Why Should I Start a Startup?

I'd argue that if you're thinking in these terms, you're probably not the startup type.

There was an interesting RibbonFarm essay on "guardian" vs. "commerce" syndrome that really crystallized this for me:

https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2014/06/04/saints-and-traders-the...

Entrepreneurs are the ultimate in "commerce" types, but beyond that, his key point was about bulletpoint #2, "exert prowess" vs. "compete". For most people, the point of effort is to get a reward; you are doing things now so that you can be the person you want to be at the end. You do your homework so you can graduate from a good college; you get a job so you can make money and live a good life; you get your MBA so you can get a promotion.

For a small minority of people, this is reversed. Who you want to be is just a guidepost for what you should be doing. It's the doing that's the important part. The RibbonFarm article describes this as the finite vs. the infinite game; guardian types do things for the victory at the end, while commerce types set the victory conditions so they have a motive to keep doing things. So you went to school because the material was interesting, and graduation was a little side-note along the way. Or you program computers because that's what you want to do, and the salary just determines who you should program computers for.

It's these folks who make the best entrepreneurs, simply because if you're playing to win, there are ways to win with less effort.

This, BTW, is why so many entrepreneurs go on to found repeat companies, and why a few are (frankly) dicks after they've gotten rich. A lot of folks can't imagine founding a company after you already have F-U money; why put yourself through all those challenges if you don't have to? But for many entrepreneurs, the challenges are the point, the competition is the point, and they don't stop competing just because they've gotten rich. Sometimes this is expressed in healthy ways, like YCombinator after ViaWeb, Medium after Twitter after Blogger, git after Linux, Stripe after Auctomatic, etc. And sometimes it's expressed in unhealthy ways, like Khosla's feud with San Mateo county over his beachfront property. But the point is that these people aren't founding companies because they need money or success, it's because they love the thrill of competition.

Where did you get that 30% figure, if I may ask? The usually cited figure is 10%.

Out of curiosity, if you're able to answer it:

Does YC now collect, or has it ever collected, (anonymized?) data/survey-responses from founders (YC alums or not) on their original motivations for starting the company, and attempt(ed) to correlate that with outcomes?

If so, are you willing/able to reveal any of the things YC learned?

If YC hasn't attempted to do this: why not?

A combination of books and teaching. I'm experimenting with coaching and a company is sponsoring my React Native writing on a cobranded blog/yt channel.

I publish monthly breakdowns on swizec.com and that lists all revenue streams.

You should not start a startup. I like to think of it differently. It's semantics but I find that it aligns my thinking better. You should start a business if:

- you are strongly driven _by the idea_ of doing business, i.e., at some point in your evolution, you become Walt Whitman. A business, which

- solves a problem, makes a product, or offers a service, that

- you think can you do better and make money while doing so, and

- you would rather face the uncertainty of it not working out than be employed working on a thing you are not motivated by.

You should not start a startup if things such as exits, raising VC, optics of running a startup, or some such affair is of primary concern to you. They should be in the service of running the business and serving its needs, not the other way around.

This is not a script that applies to just some lifestyle, sustainable businesses, in the parlance of SV. This is the same script that even the largest, most profitable, and most impactful companies (cue the disruption adjectives) on the planet have followed.