How A 26-Year-Old Built A $100 Million Net Worth • Hacker News Board

Re: How A 26-Year-Old Built A $100 Million Net Worth

#41

Post by rortian » Sat, Mar 06, 2010, 7:38 PM UTC

dwaters wrote: post #37

rortian wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would it? He doesn't seem to have a very great command of language but he's got all that money so whatever. Lot's of people made a lot of money with the internet boom, pg and Mark Cuban among them. However, they are still people that did not enter the 'you cannot comment on me unless your wealth is greater than or equal to mine' club.

Honest question - why should we expect there be a correlation between "command of language" and entrepreneurial success? Also, curious as to why we should think someone only deserves to have money only if they had good command over language.

Hmmm, interesting questions. I don't think I implied people only deserve money if they have a good command of language. I think I made that comment more to point to how his lack of education was apparent from his manner of speech.

I would expect a good correlation between charisma and entrepreneurial success, of which being well-spoken can be a large component. People here often look to succeed by use of technical acumen, which is another trait that can serve you well, but don't overlook having someone around that is able to connect with people on a more basic level.

Re: How A 26-Year-Old Built A $100 Million Net Worth

#42

Post by rortian » Sat, Mar 06, 2010, 7:46 PM UTC

CoachRufus87 wrote: post #25

i'm surprised by the level of hate exhibited in these comments...sure the guy has lots of pics with no shirt & maybe he comes across as narcissistic & arrogant, but he's also a high school drop-out & the son of poor immigrants who ended up coming to our country and creating an immense amount of wealth for himself plus jobs for others... how many of us can say we've done even 10% of that? i know i can't (at least not…

I don't know how much hate has been conveyed in here, but you are telling this in a weird way. He dropped out of high school because he was already making a lot of cash.

I personally have qualms about the guys ethics. He got his start by lying about his capabilities, which isn't the worst thing I ever heard but he got lucky on not getting caught. Then, he hired someone with money that he didn't have. I'm sure many people would be irate about this no matter the outcome in the end.

I think many people would be doing much better if they had 10% of the luck this guy had.

Re: How A 26-Year-Old Built A $100 Million Net Worth

#43

Post by rortian » Sat, Mar 06, 2010, 8:02 PM UTC

philk wrote: post #12

rortian wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would it? He doesn't seem to have a very great command of language but he's got all that money so whatever. Lot's of people made a lot of money with the internet boom, pg and Mark Cuban among them. However, they are still people that did not enter the 'you cannot comment on me unless your wealth is greater than or equal to mine' club.

Because unless you're equally successful "this guy was a tool" comes across as poorly concealed envy. If you're going to trash someone who's way more successful than you are, use specifics and acknowledge his positive characteristics as well.

Do you think that when you attack someone that has been less fortunate than you that you don't have to use specifics or identify positive characteristics?

Re: How A 26-Year-Old Built A $100 Million Net Worth

#44

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Mar 06, 2010, 8:09 PM UTC

rortian wrote: post #41

dwaters wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question - why should we expect there be a correlation between "command of language" and entrepreneurial success? Also, curious as to why we should think someone only deserves to have money only if they had good command over language.

Hmmm, interesting questions. I don't think I implied people only deserve money if they have a good command of language. I think I made that comment more to point to how his lack of education was apparent from his manner of speech. I would expect a good correlation between charisma and entrepreneurial success, of which being well-spoken can be a large component. People here often look to succeed by use of technical ac…

[deleted]

Re: How A 26-Year-Old Built A $100 Million Net Worth

#45

Post by dwaters » Sat, Mar 06, 2010, 8:12 PM UTC

rortian wrote: post #41

dwaters wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question - why should we expect there be a correlation between "command of language" and entrepreneurial success? Also, curious as to why we should think someone only deserves to have money only if they had good command over language.

Hmmm, interesting questions. I don't think I implied people only deserve money if they have a good command of language. I think I made that comment more to point to how his lack of education was apparent from his manner of speech. I would expect a good correlation between charisma and entrepreneurial success, of which being well-spoken can be a large component. People here often look to succeed by use of technical ac…

"I think I made that comment more to point to how his lack of education was apparent from his manner of speech."

That's an interesting observation. I actually watched the video again to try to pick out the parts which could cause you to think so. But, nothing seemed to stand out. His manner of speaking was not distinguished in a sense, but at the same time, it seemed more like means to an end, and wasn't something that caused me to think any less of him.

I bring up this issue because I feel I am not "well-spoken" and am trying to see how I can address this deficiency.

Re: How A 26-Year-Old Built A $100 Million Net Worth

#46

Post by rortian » Sun, Mar 07, 2010, 4:15 PM UTC

dwaters wrote: post #45

rortian wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmmm, interesting questions. I don't think I implied people only deserve money if they have a good command of language. I think I made that comment more to point to how his lack of education was apparent from his manner of speech. I would expect a good correlation between charisma and entrepreneurial success, of which being well-spoken can be a large component. People here often look to succeed by use of technical ac…

"I think I made that comment more to point to how his lack of education was apparent from his manner of speech." That's an interesting observation. I actually watched the video again to try to pick out the parts which could cause you to think so. But, nothing seemed to stand out. His manner of speaking was not distinguished in a sense, but at the same time, it seemed more like means to an end, and wasn't something th…

Just a couple things to start with:

1) Overuse of cliché.

2) Inability to use adverbs.

I'd have to review to go in more depth but those things are a little jarring to me. If you'd like to work on improving how you sound I'd recommend reading (a lot but preferable some stuff that has general interest, not necessarily fiction) and practice in a relaxed atmosphere. In college there was brewery tour nearby. That was the perfect place to have a dozen different conversations without anyone being wasted enough to remove any lucidity from the participants.