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Hey, Guys, It's Totally Okay If You Don't Get Rich

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Re: Hey, Guys, It's Totally Okay If You Don't Get Rich

#31

Post by clistctrl »

pg wrote: post #13

In my experience, startup founders who want to get rich want it more in order to have the freedom to work on what they want than to impress people. That could be because we prefer startups whose founders include hackers. On the other hand, we don't just prefer that type because they're more fun to hang around with, but because in our opinion they're more likely to succeed.

I can only speak to myself, but I want to get rich not for a Lamborghini, but so I can start another company to truly make a difference. Personally I think the Gates foundation is going to have a longer lasting impact on the world then Microsoft has. Yes I realize how huge of an impact Microsoft has had.

Re: Hey, Guys, It's Totally Okay If You Don't Get Rich

#33

Post by axod »

pg wrote: post #13

In my experience, startup founders who want to get rich want it more in order to have the freedom to work on what they want than to impress people. That could be because we prefer startups whose founders include hackers. On the other hand, we don't just prefer that type because they're more fun to hang around with, but because in our opinion they're more likely to succeed.

>> "In my experience, startup founders who want to get rich want it more in order to have the freedom to work on what they want than to impress people."

Isn't the whole point of doing a startup, to be able to work on what you want? Surely creating a profitable startup gives you that freedom to do what you like?

Re: Hey, Guys, It's Totally Okay If You Don't Get Rich

#34

Post by nollidge »

[deleted] wrote: post #7

[deleted]

This is overly simplistic. Feminism argues for different expectations, not necessarily higher ones. Feminists have (largely) come around to accepting that whatever women want to do is fine: have a full-time career, raise kids full-time, somewhere in-between, something completely different, etc. But there's been no analogous movement to promote the same for men.

And I have no idea what could possibly be dumb or dangerous about not prioritizing wealth over everything else.

Re: Hey, Guys, It's Totally Okay If You Don't Get Rich

#35

Post by iamwil »

enjo wrote: post #6

Of course it's not ok. At some level getting rich is a life-or-death issue. How do I get enough money to retire? How can I possibly afford health-care? What if I or my lovely wife get cancer? The reality is, the later years of your life are going to be significantly more secure and happier if you make a lot of money.

And that's the attitude that she's pointing out. Just as women are constantly told and whispered (directly and indirectly) they're not pretty enough, men are constantly told and whispered (directly and indirectly) they're not rich enough.

So much so that a bunch of people agree with you and it's a defining norm.

Note that the article is talking about the obscenely rich, like the Facebooks and the Googles. There's no need to be obscenely rich to retire, afford healthcare, treat your lovely soon-to-be-cancerous wife. Above a certain point, having more money gives diminishing returns on quality of life. After that, it's just a scorecard as someone will almost always be more rich than you.

But we think we do need to be obscenely rich, and that it's our role, nay our purpose to do so. It's a story that's exulted, whispered, and told in our ear so often, we don't realize it anymore.

In the end, you should know yourself. The old masters weren't kidding when they said that the hardest thing to do is not mastery over others, but over yourself. You should know what you value in life and what you want out of it, and that the source of that inspiration comes from within.

Because when you buy into other people's values that aren't your own, you may find that when you finally get to the top of the hill at the expense of everything else, what you really wanted wasn't there at all. And that's what she's warning her friend about.

Re: Hey, Guys, It's Totally Okay If You Don't Get Rich

#36

Post by johnrob »

For both wealth and (perceived) beauty, there is often a relatively easy solution: move!

For more beauty, move to a location with a greater ratio of the opposite sex.

For more wealth, move to a location with a lower cost of living.

I don't know how much longer these arbitrage opportunities will exist, but for now they probably represent the biggest 'lifehacks' one can make.

Re: Hey, Guys, It's Totally Okay If You Don't Get Rich

#37

Post by fizx »

axod wrote: post #33
pg wrote: post #13

In my experience, startup founders who want to get rich want it more in order to have the freedom to work on what they want than to impress people. That could be because we prefer startups whose founders include hackers. On the other hand, we don't just prefer that type because they're more fun to hang around with, but because in our opinion they're more likely to succeed.

>> "In my experience, startup founders who want to get rich want it more in order to have the freedom to work on what they want than to impress people." Isn't the whole point of doing a startup, to be able to work on what you want? Surely creating a profitable startup gives you that freedom to do what you like?

No, because there's billing, payroll, taxes, customer support, management, board meetings and a hundred other things that come with running a startup. We have to do what's best for the company, and that usually doesn't include taking a month off to try to build a robot spider.

Re: Hey, Guys, It's Totally Okay If You Don't Get Rich

#39

Post by b3b0p »

pg wrote: post #13

In my experience, startup founders who want to get rich want it more in order to have the freedom to work on what they want than to impress people. That could be because we prefer startups whose founders include hackers. On the other hand, we don't just prefer that type because they're more fun to hang around with, but because in our opinion they're more likely to succeed.

I know this is how I feel.

The only time I think about the money is when I read someone on here mentioning it, but it quickly fades.

Otherwise, all I think about is being able to work on anything I want and starting my own company. Nothing seems cooler than that in my opinion. Besides, if you want bragging rights, how many people can say they started their own company?

Re: Hey, Guys, It's Totally Okay If You Don't Get Rich

#40

Post by thetrumanshow »

fizx wrote: post #37
axod wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> "In my experience, startup founders who want to get rich want it more in order to have the freedom to work on what they want than to impress people." Isn't the whole point of doing a startup, to be able to work on what you want? Surely creating a profitable startup gives you that freedom to do what you like?

No, because there's billing, payroll, taxes, customer support, management, board meetings and a hundred other things that come with running a startup. We have to do what's best for the company, and that usually doesn't include taking a month off to try to build a robot spider.

Yes, but if your margins are good and your growth is strong enough, you can remove yourself from the equation and hire people to takeover most of these tasks. You'll probably still have to attend the board meethings though.

Then again, it's probably not considered a startup anymore at that point.

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