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What no one talks about when running and selling a business

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Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business

#191

Post by edblarney »

thehardsphere wrote: post #162
edblarney wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people are at least subtly intimidated by those of very apparently higher economic or social standing. ... and people commonly make assumptions about what that person might be like, how they might think about things - assumptions which get projected onto a person which may in fact have no relevance at all. It's very common that people with a great deal of wealth have trouble getting along with those that don't.…

Well, sure, but he's describing people who have known him a long time. >Yesterday, I got told by someone I really care about >The day before that, one of my very closest friends and someone who I love like family told me If these people are as close to the author as he claims, then this assumption-projection thing I don't think would hold up. They don't need to backfill with assumptions about "what would a rich guy t…

It still happens with friends that you've known for a long time.

Some people become very successful and it becomes harder to relate to their 'high school pals'.

Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business

#192

Post by lazaroclapp »

conductr wrote: post #185
lazaroclapp wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a note, the later is very seldom considered childish in some cultures and some economic backgrounds. I have known people for which the request to their friends is not "will you help me move?" but "will you help me build my house?" (think bricklaying and setting up a tin or wooden roof). They would definitely return the favor, as well.

I think that's very different cases. One is help me I'm in a jam and can't solve my own problems. The other is embarking on a project together. My friend might hate me for not helping out in a jam, but probably won't think much of it if I don't want to help with the project.

Not really. For the people I am talking about, helping with something like that would be absolutely expected from a very close friend (a "compadre" for example, which is a Spanish term for the godfather of your children, would be considered very unreliable if he didn't help with something like that). It would even be considered a bit rude for neighbors not to do so in some neighborhoods (specially if other neighbors helped them with their homes). Admittedly, I am not from those circles and I am not 100% sure about the etiquete, but there are definitely pretty strong rules about what you expect from your close community and viceversa. It is part out of necessity, because we are talking about places with very little economic resources and practically no access to government or banking services.

Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business

#193

Post by espeed »

espeed wrote: post #141
feistypharit wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ya, it seems his real issue is he spent his 20s and 30s with the goal of getting money and now that he has it winners what's next. I believe the term is midlife crisis. I do find it sad that he,like so many other people just write off how hard and important it is to raise kids. "I'm not a stay at home parent". I've heard it from doctors, CEOs, and others. As a society we really need to stop outsourcing the raising of…

I believe the term is midlife crisis. Yes, identity crisis. If your identity for the last 10 years has been too tied to your role at work, it can leave you in a state of crisis (identity diffusion) when it's gone [1]. In a founder's mind, your identity/self-image can become almost indistinguishable from your company, unless it was solid to begin with. And when your identity has been bound too tightly to an external t…

Moreover, PG touched on this idea in his essay, "Keep Your Identity Small" (2009):

http://paulgraham.com/identity.html

Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business

#194

Post by dennisgorelik »

bartread wrote: post #173
luckydude wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "lucked into" thing resonates with me. I've done pretty well and have had a zillion people tell me I got lucky. I used to really resent that. I bootstrapped my company, I took no salary for the first 2-3 years, instead I was out consulting to bring in money so I could pay the people who worked for me. That didn't seem like luck to me. I built technology that most of you use daily, before I came along people thoug…

I think that's a rare and commendable attitude. The statistics in the article support the idea of luck. You did all the right things and succeeded. But how many of the people running the businesses that failed did all the right things as well? Probably a decent number of them. Not the majority, by any means, but a decent minority. A lot of people fail because they don't do the right things, but doing the right things…

> The statistics in the article support the idea of luck

Not really.

High ratio of failed startup can easily be explained by either lack of grit or lack of skills of by both.

Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business

#195

Post by dennisgorelik »

CPLX wrote: post #178
meesterdude wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I do have little patience for people telling me they want to "change the world" by creating an obviously inconsequential consumer web app or the equivalent I know what you mean - while also building a consumer app to change the world (well, the worlds of people). There is certainly BS out there and it does draw out my patience. But likewise, there are apps and services out there that really are trying to change the…

While it's true that you can't read minds, it is at least somewhat possible to read actions. You can certainly see guys like Craig Newmark or Scott Heiferman who make obvious visible decisions against their own material self interest in service of a broader principle. For the most part it's those exceptions that prove the rule in my opinion. Again, I don't think it's a pejorative observation at all. I think wanting t…

> Being self-deprecating is not the same thing as being humble at all, it's just the other side of the oversized ego coin.

