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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

#141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Breakfast of Champions. Just open the first pages and you'll see it all over.

Which part is BoC? I recognize "so it goes" from Slaughterhouse Five.

I stand corrected--"and so on" is what he uses over and over in BoC. "so it goes" is from Slaughterhouse Five. Thanks.

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

#143

In fact, we were basically the trader’s little bitches, and any quant who’s honest with himself realizes that. I wonder what it is that traders do that they can't be replaced by software? How do they manage to generate more value than quants?

Software doesn't have a frat buddy working at the bank across the street.

Why is that advantageous?

Trading is a zero-sum game, right? So how does having an alliance with a competitor help out much?

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

#144
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

| Obviously, there are plenty of people happy collecting their large paycheck every two weeks, or there would be a lot of startups and not a lot of Goldman Sachs. Or their fears and lack of confidence/desire for security overrule their happiness.

Not everyone wants to be a leader. Seriously. It may be hard for you to believe this, as it goes against how you feel, but its true.

I didn't make it a categorical statement. I just have a hard time taking the original author's premise at face value.

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

#145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Software doesn't have a frat buddy working at the bank across the street.

Why is that advantageous? Trading is a zero-sum game, right? So how does having an alliance with a competitor help out much?

Because plenty of deals are negotiated off the market.

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

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is that advantageous? Trading is a zero-sum game, right? So how does having an alliance with a competitor help out much?

Because plenty of deals are negotiated off the market.

What sort of deal? What could the advantage be of negotiating a deal off the market? Deals are zero sum, right? If you and I make a deal where an item is transacted for above market value, or below market value, one of us is going to lose out as a result.

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

#147

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…

"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."

You may try to justify what you do that way, but it's just cognitive dissonance. "Wall street people" tend to make money in rent seeking ways, destroying or merely transferring real value. At least at Google you could be creating value, growing the economy in sustainable ways, and increasing real GDP.

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