Why Should I Start a Startup? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#251

Post by SpaceManNabs » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 1:35 PM UTC

wskinner wrote: post #141

SpaceManNabs wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is true, but not everybody has those conditions. Some people have other demands. For example, I would not be able to start a start up for a while even as a recent grad software engineer at a fortune 50 company because: 1. I have to support my mom and siblings every once in a while 2. Am saving up for grad school expenses (even with funding of tuition and such through grants and such, my mother would not be able…

Why do you feel entitled to start a startup? Everything you mentioned aside from your medical expenses is a choice. If you choose to prioritize things that prevent you from starting a startup, then you are choosing not to start a startup.

I don't feel entitled. I understood the nature of the discussion as to what barriers there could be.

And in lots of America, not having a car is not a choice. And, supporting my family is also not a choice.

I could see the grad school stuff as a choice. I also see it as a safe guard against automating away my job because I obtain a higher skill set.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#252

Post by lomnakkus » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 1:36 PM UTC

jasode wrote: post #229

lomnakkus wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 attri…

"different"?

FWIW, at least as far as I can know my own mind, my comment wasn't spurred by any notion of perceiving as OP being "arrogant" or thinking that they are "a special snowflake" or anything like that.

It's just that unlikely statistical events are... unlikely even though they often do happen to someone (in aggregate). As an individual, and without compelling evidence, it's simply meaningless to think that you're anything other than average in most respects.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#253

Post by nnd » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 1:41 PM UTC

mwseibel wrote: post #109

nnd wrote: post #99

> Do I seek the hard challenges that most people shy away from? Arguably, you can find much harder challenges working for a bigco, at least when it comes to engineering challenges. Also, surprisingly one of the biggest factors involved when it comes to starting a startup is not mentioned: idea itself.

Engineering challenges I certainly agree. Life challenges though? I think we can have a good argument about that one.

No argument here, I totally agree.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#254

Post by eli_gottlieb » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 1:45 PM UTC

jcadam wrote: post #250

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Sure, I might be deep in debt, I'll never afford permanent housing, the government's gone fascist, and the biosphere's ability to support human life is rapidly collapsing, but at least I've got a scone while the world burns."

Hey, I like scones. If it makes you feel better, us Gen Xers have it worse. We're stuck in mid-level positions at work and when the boomers blocking our advancement finally croak, some young, ambitious millennial will simply be promoted over us. Because if we were any good, we would be in upper management by now. On the flip side, I'm just young enough to not have any sort of pension through my employer(s), and I'll…

It was more a generational characterization than a personal one. I have no debt, some assets, and no scone.

I could walk out and buy a scone, but every time I think to do that, I get to the shop and see that one of their scones would more than double my calorie count for any given meal. So then I don't.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#255

Post by metalliqaz » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 1:46 PM UTC

tmsam wrote: post #209

metalliqaz wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But then you have kids, and kids require stability. So you go to work for the man, because the kids are more important.

But... start ups still pay engineers salaries that dwarf teachers, retail, and many other industries. Should people in those industries not have kids? Are they being irresponsible by not making 6 figures?

I wasn't talking about money, I was talking about stability.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#256

Post by SimbaOnSteroids » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 1:47 PM UTC

rmah wrote: post #249

jasode wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 attri…

"For whatever reason(s), a lot of entrepreneurs can't seem to conform to the typical 9-to-5 job." In my experience (almost 30 yrs of working at all sorts of companies, 2 startups of my own, lots of friends and acquaintances with their own businesses) the most people I've seen who are most successful at launching and running their own firms were those who did VERY well at previous 9-to-5 jobs. That said, I've known pl…

Perhaps the people that do well at a 9-5 and do well as an entrepreneur don't do well at the 9-5 because they're a model employee by nature but rather because they seek to be the best at whatever they do, however they can.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#257

Post by uiri » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 1:48 PM UTC

jorblumesea wrote: post #192

Animats wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The odds of there being an exit worth anything to anyone other than a founder are small enough to not even worth considering. So if you go to work for a startup, you should demand substantially more money than with an established company. It didn't used to be that way. It used to be that the first dozen or so employees of a successful startup did very well, and the first hundred or so did OK.

Yeah that's not gonna happen. Startups are lots of work for low pay, with the lottery ticket that you might be the 1% who makes it out. You ask for a megacorp salary and you'll be laughed out the door.

How exactly are startups supposed to get the best engineers without paying market rate for labour? Given the emphasis on only hiring rock stars, you would think that startups would offer higher salaries than megacorps. Relying on your prospective employee being too dumb to notice the raw deal that she is getting is not a recipe for hiring good employees.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#258

Post by SnacksOnAPlane » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 1:51 PM UTC

mattmanser wrote: post #230

nostrademons wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Have you heard the Shatner cover of this song? It's pretty great.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#259

Post by agentultra » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 1:56 PM UTC

elliotec wrote: post #10

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…

Being a successful business is not all gambling luck, it's not always working long hours for crap pay, and many, many people have started companies with families and without losing everything they put in. Also, "90% of people choose not to work at a startup" seems like a really bad guess.

I didn't suggest it was impossible or that you couldn't start a business when you have a family or other dependents. I do believe that it's risk to start one or work at one if you do not have ways of mitigating the risk to the people you are responsible to.

It is fundamentally a gamble. Everything else is risk mitigation: having a savings account with enough money to cover your obligations of for a couple of years, starting in a low-risk niche, working with partners, insurance, etc, etc. In the end the market may make the venture a flop: hopefully you've taken enough precautions that it doesn't leave you with a foreclosed house and filing for bankruptcy.

The only real competitor anyone should care about is themselves. Being an entrepreneur, recklessly, is not going to satisfy that itch in the long run.

Re: Why Should I Start a Startup?

#260

Post by jventura » Thu, Jul 20, 2017, 2:01 PM UTC

throw4141 wrote: post #97

I've tried to start a startup, 2 times. I failed both times. And now I have 0 money left, the family that cannot help me, I don't have a job and can't find one and thankfully I have some friends that are giving me a place to sleep. Should I start another startup? I wish. Will I do it? I don't know how. I wish I had a magic idea and some people to invest in it, but not living in the Valley and not having a clue on how…

I'm just a random guy on the internet, but I would suggest you to fix your life first and then remember the hard lessons you (should) have learned on your two failures if you decide to do it again..