Exactly. My impression from reading Kenan Hopkins' article was that he self-deprecates himself in order to get some social points.

Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business

#196

Post by bartread »

scarface74 wrote: post #189
bartread wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That certainly is a valid choice, and if it's what makes you happy, then great. I wish it was what made me happy because, as you've pointed out, it's a lot easier (at least in some ways). But that's the problem: it isn't the right choice for everyone. People have complex motivations but, for me, working in some giant corporation where it can be really hard to get things done due to politics and ingrained bureaucracy…

That's easy and I agree with you. In 20 years I've only worked in a large corporation with a lot of bureaucracy for two and I said I would never do it again. I only work for small companies for the same reasons you cited. But the same thing applies. I worked for a company where any day the doors could be closed if the VCs gave up on us. Management was very open about the situation but there wasn't really a mass exodu…

Again, I couldn't agree more with that. Most of my jobs have been with companies where it could go either way. Red Gate turned into an exception and became successful, and I stayed there for a long time. Subsequently I've come to the conclusion that, professionally, this was a mistake. For the first few years I definitely developed a lot of new skills there, and had opportunities that otherwise I wouldn't have had, but the value tails off after that.

When it came to the point where I absolutely, positively wanted to leave and nothing was going to change my mind (this is far too late - to anyone reading, do not do this), I felt rusty and behind the curve. It became an 18 month process whilst I skilled up in the areas I needed (again, Red Gate provided the opportunities to do that, so props). That was tough going. Red Gate's a decent company but, you know, when I'm done I'm done, so keeping up the motivation was hard.

This is all a very roundabout way of saying you're absolutely right about keeping your skills up. If you do that (and you're not an asshole) you'll have absolutely no problem securing employment. You might need to relocate, but you'll always find work.

Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business

#197

Post by bartread »

dennisgorelik wrote: post #194
bartread wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that's a rare and commendable attitude. The statistics in the article support the idea of luck. You did all the right things and succeeded. But how many of the people running the businesses that failed did all the right things as well? Probably a decent number of them. Not the majority, by any means, but a decent minority. A lot of people fail because they don't do the right things, but doing the right things…

> The statistics in the article support the idea of luck Not really. High ratio of failed startup can easily be explained by either lack of grit or lack of skills of by both.

You are unquestionably right for some portion of those failures, and I'd bet it's a large portion.

Nevertheless, there is an element of serendipity, good luck, good fortune, call it what you will, in any successful business endeavour. To some extent, yes, you can make your own luck, in that you can stack the odds in your favour but, if we are going with a betting analogy, it still doesn't entirely block the house from winning.

Many people are way too quick to take too much credit for their achievements. Everything we do is built on a foundation of what came before, supplemented by our own hard (and intelligently directed) work, and that rather hard to define good fortune.

Re: What no one talks about when running and selling a business

#198

Post by luckydude »

bartread wrote: post #197
dennisgorelik wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The statistics in the article support the idea of luck Not really. High ratio of failed startup can easily be explained by either lack of grit or lack of skills of by both.

You are unquestionably right for some portion of those failures, and I'd bet it's a large portion. Nevertheless, there is an element of serendipity, good luck, good fortune, call it what you will, in any successful business endeavour. To some extent, yes, you can make your own luck, in that you can stack the odds in your favour but, if we are going with a betting analogy, it still doesn't entirely block the house fro…

Yeah, what bartread said. In no way did I mean to minimize the hard work that people do (and I did) to be successful. There is an awful lot of "make your own luck". But you still have to be at the right place at the right time. It's easy to say "well, duh, that's why I was there" and take credit and a certain amount of that is valid.

On the other hand, I've seen people with more talent than I have fail. If it were solely about their ability then they'd be rich.

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