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Why Not To Do A Startup

mattmaroon.com

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Re: Why Not To Do A Startup

#51

Post by davidw »

pg wrote: post #45

While this is mostly true, it's really the case against doing anything especially ambitious, not just starting startups. You could make an almost identical case against trying to write a great novel. The novelists you hear about in the press are the successful ones. Most people who try fail. It sucks up huge amounts of time regardless. The community is littered with sad, failed novelists. And are the ones who succeed…

Sounds like "Extremistan" and "Mediocristan" from the Black Swan - as do most fields where there are a few people who win really, really big, and lots of failures.

Re: Why Not To Do A Startup

#52

Post by andreyf »

Those happen, and your odds of that are probably far better than winning the lottery, but it’s still highly unlikely [...] and just like the lottery, everyone thinks their chances are better than they really are.

I hate this comparison - building a successful startup may have some element of luck, but like with everything in life, the amount of luck your success is based on is inversely proportional to the amount of understanding you have of your environment.

If you don't know the currents, getting to the other side does seems to take a lot of luck.

The 37signals folks could write a scathing counter-example to your post. Sure, they might be a rare exceptions, but I never understood why people feel there is fate in statistics... it's possible! It doesn't matter what "the most common startup life" is like, because again, the way your life works out isn't decided by pigeonholing you into fated roles, but by your own choosing.

Re: Why Not To Do A Startup

#53

Post by andreyf »

pg wrote: post #45

While this is mostly true, it's really the case against doing anything especially ambitious, not just starting startups. You could make an almost identical case against trying to write a great novel. The novelists you hear about in the press are the successful ones. Most people who try fail. It sucks up huge amounts of time regardless. The community is littered with sad, failed novelists. And are the ones who succeed…

> The community is littered with sad, failed novelists.

Why the pessimism? What about the happy, failed novelists? Just because most failed 's are sad doesn't mean you are destined to be...

Re: Why Not To Do A Startup

#54

Post by andreyf »

jraines wrote: post #31

Matt Maroon : Hacker News 2008 :: Aaron Swartz : Hacker News 2007 Don't get me wrong, though -- they're both good writers, so the above isn't a swipe at either guy or Hacker News. However: "trailer-dweller" seems a little mean-spirited (and inaccurate) when it's clear who you are referring to with that example.

I miss Aaron's posts :(

Re: Why Not To Do A Startup

#55

Post by jraines »

andreyf wrote: post #54
jraines wrote: post #31

Matt Maroon : Hacker News 2008 :: Aaron Swartz : Hacker News 2007 Don't get me wrong, though -- they're both good writers, so the above isn't a swipe at either guy or Hacker News. However: "trailer-dweller" seems a little mean-spirited (and inaccurate) when it's clear who you are referring to with that example.

I miss Aaron's posts :(

I still check out his blog occasionally.

Re: Why Not To Do A Startup

#56

Post by Mistone »

a decent article that sparked great comments makes this an excellent article. startups for me = an opportunity to pursue things you are passionate about - an opportunity to make a name for oneself - and most importantly an overcome great odds and obstacles, which unlike the lottery you actually have some control over. that is why startups are great.

Re: Why Not To Do A Startup

#57

Post by Mistone »

pg wrote: post #45

While this is mostly true, it's really the case against doing anything especially ambitious, not just starting startups. You could make an almost identical case against trying to write a great novel. The novelists you hear about in the press are the successful ones. Most people who try fail. It sucks up huge amounts of time regardless. The community is littered with sad, failed novelists. And are the ones who succeed…

ever been to LA? a few big stars and producers up in the hills, every other person in the "biz" scattered across miles and miles of flatlands.

Re: Why Not To Do A Startup

#58

Post by fendale »

pmjordan wrote: post #27
fendale wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The price of houses in the UK for one has gotten ridiculous in the last couple of years - I was lucky and got a place a few years back, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't be able to afford it now - I think its becoming more and more common. The only way around it is to: * buy a place with one of your mates and share it * Meet a girlfriend/wife that earns a similar amount to yourself The important thing seems to be to get on…

The UK situation is extreme, particularly in London. My girlfriend and I got jobs straight out of university, and we could forget buying a place, and even renting was using up so much of our income that it was just a treadmill. We left, basically. We've moved to Vienna (Austria) and living relatively cheaply in my late grandmother's place. I'm trying to get a startup off the ground, she's slowly figuring out what she…

Yea, London is a total joke, as is Dublin - I have a few friends who rent in Dublin, and they live in a shoe box for a lot of rent (don't really know anyone in London)!

I am in Belfast, where the property prices only ballooned about 2 years ago, so I got lucky. Only a year or so after I got my house, friends were buying similar sized places that are less central for twice what I paid, not good!

Re: Why Not To Do A Startup

#59

Post by Alex3917 »

Alex3917 wrote: post #36

@Matt, You might enjoy Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton. A lot of the criticisms you attribute to startups could just as well be directed toward the entire system that ties social status to money and success. If startups are more blameworthy than other things, I suspect it's mostly because they move the locus of responsibility for success/failure closer to oneself, thus having a multiplier effect on social status.

s/multiplier effect on social status/multiplier effect on your anxiety over your social status/

Re: Why Not To Do A Startup

#60

Post by mattmaroon »

pyro wrote: post #33

A finely written article, and he almost had me going there for a while. The most frustrating thing for me, though, is how he implies that a default life of "ballgames," "ballet recitals," and working for someone else is superior by its very nature. Not everyone wants to not live up to their full potential and trade freedom for some veneer of security. Ultimately, this kind of thing is just more inspiring because it m…

None taken, you just didn't understand it. I'm not saying it is superior, just that a lot of people would find it to be, and those people may not belong in startups.
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