Of course it's true that people with access to capital can afford to be more risky than people who don't. But the majority of the "rich" aren't entrepreneurial and there are plenty of the "poor" who are. There is more to the average entrepreneurial story than simply privilege.
Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money
91–100 of 317 posts
Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
true. there was an interesting text posted here once, about how one of the worse things about poverty is that it kills the will to dream big and make plans. when you're scraping by, it's much harder, and any big plan can easily fall through due to bad luck (some unexpected expenses you cannot cover eat up your small savings, e.g., and ironically, since poverty is not healthy, unexpected expenses are more likely).
Where can I find the article you are talking about?
it was a while ago, but I think it was this one: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/21/linda-tirado-...
(hat tip to Algolia's HN search ;) )
Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
An entrepreneur at the end of their runway, facing the extinction of something they fought and struggled over, experiences depression, anxiety and regret. And gets sympathy for their plight. A person who's life is made up of 'being at the end of their runway' is shamed for not just 'go out and make another $5'. Nothing disingenuous about this dichotomy?
A person's life is their responsibility. The only thing disingenuous is believing that is not so. A person brings shame upon themselves when they blame others for lack, instead of choosing to create for themselves. Your fancy words conceal an illogicality of thought. Clear your thought, before you clothe it in fancy words, otherwise you get confused. Stopping making excuses and tolerating that from others, is the way…
> Clear your thought, before you clothe it in fancy words, otherwise you get confused.
Your prose is clothed in finery that would make Louis XIV cringe.
Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money
#94well that's... discouraging... depressing...
but true :)
rich people have it easy. because a failure is not really a failure for them... it's an attempt.
But for the rest of us a failure is a failure. Deal with it.
Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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.
You can always lose your own life, pretty much. If you can go back to your old room at your parent's room while you find a job and start earning again, sure, it's easy to take risks (I've done it this way). On the other hand, if you come from a rather poor background and have no one to fall back on, finding yourself with a failed company, in debt, maybe kicked out of your place because you can't pay rent, I'd say tha…
> in debt, maybe kicked out of your place because you can't pay rent, I'd say that rather terrifying.
There are two types of businesses out there. Those that make money from day 1 and simply need to be scaled up. Those that require substantial investment and time before you even make a penny.
For anyone who isn't financially secure, doing the latter is idiotic. There are plenty of business models that you can pursue that don't involve you ending up on the street. A business model where the worst-case scenario is that you wasted some time.
Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money
#96tl;rify: risk is a privilege of capital.
I've always thought the framing of capital risk as the primary basis for allocating reward was suspect for this reason.
Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, that's if you take home $100k and 'only' spend half of it (which already represents the median household income in the US)
OK, but how many developers in the US get $100k? Throughout the first 10 years of their career? And I'm sorry, I should explain - I live and work in the EU, in Germany right now. So I can't compare. In any case, one can certainly save, and I'm not gonna lie, I could certainly spend less without losing too much :) But a claim like "10 years is enough to retire" seems a bit extreme.
$100k after tax (including stock) is basically starting salary in the valley for 22-year-old college graduates at big companies.
Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money
#98Of course it's true that people with access to capital can afford to be more risky than people who don't. But the majority of the "rich" aren't entrepreneurial and there are plenty of the "poor" who are. There is more to the average entrepreneurial story than simply privilege.
Noisy signal, weak effect, usually equals lots of headline grabbing papers.....that end up being disproved.
I saw 'paywall' and guess the actual research is hidden.
Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
true. there was an interesting text posted here once, about how one of the worse things about poverty is that it kills the will to dream big and make plans. when you're scraping by, it's much harder, and any big plan can easily fall through due to bad luck (some unexpected expenses you cannot cover eat up your small savings, e.g., and ironically, since poverty is not healthy, unexpected expenses are more likely).
> ironically, since poverty is not healthy, unexpected expenses are more likely Well, that's mostly an US issue, I guess. When you live in a country with even modest public healthcare, such as Germany, things are not that terrible. Here, if you get ill, no matter how bad, you get the base treatment that you need. Of course you can (and should) pay on top of that for better treatment. But event without money, you don'…
coincidentally, i live and work in Germany ;) immigrated from Croatia 2 years ago. and i agree, no doubt about it, the system is really functional here and provides a good safety net (although, welfare involves a bit of humiliation everywhere, the money is never just handed out...). from my kinda outsider perspective, Germans seem obsessed with doing the "right" thing. the word "ordentlich" came to mind ;) the culture is a bit conformist, not too much, but noticeably. so, many people play it safe, avoid going too far out on a limb. but i'm still processing the whole experience, and occasional culture shocks, so i don't stand too firmly behind these impressions.
Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a gene for risk – they come from families with money
#100Entrepreneurs in other industries may need family money. Software Entrepreneurs can use their own. Working in an industry where $120k/year is considered a starting salary, and where you know for a certainty that you are roughly one Twitter post away from having your pick of three companies that will fight to get you, you can feel free to pursue any goofy idea you like without fearing much for your financial safety sh…
Outside of a few hot spots like SV, $120k/year is certainly not starting salary.