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Founding a startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs

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Re: Founding a startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs

#21

Post by daychilde »

mrtron wrote: post #20
daychilde wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A quick search found this: http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52... As far as "giving him a break" - why doesn't he give me a break and not perpetuate inaccurate and hurtful stereotypes?

Please don't take a tiny offhand comment that has nothing to do with the key point of the essay as a personal attack on you. That comment there isn't hurtful or perpetuating anything about you.

I didn't take it as a personal attack on me. And I'm sure it wasn't intended as an attack - just as those that call things "gay" don't mean that as an attack, and those that call things "retarded" don't mean that either.

Doesn't mean it's not unhelpful and nonharmful.

Re: Founding a startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs

#22

Post by klon »

Favorite quote: "But things weren’t all bad! At its best, when the markets presented an apocalyptic Boschian landscape of damned souls torn asunder by hellish tortures, every Goldman grunt, sargeant, or general would close ranks and form a Greek phalanx of greed."

Re: Founding a startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs

#23

Post by rchi »

What's interesting is that stories like this have been around for decades but never deterred young ivy league grads from joining Goldman when the industry is popular.

Now so many people is quick to criticize the finance industry. Although it's true that the bailout was a great crime, I don't see how lobbyists, pharmaceutical executives and advertisers are much better. These guys get paid millions too...at least Goldman doesn't screw with people's mind.

Re: Founding a startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs

#24

Post by dpapathanasiou »

The things he hated about Wall Street are just as prevalent in SV, too.

Instead of worrying about whether or not he went to an Ivy school, his concern now might be: does he have investors with the "right" pedigree for his startup?

Face time with traders and MDs is replaced by hoping that all the "cool" tech blogs are writing his startup (no? writing a few troll posts on the startup's blog should fix that).

Etc.

Or, he could choose to forget all that and just build his company.

But if that kind of petty and superficial stuff got under his skin before, I don't see why it's going to be any different for him now.

Re: Founding a startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs

#25

Post by alexophile »

daychilde wrote: post #2

> with the attention span of an ADHD kid hopped up on meth and Jolly Ranchers Well, I'm very disappointed to find this. 1. One of the more common (and certainly well-known) medications for ADHD is Ritalin, which is methylphenidate. It's mildly related to meth. The long story short is that giving meth to someone with ADHD would not cause them to be able to focus less ; rather, to be able to focus more . 2. Studies hav…

As a fellow adult with ADHD, I don't see how either of these "stereotypes," as you say, are harmful. Not understanding the effects of street drugs on a disease one does not have is hardly worthy of such contempt. If he had said something to the effect of "He was as unemployable as an alcoholic with ADHD," I could understand your indignation, but his remarks weren't disparaging, just mildly uninformed.

If you want to be offended, that's not really my business, but unless someone is responsible for your medical care or claims to know, I don't think it's fair to hold them responsible for this kind of information.

Re: Founding a startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs

#27

Post by VolatileVoid »

So. This is funny. I actually work at Goldman, work in the system he talks about, and have been doing so for 5 years. You can get numbed by the experience of working here, but you don't have to be. I've become friendly with some of the best hackers I know, and for us, finance always takes a backseat to writing amazing code. Sometimes we succeed. Sometimes we fail, but we try to never say, "Meh. Good enough."

Wall Street is like any other business. Don't over-glorify working for Google and not Goldman: tech companies are in it for money too; so are startups. At least on Wall Street people tell you they're doing it for the money. It's easier to detach that way and remember that what you're doing is just a job.

Re: Founding a startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs

#28

Post by mcyger »

Just to provide a balanced viewpoint: I've worked in corporate America (Fortune 5 company), dealt with banality and bureaucracy, banged my head against the wall over and over again, left, started my own company, grew it to millions, sold it, semi-retired. I love startups and the details of this blog, however, when you want to see your kids, sleep in the same bed as your wife, and have a paycheck deposited in your bank account every other Friday, there's nothing better than working for an established company.

Re: Founding a startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs

#29

Post by percept »

arethuza wrote: post #13
brown9-2 wrote: post #11

I'm curious about the author's opinion of Liar's Poker, especially the line I got on a plane to New York within the week. I packed my copy of Liar’s Poker for reference. I'm surprised that anyone would read Liar's Poker and think of it as a reference to Wall Street on an inspiration to work there. The "gorilla" culture described by Michael Lewis at Salomon Brothers in the 80s sounds very close to what the author expe…

In The Big Short he mentions that although he never intended Liar's Poker to inspire people to work on Wall Street. However, that's precisely how a lot of people have treated it - he mentions he gets a lot of requests from people who read Liar's Poker and want tips on how to get started on Wall Street.

I imagine the tone of the book had a lot to do with that. If he wanted to discourage people he should have made it a less entertaining read!

Re: Founding a startup with zero revenue is better than working for Goldman Sachs

#30

Post by jamesseda »

VolatileVoid wrote: post #27

So. This is funny. I actually work at Goldman, work in the system he talks about, and have been doing so for 5 years. You can get numbed by the experience of working here, but you don't have to be. I've become friendly with some of the best hackers I know, and for us, finance always takes a backseat to writing amazing code. Sometimes we succeed. Sometimes we fail, but we try to never say, "Meh. Good enough." Wall Str…

My understanding is GS is company that wants to "beat the market" meaning someone else in the market is loosing. And Google's goal is to make the worlds information available to everyone and show them ads. Google seems more like a everyone wins company.
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