Brutal truth -- sounds like arrogance.
What no one talks about when running and selling a business
21–30 of 198 posts
Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business
#22I also sold my startup. same story as far as revenue, exit etc. I'm not sure that selling your company was the reason for your social issues. I've had the best year of my life post acquisition - spending more time with family, friends and thinking what's next. constantly thinking about what's next, it's actually annoying that I can't turn it off. The "how much did you make" question is super annoying and it happens b…
I think this was a pretty shallow article. The author comes off as somewhat abrasive personality-wise. He's a natural born leader - we are reassured multiple times - but he seems to repeatedly annoy people in his life and can't figure out how to get 3 or 4 band-mates to follow him. OK.
A lot of the money troubles are more about wealth inequality than anything specific to the startup world. When you're wealthy, you need to learn to be sensitive to the everyday financial concerns of those who aren't. You could be subjected to this as an entrepreneur, a physician, a lawyer, or countless other professions, not to mention heirs, lottery winners, or folks who marry into money. Planetary coexistence 101.
Friendship is a two-way street. As I became wealthier through successive exits there were some people from my childhood who I stayed friends with, thanks to conscious effort from both sides. These are very valuable friendships.
He says 'material things don't matter' but doesn't expound much, leaving us with the implication that money doesn't matter at all. Money is the freedom to spend your time however you want to, and that's pretty damn valuable. The author's real problem may be that work became his sole identity - and that now having earned some freedom, he has no idea what to do with it. I wish him well.
Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business
#23The brutally honest truth about this guy is that he's an insecure prick who loves boasting > Only 0.4% of all businesses make it to $10M in annual revenue. We made it almost halfway through...When I sold my startup, we had 100 people working with us. > Unfortunately, I no longer have very many friends... > ...Tesla...$300 pairs of jeans, $450 pairs of boots, concrete countertops...trips to New Zealand no longer bothe…
I understand how it can come out that way, but I didn't read it that way. He's genuinely trying to straddle the fine line between being honest about recognizing where he is and how he's perceived while simultaneously acknowledging his accomplishments. It's not easy to walk that line. I see the author coming from a humbled, almost despairing perspective. That _despite_ his accomplishments, which he lists for emphasis, he's not happy.
Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business
#24Unfortunately, I no longer have very many friends. I worked so hard in my 20s and early 30s that I let my closest relationships lapse in the name of making money. It’s tough to keep friends around when you’re either working, or work is on your mind 24/7. One of the unfortunate side effects of hustle/grit/what have you, that I myself experienced and can relate to the author.
ammmm, if your friendship requires constant hand holding then I would say it would better to lose them faster (early on) because they're not going to be around when you hit the hard times. My definition of a friend is someone you can rely on when things goes to shit eg... Being half way across the country and you've just been robbed and they drive 20 hours to pick you up. Now if they cannot even meet you half way acr…
> My definition of a friend is someone you can rely on when things goes to shit eg... Being half way across the country and you've just been robbed and they drive 20 hours to pick you up.
Yes, that's one possible quality in a friend. Another is making time for _their_ shit as well and it doesn't sound like the author did very much of that. It's also nice to make time for friends without having to deal with either yours or their dilemmas and just enjoy each other's company.
Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business
#25This is what happens when a string player makes it.
You want to see some folks having fun or making music after an exit, talk to the horns or rhythm section.
Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business
#26The brutally honest truth about this guy is that he's an insecure prick who loves boasting > Only 0.4% of all businesses make it to $10M in annual revenue. We made it almost halfway through...When I sold my startup, we had 100 people working with us. > Unfortunately, I no longer have very many friends... > ...Tesla...$300 pairs of jeans, $450 pairs of boots, concrete countertops...trips to New Zealand no longer bothe…
Imo the prick and the boasting all have the insecurity at its root. Even his opening sentence implies this.
Also:
>That’s great and all, however when someone with money talks about these things to someone who is struggling to pay rent, you come across as a tone deaf asshole.
The very fact that these (peripheral) subjects come up in conversation points to that insecurity, which is independent from however much means a person may have.
The moments when I am boastful or condescending are the moments where my insecurities bubble up to the surface, and I always regret my petty words afterwords.
Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business
#27Material things do not make people happy, at all. This! This is the found God moment everyone needs to come to. We will all die. You had better get your eternity in order. Answer that call within, and go find the true "why" that is eating at you on the inside. Read Acts 2:38.
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Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business
#28Gee, he doesn't come off as a hard heart, talking over people, 100% too confident, know-it-all, or do-as-I-say-- until you actually start reading the article. Expert on what not to do I guess, but I can't follow.
Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business
#29> Material things do not make people happy, at all. Everybody says this, all the time. I would like to propose the controversial theory that actually material things do make people happy, at least within certain constraints. When I was younger I had shitty cheap material things which made me unhappy. Now I have better stuff which makes me happier. I used to have a shitty unairconditioned apartment. That made me unhap…
the point you're making is exactly the reason for the cliche of 'money wont buy you happiness". it is the thought that buying these things (that give us momentary happiness) will equate to long term happiness. in 20,30,40 years, how airconditioned your apartment was (or wasn't) will have little bearing on your overall level of happiness at that point.
also, your last few sentences contradict what you wrote earlier. you said you don't get unhappy unless theres a specific reason, right after you gave 3 examples of you being unhappy without a real reason.
Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business
#30> Material things do not make people happy, at all. Everybody says this, all the time. I would like to propose the controversial theory that actually material things do make people happy, at least within certain constraints. When I was younger I had shitty cheap material things which made me unhappy. Now I have better stuff which makes me happier. I used to have a shitty unairconditioned apartment. That made me unhap…
You can be made unhappy by a lack of necessary things, but you reach a point, pretty early on, where additional money doesn't budge the happiness meter.