People need to work in industries they enjoy, but, yes, everyone should have a good understanding of the labor market (salaries, demand). Re-location should be an option too. Lower salaries in a low-cost region might work out.
Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy
41–50 of 166 posts
Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 r…
The people I know that have fallen in to the "entrepreneurship porn" trap all focus on the "no pressure, free time to other things, early retirement" based on the millions they'll earn. No one who's really fallen hard ("we're gonna be the next Facebook") is heading in that direction because they're interested in "creating jobs". And... they may say "working hard" but often the real hard stuff comes up... they fold an…
Yeah but be your own boss is often at the top of the list for entrepreneur porn. It's not just the money, also the lifestyle.
Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
I've tried to get away from entrepreneurship many times. I always come back...
Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy
#44Can 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.
This is why I don't like B2B much; a monolith company can randomly decide to pay 5-10 months late and no one bats an eye because that's the normal thing to do for a company of that size, small entrepreneurs that are barely making it be damned.
Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy
#45To me, the worst part of the fantasy is that we then consider the people that actually do make it to the "money shot" as if they were management geniuses, instead of lottery winners. Mostly the success has more to do with luck, timing and personal connections than the individual technical merits of the management team, but that is never what you read afterwards. And so you end up with all sorts of ridiculous manageme…
In terms of building a fortune 500 company, yes a lot of luck is involved. For mid-sized businesses there are guys who do it over and over again.
Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy
#46> 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…
Whilst you have a valid point here, one thing that concerns me with this message is that it could easily make the problem of inequality in entrepreneurship worse, by giving across the strong message that the opinion is universally "if you're poor or a minority, entrepreneurship is not for you. Don't even bother."
Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy
#47Glad to see this piece posted on HN. I realize now when I first came to HN I felt somewhat 'ashamed' that I was not working towards being the 'next unicorn'. It took some time for me to realize that there are many more avenues that suit me and ultimately will be more fulfilling.
Just wanted to say that you're not alone in this. I program and read about tech things because they interest me and have useful applications, but I've never truly felt the drive to make myself into the next Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg, etc. It's very easy to get the impression around here that that's the only worthwhile goal.
Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy
#48To me, the worst part of the fantasy is that we then consider the people that actually do make it to the "money shot" as if they were management geniuses, instead of lottery winners. Mostly the success has more to do with luck, timing and personal connections than the individual technical merits of the management team, but that is never what you read afterwards. And so you end up with all sorts of ridiculous manageme…
In terms of building a fortune 500 company, yes a lot of luck is involved. For mid-sized businesses there are guys who do it over and over again.
In most cases, the reward for building a mid-sized business is not much greater than working your way up the food chain at a large business. It just becomes a question of whether you value independence or not.
Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy
#49Can 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.
There's been something related in the UK recently - Tesco not paying their suppliers.
"...dating from middle age..."
I've been noticing increasingly, while technology is buzzing ahead, just how many mechanisms and interactions in society are unbelievably outdated. Is this what sociologists are supposed to be advancing? What are they doing?
Re: Entrepreneur porn is a dangerous fantasy
#50I remember a slew of articles mid 2015 that raised the criticism that founders came from privileged backgrounds. The article also mentioned "the cult of the entrepreneur" and the idolization of these characters.
I am born and raised in SV and yet I frankly do not understand the fetishization of entrepreneurs and the idea that this line of work is somehow holier than any other. Isn't that the root of the problem, rather than the privilege of the founders? After all, Wall Street is littered with nepotism and privileged family backgrounds, yet that isn't seen as much of an issue but rather just business as usual.
(perhaps the industry attempts to gain good will for its own gain through this portrayal, and this is the price they pay for this deceit though)