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Why Should I Start a Startup?

blog.ycombinator.com

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Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#221

Post by jaypaulynice »

true_religion wrote: post #161
jaypaulynice wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't think financing your spouse education is a gamble? Who is to say you won't get divorced right after she's done? That's honorable, but at the same time a huge risk.

Whilst anything is possible, it ought to be much easier to gamble on staying married than gamble on a fickle market of consumers liking a product that you haven't built and is in no way similar to anything else.

This is not true for even the best entrepreneurs of our times...many are divorced multiple times so gambling on staying married is a bigger risk. Elon Musk and Sergey Brin are just a couple examples. Your spouse can dump you at any second no matter how secure you think your relationship is.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#222

Post by lomnakkus »

Mz wrote: post #62

He sounds twice exceptional -- gifted, but with some sort of learning disability or handicap of some sort. Twice exceptional people often appear to be "average" but find an "average" or normal life enormously frustrating. Because of having some sort of handicap, it can take a lot to get them going. Once they get going, they often outperform others. Life is vastly better for them when they can create their own niche b…

This article is selling a narrative that you want to hear with a huge dollop of confirmation bias as andy_ppp points out. It's not very likely that you or your family are that 0.01%[1], but it is very likely that you think you are exceptional.

(I wish you all and your family all the best, but one needs to be very careful around this kind of narrativium.)

[1] Made up number, obviously.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#223

Post by quadcore »

I like it. Though I don't think that's the answer I would give. From my experience, I wanted to start a startup because it was like god himself gave me a mission. And I couldn't turn away from that responsibility. I fucking deeply cared about what I was gonna do. It was so much more important than everything else for me. I was freaking Frodo bringing the ring to mordor.

So yeah, everything he said, plus the quest.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#224

Post by diegoperini »

lomnakkus wrote: post #222
Mz wrote: post #62

He sounds twice exceptional -- gifted, but with some sort of learning disability or handicap of some sort. Twice exceptional people often appear to be "average" but find an "average" or normal life enormously frustrating. Because of having some sort of handicap, it can take a lot to get them going. Once they get going, they often outperform others. Life is vastly better for them when they can create their own niche b…

This article is selling a narrative that you want to hear with a huge dollop of confirmation bias as andy_ppp points out. It's not very likely that you or your family are that 0.01%[1], but it is very likely that you think you are exceptional. (I wish you all and your family all the best, but one needs to be very careful around this kind of narrativium.) [1] Made up number, obviously.

This cannot be stressed enough. Well said.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#225

Post by t_fatus »

austenallred wrote: post #43
agentultra wrote: post #7

> 1. The vast majority of startups are not successful This alone is why 90% of people will not choose to work at a startup. You will work long hours, for crap pay, and you'll be waiting in line if there is an exit. The odds of there being an exit worth anything to anyone other than a founder are small enough to not even worth considering. If you are a founder you're gambling on your chances. There are ways to mitigat…

> Don't start a startup if you have family that depends on your income. This one deserves to be called out. You can make a perfectly respectable living starting a company (perhaps not saving as much), and if it doesn't work out and you're savvy you'll have a job in no-time. Especially if you're an engineer in the bay area.

This is indeed true, but your family might suffer from what you're ready to give away when they are not. This is what I experience right now and it's not always easy.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#227

Post by zentlim »

Good article.

Yes. Yes. And yes. (1) Do I like being the underdog? (2) Do I seek the hard challenges that most people shy away from? (3) Do I thrive when I take personal responsibility for success or failure?

The founders i've met have main two triggers. (1) they want to solve a problem that they have encountered personally. (2) they want more income for their family.

But as the article mentioned (and from my personal experience and my immediate circle's experience as well), more money for the family is probably a large mismatch for building a startup.

This write up articulates something very difficult to say very well.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#229

Post by jasode »

lomnakkus wrote: post #222
Mz wrote: post #62

He sounds twice exceptional -- gifted, but with some sort of learning disability or handicap of some sort. Twice exceptional people often appear to be "average" but find an "average" or normal life enormously frustrating. Because of having some sort of handicap, it can take a lot to get them going. Once they get going, they often outperform others. Life is vastly better for them when they can create their own niche b…

This article is selling a narrative that you want to hear with a huge dollop of confirmation bias as andy_ppp points out. It's not very likely that you or your family are that 0.01%[1], but it is very likely that you think you are exceptional. (I wish you all and your family all the best, but one needs to be very careful around this kind of narrativium.) [1] Made up number, obviously.

A meta observation around the reaction to the word "exceptional" based on some posters' comments:

- lomnakkus: "It's not very likely that you or your family are that 0.01%[1], but it is very likely that you think you are exceptional."

- deepGem: ", being frustrated with day to day life doesn't make one exceptional."

I think the problem here is that Mz's chosen word of "exceptional" makes it look like a superior attribute and self-aggrandizement. (This triggers a reaction: https://i.redd.it/1sd91qydx16z.gif)

So it seems like the word "exceptional" has too much positive connotation and that in turn triggers some to "knock the poster down a few pegs".

Can we find an alternative word that doesn't trigger that reflex? For whatever reason(s), a lot of entrepreneurs can't seem to conform to the typical 9-to-5 job. Maybe it is:

- ADD/ADHD

- DRD2 "thrill seeking" gene[1]

- mild sociopathic disorder[2]

- rule-maker or rule-breaker personality instead of rule-follower

-

Whatever the cause is, don't label it "exceptional" because it will lead to replies correcting you that "you're not exceptional".

How about another word such as "misfits"? If you're a person that sees no compatibility for careers such as programmer for BigCo, or doctor, or accountant, or teacher, etc, you'd self-diagnose yourself as a "misfit". Those careers are all noble endeavors -- but they also all feel "wrong" to the misfit. In a conformist-economy, the paths for the misfit earning a living is very different: If you're a "creative misfit", you can write novels or be in a rock band and people overlook your eccentricities. If you're not artistic but see business opportunities, you become an entrepreneur.

Is there a better word than "misfit" that captures the spirit above but is also sufficiently self-effacing to not make people think one has a superiority complex?

[1] https://www.google.com/search?q=drd2+gene+entrepreneur

[2] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2162-6057.1987....

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#230

Post by mattmanser »

nostrademons wrote: post #67
ABCLAW wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure. When you're financially secure, it isn't a big deal to live out of your car and climb a few mountains for shits and giggles. But what does that have to do, prescriptively, with the reverse situation, when you aren't financially secure? Very little.

Person in question wasn't exactly financially secure...I think he had about a grand or two in the bank, if that. I think what commenters here are trying to drive home is that people have different "set points" about what acceptable risk tolerance is, and that we build up these ideas in our head of "I could never do X or live through X". But then if X happens, and we are experiencing it in the moment, suddenly the hum…

But she didn't understand

She just smiled and held my hand

Rent a flat above a shop

Cut your hair and get a job

Smoke some fags and play some pool

Pretend you never went to school

But still you'll never get it right

'Cause when you're laid in bed at night

Watching roaches climb the wall

If you called your Dad he could stop it all

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