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Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

techinasia.com

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Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#21

Post by hawkice »

padobson wrote: post #9

2. You don’t need to be Facebook This should be number one - or even just the whole article. Any startup, or a career in general, should not be an end unto itself, but a vehicle to A) fulfill your basic needs and B) get you what you want. While I believe entrepreneurship is often the best way to get both of these, shooting to be the next Facebook is unnecessary. You could keep that corporate job, build your credit, a…

>You could keep that corporate job, build your credit, and then buy a McDonald's or a gas station or an apartment building. There's no reason to make a dent in the universe if all you want to do is put your kids through college and travel abroad once a year.

This phrasing I think minimizes the positive impact you can have with those endeavors. Displacing temperamental landlords with professional landlords makes the world a better place, and I've found having property be their only source of income ratchets up the stakes so much that many landlords explode over nothing (I've had a landlord threaten to evict an entire house of unrelated tenants because someone -- unbeknownst to her, her son in the middle of normal maintenance -- had made a very slight mess in the kitchen).

More important than "you don't have to be Facebook" (as if everyone who tried could be even if they "had to") is: with proper diligence and care, running a business well DOES make a dent in the universe, with very few exceptions. It makes the lives of yours customers (and vendors, hopefully) better in ways that are tangible and appreciated.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#22

Post by [deleted] »

porter wrote: post #14
ideonexus wrote: post #12

> 1. It’s almost never rags to riches This is the point that has really started to become clear to me in recent years, and not just for startups but for artists, authors, athletes, and all the other dream jobs we idolize: so many of these people are either (1) not really making that much money or (2) already had a trust-fund or come from a wealthy background so they can spend all of their time writing, painting, or e…

The odds of a smart middle class entrepreneur making a successful business are actually way better than making it to the NBA or NFL. To say these are equal odds is misleading.

[deleted]

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#23

Post by Retric »

rmc wrote: post #20
ideonexus wrote: post #12

> 1. It’s almost never rags to riches This is the point that has really started to become clear to me in recent years, and not just for startups but for artists, authors, athletes, and all the other dream jobs we idolize: so many of these people are either (1) not really making that much money or (2) already had a trust-fund or come from a wealthy background so they can spend all of their time writing, painting, or e…

> already had a trust-fund or come from a wealthy background so they can spend all of their time writing, painting, or engineering Being from a wealthy background also benefits the startup because you or your family probably "know people" who can help.

Microsoft's early story looks a little different when you realize Bill Gate's mother just happens to know IBM's CEO.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#24

Post by SFjulie1 »

amorphid wrote: post #2

Can confirm. Tried startup. Worked hard. Ran out of money. Ended up homeless. It sucked.

Not alone

Made my startup worked hard. Got contracts. Customers forgot to pay. It sucked.

And in my country it was normal. It was not Africa. It was France.

Big corporations do whatever the fuck want even if it is illegal. Trades dispute are regulated by "peers" tribunal dating from middle age that are crooked.

And newspapers, teachers and politics that never had a job were pointing fingers randomly at problems.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#25

Post by louprado »

> If their startup fails, they can go back to their corporate job

A major challenge of a start-up founder is managing their own psychology. This much easier to do when you are/were upper-middle class and gives those founders a significant advantage.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#26

Post by mattlutze »

jackarbitrage wrote: post #4

The worst part is that I don't know if I will be viewing inspiring entrepreneurship stories, or pornography involving entrepreneurs

Took the risk, it's not actual porn. In all honesty a "safe for work" tag would have been appreciated.

The author's conclusion is salient. For years I used this "entrepreneur porn" as a placebo to the general discontent I had at my job. I didn't feel like I was fitting into my role, like I wasn't making the impact I had expected. At some point I found an essay from someone that took the plunge and "made it." That hit was just enough that I spent my free time reading a lot of ultimately hollow how-to's, top 10 lists, blogging adventures, what-have-you instead of actually getting out there and doing something.

I see a lot of folks doing the same in various forums and communities. Even HN can be just enough to escape reality.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#27

Post by cm2187 »

borplk wrote: post #17
cm2187 wrote: post #15

In France, the fantasy is civil servant porn... At least this promotes entrepeneurship.

can you elaborate on that?

When I was at university (a few years ago but not that long ago), the majority of the other students only had one idea in mind, becoming a civil servant, doing 9 to 5, job for life, no pressure, lots of holidays and free time to do other things, and early retirement (I am not even kidding, 20yo students looking forward to retirement).

Working hard, creating jobs, professional success clearly wasn't on the list.

I'd rather be in a society that glorifies entrepreneurship.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#28

Post by lgbr »

borplk wrote: post #17
cm2187 wrote: post #15

In France, the fantasy is civil servant porn... At least this promotes entrepeneurship.

can you elaborate on that?

In European countries it's common that civil servants achieve a distinct status from an employee. As an employee, your rights are relatively typical (you have a 1 month notification period if you are to be fired or laid off, certain procedures have to be followed in order to fire you). However, once you achieve civil servant status after a few years of being a regular employee, you cannot be fired without serious cause, and therefore your job and your retirement are almost completely secured for the rest of your life.

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#29

Post by eli_gottlieb »

ideonexus wrote: post #12

> 1. It’s almost never rags to riches This is the point that has really started to become clear to me in recent years, and not just for startups but for artists, authors, athletes, and all the other dream jobs we idolize: so many of these people are either (1) not really making that much money or (2) already had a trust-fund or come from a wealthy background so they can spend all of their time writing, painting, or e…

Likewise to academia and professional science, by the way: 70% of all faculty are adjuncts, and most working scientists don't even become adjunct faculty. Thus, almost everyone working in science on a daily basis is either a grad-student or post-doc (paid low wages because they're theoretically a trainee for a position they'll never really get) or an adjunct faculty member (used to do the teaching labor the administration wants done but which would distract real professors from frantically applying for grants).

Oh, and advancement runs on a feudal hierarchy[1].

[1] http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/1/e1400005

Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy

#30

Post by epalmer »

AndrewKemendo wrote: post #19
ideonexus wrote: post #12

> 1. It’s almost never rags to riches This is the point that has really started to become clear to me in recent years, and not just for startups but for artists, authors, athletes, and all the other dream jobs we idolize: so many of these people are either (1) not really making that much money or (2) already had a trust-fund or come from a wealthy background so they can spend all of their time writing, painting, or e…

If it's not in your blood to absolutely have to be an entrepreneur (or painter, writer, comedian, etc...) you probably shouldn't be one.

But how do we know if it is in our blood? That is probably the hardest part.
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