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Entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk, they come from rich families

qz.com

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Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk, they come from rich families

#41

Post by null_object »

ccleve wrote: post #17

Complete, utter garbage. Cites no statistics. The truth is, about 25% of new businesses in the US are started by first-generation immigrants. 30% of new business owners only have a high-school education. Here are a few more stats: https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/entrepreneur-s...

> Complete, utter garbage. Cites no statistics.

I'm not sure your source is exemplary in citing cast-iron statistics - the article you cite includes a lot of referenced and very varied sources (some of them seem to be just news articles), but few concrete references to back-up their purported numbers.

> The truth is, about 25% of new businesses in the US are started by first-generation immigrants

And this assertion doesn't contradict the article unless we're supposed to assume that being a "first-generation immigrant" automatically means you are poor and without any family resources.

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk, they come from rich families

#42

Post by MaxHoppersGhost »

bobjordan wrote: post #24

This is just more of the pervasive attitude of grievance and blame gaming we have these days. Yes, some entrepreneurs come from rich families. But many more are for example, the immigrants that come here and have no choice but to become an entrepreneur to support their families. Entrepreneurs are everywhere. They are running pop ups at the flea market. They cook your food in the restaurants. There's a +billion entrep…

I agree that many businesses are started by immigrants and lower income. I think the title of the article is sloppily worded but I believe it’s more so referring to tech startups. Unicorn founders are overwhelmingly from wealthy families.

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk, they come from rich families

#43

Post by DevKoala »

Johanx64 wrote: post #37
ccleve wrote: post #17

Complete, utter garbage. Cites no statistics. The truth is, about 25% of new businesses in the US are started by first-generation immigrants. 30% of new business owners only have a high-school education. Here are a few more stats: https://www.smallbizgenius.net/by-the-numbers/entrepreneur-s...

I suspect that many of the immigrants that come to the US (and end up being successful/ business owners) are pretty well off themselves (relative to wealth of the country of origin). US isn't a country that is easy to immigrate to either.

This is an awful take. From experience, being “wealthy” in a third world country translated to being on one of the lowest brackets of poverty here in the USA.

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk, they come from rich families

#45

Post by DevKoala »

MaxHoppersGhost wrote: post #38
DevKoala wrote: post #30

This is such a horrible take I am not going to give the article a click. I know two successful entrepreneurs who come from a situation of struggle in third world countries. Also my girlfriend, who grew up in poverty in Pennsylvania, and now is on her third stable business. We are creating a culture of excuses for anybody who fails at chasing their dreams or doesn’t even have the motivation to do so; the equivalent of…

I agree we shouldn’t create a culture of excuses but at the same time you have to notice that most successful founders come from wealthy backgrounds and the rest seem to be immigrants (who might be wealthy as well?). The average HN poster lives in a Silicon Valley bubble and doesn’t realize this.

I am one of those immigrants who were “wealthy”, which meant my family was able to save money for years to afford my plane ticket to the USA. When I came here I was one of the poorest kids at school. Stop making excuses.

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk, they come from rich families

#46

Post by [deleted] »

bobjordan wrote: post #24

This is just more of the pervasive attitude of grievance and blame gaming we have these days. Yes, some entrepreneurs come from rich families. But many more are for example, the immigrants that come here and have no choice but to become an entrepreneur to support their families. Entrepreneurs are everywhere. They are running pop ups at the flea market. They cook your food in the restaurants. There's a +billion entrep…

[deleted]

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk, they come from rich families

#47

Post by Philadelphia »

DevKoala wrote: post #36
Philadelphia wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Luck, or crime, or some combination of the two.

Nobody worked hard for their money in your world? I was cleaning floors at a fast food place just 15 years ago. If you were to see my parents driving the new car I bought for them this year (I need them to be safe), I bet you’d say the same. Do you understand what is wrong with your perspective?

1) You’re probably not rich in the sense of generational wealth. 99% of people aren’t. 2) There’s no aspect of luck in your success? If you had gotten sick, would you be where you are now? If the company that hired you had gone with another candidate, would you be where you are now? Did a friend refer you to your job? If you had been born in a different time or a different country, would you have the same opportunities? Hard work is good for success, but it’s not sufficient. And that’s especially the case for gaining outsized wealth.

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk, they come from rich families

#49

Post by eplanit »

bobjordan wrote: post #24

This is just more of the pervasive attitude of grievance and blame gaming we have these days. Yes, some entrepreneurs come from rich families. But many more are for example, the immigrants that come here and have no choice but to become an entrepreneur to support their families. Entrepreneurs are everywhere. They are running pop ups at the flea market. They cook your food in the restaurants. There's a +billion entrep…

Yes. TFA is racist, anti-capitalist nonsense.

I'd rather celebrate stories like the one featured on HN just the other day[1], about the Vietnamese immigrant who started Huy Fong Foods and _very successfuly_ popularized sriracha sauce.

[1] https://twitter.com/TrungTPhan/status/1409185044501987340

Re: Entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk, they come from rich families

#50

Post by n_jd »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #21

Can't read the article since it's behind a paywall. But how do they define rich? How much of this is simply because most successful entrepreneurs are in the top 10%? What percentage of the population is entrepreneurs? Why should anyone be surprised that kids are following in their parents footsteps?

You can read it here: https://outline.com/5hNkgt .

The article doesn't really define rich but cites multiple papers and quotes a few economists. Seems like the core thesis is "having access to money makes you more likely to start a business" which seems like something that should be true. The title is a little incendiary though.

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