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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

#211

Post by ececconi »

aianus wrote: post #117
bakhy wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well, a full answer to the question would also need the percentage of college graduates that land jobs in big companies in the valley... P.S. I don't think we'll get far with this... i just noticed, e.g., "median household income in the US" - that seems a tricky thing to compare with, given that many ppl in the US don't have health insurance, or live in trailer parks eating off food stamps...

I think almost all my (upper-year) classmates got offers to at least one of Amazon/Microsoft/Google/Facebook/Twitter/Palantir/Uber. And I went to a school in Canada that nobody's ever heard of (University of Waterloo).

Humblebrag by association.

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

#212

Post by Futurebot »

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…

Absolutely. What I think some stating that this is all "common sense" miss is that for many people it's NOT. All the advantages some have are advantages they believe that others have. Couldn't go to university because you had to work? Why didn't your parents help you? What? Nowhere to live? What about your old bedroom? You've supported yourself since you were a teenager? Where were your parents! No money left? Huh? No trust or college fund? Not even a savings account that your parents set up for you? What about your credit card? You're afraid to start a business / go into debt / try to "work your way" through college? Why, if you fail you can just move in with your family! Why not get some "friends and family" investors? The list of these tacit assumptions, and by extension that you're just a fool or lazy because you didn't do those things (supported ideologically in this country by all the Just World Fallacy nonsense) is far more widespread than one may think.

It's really amazing just how many people cannot even fathom that others do not have the familial safety net and have been working to support themselves from an age where said people were just starting to think about what school to go to. For many, until they've lived on the razor's edge, they simply do not have the mental framework for understanding what living that way does to people.

Edit: I'd also add that for those of us who have seen the other side (I was upper middle class from 0-9 years old, fell into poverty after and lived that way until my early 20s - riches to rags sucks. Badly. Read all about it here if you're curious: https://medium.com/@opirmusic/why-software-developers-should...) we know what the other side is like. We've seen it. We know what it's like to never worry about transportation, decent food, school supplies, books, tutors, spending money - and the ever-present implicit safety net. We saw our parents' friends go on vacations, buy multiple cars, live in huge houses, etc. So anyone, anyone who says it isn't a huge advantage is delusional or lying.

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

#213

Post by s73v3r »

alexfisher wrote: post #86

Step 1: Spend less than you make. Step 2: Take risks when you have enough of a safety net. Step 3: Fail/retry or succeed. You don't need to be from a rich family to do these things.

Having a moderately wealthy family increases the speed at which #2 will come, if it comes at all. Someone who's working two jobs to make ends meet is likely never going to be able to get to #2.

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

#214

Post by patzerhacker »

kelukelugames wrote: post #184
cryoshon wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lesson from this is don't drink anyone's kool aid consciously. PG has a huge incentive to wax heroic about the "risk takers" "makers" and "founders"; it's the Silicon Valley cargo cult, and should be compensated against in the mind of the reader. Always be brutally critical of applying the question of qui bono-- always, no exceptions, ever. PG has little incentive to explicitly qualify ideas that are his foundati…

>honestly it's quite annoying to have someone tell you so with the intention of taking you down a peg. This is why a lot of HNers flag articles about privilege, sexism, etc.

Privilege is just secular "original sin".

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

#215

Post by s73v3r »

jasonkester wrote: post #132
mtberatwork wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Outside of a few hot spots like SV, $120k/year is certainly not starting salary.

It's a shame we see so much denial about this. The rational response when shown that you are dramatically underpaid should be to take steps to get one's self back up to the level of the market. Sadly, the more common response is to call whoever filled you in a liar. I've noticed this happening a lot in the last few years, as developer salaries have skyrocketed but guys who had secured jobs before that still quote 200…

People make six figures outside of SV. But people in the midwest are not going to make six figures right out of school.

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

#216

Post by xiaoma »

crdoconnor wrote: post #84
eugenekolo2 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's quite different in the software startup industry. You usually don't need much capital, it's more that you need to have a failsafe in case you go bust to not end up unemployed and unable to pay bills.

>I think it's quite different in the software startup industry. You usually don't need much capital You still need a distribution channel. That requires either capital or connections.

Jack Ma had neither when he started Alibaba. And whatever handicap not having connections is now in the west, it was a much larger one a decade ago in China.

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

#218

Post by Retra »

kelukelugames wrote: post #185
nathanvanfleet wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry but that's just such a small part. I have spoken to a friend who has rich parents, and the psychological effect is that they always know if something goes wrong they can just be supported by their rich parents when they get back on their feet. Furthermore they know they can bum around until their parents die and get their retirement money in the form of inheritance. You might be surprised how ever-present that…

>I have spoken to a friend I wish people wouldn't speak this confidently with such little life experience.

If you feel that kind of boiler-plate would provide better results, feel free to imagine it and extract the results for yourself.

Or provide details about those experiences you think are needed.

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

#219

Post by lhc- »

twcooper wrote: post #189
efaref wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

But from a broader social standpoint, isn't it a good thing that people who can afford to take risks are the ones taking the risks? It sucks on an individual basis if you're living paycheck-to-paycheck and can't risk failure, but it's not such a bad thing that the affluent are taking larger economic risks than the poor.

It sorta spits at the idea of social mobility ("the american dream") though. The biggest rewards are only really available to those who can take risks like starting a business, and if you restrict that to only those who are already well-off, you remove most chances for the poor to ascend to the higher classes.

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

#220

Post by kbenson »

pound wrote: post #196
matwood wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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. I didn't realize this was some secret. Someone who has parents who are doing well and can pay for their college and living expenses indefinitely will be at an advantage. They can take risks others can't. BTW, this is true from the time someone is born. Parents who are well off will send thei…

yes, it is common sense and everyone indeed knows it. But many want to believe in SV as some not rest of the world place with equal opportunities for everyone, just be smart. We all want it to be ruled by meritocracy. That's why we keep drinking this koolaid.

Life isn't fair, especially when it comes to economics. Whenever you think you've found some sector of industry that is more egalitarian, you've probably either stumbled into something where you haven't identified the advantaged and disadvantaged parties (it's easier to miss when you are part of the advantaged group), or the current social context makes it easier to hide. That said, there are lots of very different industries, and one of them probably advantages you in some way if you can find it.
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