Building a company is fucking hard • Hacker News Board

Re: Building a company is fucking hard

#101

Post by JadeNB » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:05 PM UTC

simonebrunozzi wrote: post #73

tnolet wrote: post #66

Not dissing the general message. Startups can be brutal, but still. Dude is 22 and claims having seen more hardship than others. Try dealing with raising kids, health issues, sick family members, dying friends, mid life (all of which will probably happen as you near the age 40) and a startup will look like a pleasant distraction from the actual hard stuff in life. I,d say enjoy being 22, don’t take yourself to seriou…

Completely agree with you, and was going to comment the same. Perhaps at 22 you don't have the full perspective of what life can be. I certainly didn't at that age (now I'm 41 and I guess I have a better perspective for sure).

> Perhaps at 22 you don't have the full perspective of what life can be.

It's hard to believe that one has the full perspective at any age.

Re: Building a company is fucking hard

#102

Post by randomsearch » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:05 PM UTC

tnolet wrote: post #66

Not dissing the general message. Startups can be brutal, but still. Dude is 22 and claims having seen more hardship than others. Try dealing with raising kids, health issues, sick family members, dying friends, mid life (all of which will probably happen as you near the age 40) and a startup will look like a pleasant distraction from the actual hard stuff in life. I,d say enjoy being 22, don’t take yourself to seriou…

I think you're playing the averages here, assuming he's a typical 22 year one. Which is reasonable. Just be careful about assuming too much - he may have had periods of his life that were more difficult than you and I will ever experience, you just don't know.

Re: Building a company is fucking hard

#103

Post by beckler » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:06 PM UTC

Insanity wrote: post #68

tw1010 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of old people have been comfortable their entire adult lives.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'comfortable'. But let's assume you mean 'figured out life'. I used to think that people knew what they were doing as they were getting older. I'm still 'young', my wife and I are late 20s, early 30s. And I have given up the idea on 'figuring it out'.

This. Right here. Currently in my late 20's. I have nothing figured out, and I stopped trying to figure things out a while ago.

Re: Building a company is fucking hard

#104

Post by randomsearch » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:07 PM UTC

BowBun wrote: post #93

I've already ranted against blog posts titled 'X is Hard'. Yet another hits the top post on HN. Yes, most things are hard, especially when you can describe it in detail as an 'expert'. To a layman, anything can be hard. These always come off as ego pieces to me justifying why they're worth money or why they should be hired. How about you just let your work represent you?

I agree the title is a poor one, but I think there is some useful advice in the article, e.g. taking it easy when the week is hard.

Re: Building a company is fucking hard

#105

Post by evrydayhustling » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:08 PM UTC

arsalanb wrote: post #96

tnolet wrote: post #66

Not dissing the general message. Startups can be brutal, but still. Dude is 22 and claims having seen more hardship than others. Try dealing with raising kids, health issues, sick family members, dying friends, mid life (all of which will probably happen as you near the age 40) and a startup will look like a pleasant distraction from the actual hard stuff in life. I,d say enjoy being 22, don’t take yourself to seriou…

While you state it in a more rational way, many of the responses dismiss what OP has to say just because he is 22. As somebody who is 22 as well—everybody is facing a struggle here. The market does not care that we are 22, it is equally brutal to both of us. Also, I agree that raising kids may be something that is more difficult that you additionally have to do (all the other things have no correlation with age), but…

Health issues, dying friends, sick family, and mid life have no correlation with age?

Being 22 is harder if you pass on opportunities to get perspective...

Re: Building a company is fucking hard

#106

Post by j-c-hewitt » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:08 PM UTC

leroy_masochist wrote: post #90

tnolet wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess “struggle porn” is just a hip thing to write about. Books like “The hard thing about hard things” celebrates this. It’s startup canon by now.

Wow....hadn't heard the term "struggle porn" before, but I think it hits the nail on the head.

Probably because writing a blog post about how everything was really easy and straightforward and now you're earning millions with no meaningful competition would make people hate you and then try to copy your business model. Writing that everything was really hard discourages competitors.

Re: Building a company is fucking hard

#107

Post by artursapek » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:09 PM UTC

dqpb wrote: post #15

> I have yet experienced more in these four years than most people do in all of their lives. Lol, hearing that from a 22 year old.

Somebody needs to give this guy a fridge magnet about humility to add to his collection

Re: Building a company is fucking hard

#108

Post by jmilloy » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:09 PM UTC

whatshisface wrote: post #30

dqpb wrote: post #15

> I have yet experienced more in these four years than most people do in all of their lives. Lol, hearing that from a 22 year old.

If you're inclined to be generous, that could be read as an implicit "experienced more [small business related events] in these four years..."

In fact, the post seems to have been edited to this effect by now.

Re: Building a company is fucking hard

#109

Post by EliRivers » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:10 PM UTC

jonbarker wrote: post #92

faitswulff wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if the median age of HackerNews readers has shifted through the years? I started reading HN probably around my early 20s, if not sooner, and now I'm in my thirties with children. Life doesn't get easier or less complex as time goes on, that's for sure.

HN readership is definitely skewing mid 30s at this point.

I could believe it. It was definitely a product of its time, riding a wave of people that simply don't exist in the same amounts anymore. Outside the bubble, a lot of society has moved on to other obsessions and talking points.

Re: Building a company is fucking hard

#110

Post by martythemaniak » Wed, Nov 28, 2018, 4:11 PM UTC

tnolet wrote: post #66

Not dissing the general message. Startups can be brutal, but still. Dude is 22 and claims having seen more hardship than others. Try dealing with raising kids, health issues, sick family members, dying friends, mid life (all of which will probably happen as you near the age 40) and a startup will look like a pleasant distraction from the actual hard stuff in life. I,d say enjoy being 22, don’t take yourself to seriou…

Sometimes it comes all at once! A friend of mine was building a startup, having kids, dealing with a sick mother and being middle-aged all at the same time.