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Founding Stories Are Myths

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Re: Founding Stories Are Myths

#21

Post by jsgo »

trvlngwlbry wrote: post #19

I don't think it's fair to use that one small piece of Netflix lore as the counter example to the point of the article. I'd categorize Reed Hastings as having one of the more long-term views/strategies in tech and business in general, and he would be the first to say that Netflix became what it has become not because of the lightbulb moment, but because of the long slog they've endured to get where they are. Using th…

I could be wrong, but I think the article is saying that the Netflix myth never happened and it is trying to posit that instead of looking at the instance of breakthrough as the beginning, look at the less sexy work and experience that got them to that point.

Granted, while Walton's was certainly successful, I think they'd be better served highlighting someone that had to cut bait on something professionally in the past and succeeded after adjusting because Walton's story reads like "bad thing happened -> keep trudging" infinitely.

Re: Founding Stories Are Myths

#22

Post by madeofpalk »

52-6F-62 wrote: post #16
jfasi wrote: post #13

The author is criticizing a genre of narrative that I like to call "career porn." Consider the similarities between "how I started this company" type stories and actual porn: * It depicts something everyone fantasizes about and offers a quick if ultimately unsatisfying release. Who doesn't imagine themselves building something amazing and being idolized by magazines and the general public? * It happens in an unrealis…

> It only shows beautiful companies/people. You don't need to found a space exploration company to be happy just like you don't need to be with a model. We certainly don't hear much about efforts or successes in anyone's effort to "disrupt" the toilet paper industry, yet it's something most people use daily. It's not sexy, but we all care a lot when it sucks.

But people are 'disrupting' the more 'boring' industries - all the mattress/pillow startups, Thinx period panties, etc.

Re: Founding Stories Are Myths

#23

Post by k1ns »

This is why I love the How I Built This podcast. It tells the story of a successful founder from childhood to present day. It discusses early successes and failures that ultimately led to that person becoming an "overnight success" decades later. It doesn't try to build this narrative of them being one-hit wonders, it tells the truth. The truth, which isn't nearly as sexy as people would like, is that building a business takes time, hard work, and resilience.

Re: Founding Stories Are Myths

#24

Post by ghaff »

madeofpalk wrote: post #22
52-6F-62 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It only shows beautiful companies/people. You don't need to found a space exploration company to be happy just like you don't need to be with a model. We certainly don't hear much about efforts or successes in anyone's effort to "disrupt" the toilet paper industry, yet it's something most people use daily. It's not sexy, but we all care a lot when it sucks.

But people are 'disrupting' the more 'boring' industries - all the mattress/pillow startups, Thinx period panties, etc.

How much disruption has really happened in most of those cases though? And I'm not sure people on here are a reliable sample.

Mind you some of these (e.g. Warby Parker) have had a lot of success. It's just not clear to what degree they've really disrupted the mainstream of their industries.

Re: Founding Stories Are Myths

#25

Post by justherefortart »

One of my bosses had a chance to buy 25k in Wal-Mart stock or bonds. He chose the bonds because they were less risky.

He sold his company for ~17m in the late 90s (so he did fine). In the early 2000s he asked me for stock advice since he kept blowing 60k on penny stocks. I said put 10% of your money on Apple. I'm not 100% sure what's going on but it seems to be a pretty good bet.

Wish I'd followed my own advice instead of doing my first self funded startup (2003). I made about 4-5x my investment. Didn't realize how paltry that would look compared to my Apple advice :-)

As someone that's on startup #8 (about to fire my partner). They're never easy, they are fun (and stressful at times).

Re: Founding Stories Are Myths

#26

Post by netman21 »

I always like the EDS founding story. Ross Perot started EDS with $1,000. They never mention he was a multimillionaire from being a top salesman for IBM. Big deal that he opened a bank account with $1,000.

Re: Founding Stories Are Myths

#27

Post by nothrabannosir »

52-6F-62 wrote: post #16
jfasi wrote: post #13

The author is criticizing a genre of narrative that I like to call "career porn." Consider the similarities between "how I started this company" type stories and actual porn: * It depicts something everyone fantasizes about and offers a quick if ultimately unsatisfying release. Who doesn't imagine themselves building something amazing and being idolized by magazines and the general public? * It happens in an unrealis…

> It only shows beautiful companies/people. You don't need to found a space exploration company to be happy just like you don't need to be with a model. We certainly don't hear much about efforts or successes in anyone's effort to "disrupt" the toilet paper industry, yet it's something most people use daily. It's not sexy, but we all care a lot when it sucks.

I'll be honest with you: almost every single "SV success story" I can think of is boring. Advertisement, book shops, groceries, taxis, food delivery, none of this is particularly glamorous.

I don't know where people get this apocryphal wave of "nobody ever talks about boring things". Space X is pretty much the only non-boring "hip" company I can think of!

Re: Founding Stories Are Myths

#28

Post by justherefortart »

tomc1985 wrote: post #15

Either someone told me, or I read somewhere in a book, about how these things are called "business lies" and that it is supposedly OK to do in the name of making money No harm no foul if everyone feels better about themselves right? /s

Having worked in a lot of shady businesses. I'd like to see the book that shows how most every company is pulling some really borderline (if not completely) illegal and unethical dealings to get ahead.

My first job as an auditor really opened my eyes (did some M&A work that blew my mind at the shit companies would try). Funny thing is the company I worked for (Andersen) got killed by their own shady dealings!

Re: Founding Stories Are Myths

#30

Post by giarc »

ronilan wrote: post #17
giarc wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is it? Perhaps the headline should be "Why You Should Ignore THIS Founder’s Story About How They Started Their Company" I feel like if the author is going to make a broad generalization about founding stories, he should use more than 1 example. I don't count Netflix as one of his examples because he simply says "That didn’t actually happen." So to combat Reed saying this is how I started Netflix... the author just sa…

It is a good read. You read it. You feel about it. You formulate an opinion (pro/con). You learn something. You doubt something. That’s what a good read is.

I guess that's subjective. I would have like to seen more proof to back up the argument.

The author provides proof that the Netflix startup story is about "rental fees" a long time ago. But then fails to provide any evidence that is not true.

The author then switches to Walmart to prove that founder stories are not true, but doesn't provide any evidence that people claim Walmart was an overnight success. Overall it's a bad article in my opinion.

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