-40k. The first time I asked for 100k, I thought it was craziness. Like no human being deserves that amount of money. So it took me several years to build up to that number.

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

#70

Post by wavefunction »

warkid wrote: post #12
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…

> The solution is providing a social safety net that enables... In other words - "to each according to his needs"?

You've heard a Marxist slogan and thought it was timely huh?

Cause it's either evil monolithic collectivism or saintly and righteous fantasy individualistic libertarianism, those are the two options.

It's not like we can't recognize that most individual success is predicated on a healthy and functional society, one that is inclusive and takes care of its members, rather than one that caters solely to individuals fortunate enough to be born into families that have existing wealth.

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