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Is success tied to having rich parents?

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Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#41

Post by xtracto »

skywritergr wrote: post #9

Once you don't have to worry about not having to pay rent, not having to pay electricity etc then your appetite for risks grows. To get to that point you either need to start from a rich household (parents) or get to a certain age, have some money to support you (from previous work) and then go into entrepreneurial experiments. This is a big reason why you see older entrepreneurs embarking into that journey.

I experienced that at around 30, when someone invited me to found a startup, but I just didn't have the money to survive.

Now I'm 40, I've got more financial independence but dont really have the drive anymore.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#42

Post by 71a54xd »

jasonkester wrote: post #28

If you’re looking for an excuse to not start a business, you can’t get better than this. The game is rigged. Thus you would be a fool to try. Problem solved. If, however, you kinda like the idea of running your own business, it’s worth knowing that you do not in fact need rich parents or any of the other prerequisites that non-entrepreneurs think are required. Ask around here and you’ll find plenty of us. (And, of co…

I think the bigger numbers game is guessing when you'll be both experienced enough and risk tolerant enough to make the leap. At 23 I sure as hell didn't know enough to start a company, led alone code a product end to end. At 27 sure I know a lot more, but the idea of steady income is pretty freaking great - reaching a point where "more money" ever month is sort of a diminishing return. Tbh, I think the people with the most leverage are either just a) really smart, b) started programming when they were 14 or c) have incredible social / networking ability. This is based on my set of friends in college I worked with.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#43

Post by iso1631 »

m0llusk wrote: post #20

Money opens doors, but wealthy living also tends to teach bad habits that limit ambition and grit. Also, in that thread it was asserted that Steve Jobs did not have rich parents, but they were reasonably well off and lived in a leafy and pleasant neighborhood with excellent schools.

> The location of the Los Altos home meant that Jobs would be able to attend nearby Homestead High School, which had strong ties to Silicon Valley

> When he was 13 in 1968, Jobs was given a summer job by Bill Hewlett (of Hewlett-Packard) after Jobs cold-called him to ask for parts for an electronics project

Well that's a benefit the vast majority don't get.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#44

Post by RamblingCTO »

fellowniusmonk wrote: post #38

Absolutely, as an orphan with many different ideas and no safety net I was frequently put in places where I should have been a co-founder since I was technical and the idea was mine, but basically until I was 29 I had no leverage because I had to have income (and health insurance, I was born with a couple heart defects.) I eventually co-founded a company with two others and it went well, but after exiting I am still…

> I still find it impossible to find and get in front of investors

Any ideas why?

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#45

Post by DougN7 »

xtracto wrote: post #41
skywritergr wrote: post #9

Once you don't have to worry about not having to pay rent, not having to pay electricity etc then your appetite for risks grows. To get to that point you either need to start from a rich household (parents) or get to a certain age, have some money to support you (from previous work) and then go into entrepreneurial experiments. This is a big reason why you see older entrepreneurs embarking into that journey.

I experienced that at around 30, when someone invited me to found a startup, but I just didn't have the money to survive. Now I'm 40, I've got more financial independence but dont really have the drive anymore.

You also don’t have the time to recover should the startup fail. Because of that I think rich parents holds much more influence than having built up a safety cushion (retirement fund) later in life. The risks are much much higher in that case.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#46

Post by giantg2 »

onion2k wrote: post #21
skywritergr wrote: post #9

Once you don't have to worry about not having to pay rent, not having to pay electricity etc then your appetite for risks grows. To get to that point you either need to start from a rich household (parents) or get to a certain age, have some money to support you (from previous work) and then go into entrepreneurial experiments. This is a big reason why you see older entrepreneurs embarking into that journey.

your appetite for risks grows Your need for success diminishes with wealth though. A lot of founders struggle to motivate themselves to push through the hard stuff, get over the pits of depression, and to drive themselves following mistakes and rejections if they have resources to fall back on. It's a lot easier to take a month off and book a nice vacation after you've been told "no" by an investor or a major custome…

"Your need for success diminishes with wealth"

Depends on your definition of success. One's need of work to pay the bills might decrease with wealth. Yet one's mindset may change to not consider themselves successful until they attain some higher thing (like a big house, fancy cars, expensive vacations, etc).

These founders you're talking about, are they also choosing to live in expensive areas? If they change their definition of success, it's possible they could do different jobs or live in cheaper areas.

It's all about the definition.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#47

Post by BobbyJo »

p1esk wrote: post #34
onion2k wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

your appetite for risks grows Your need for success diminishes with wealth though. A lot of founders struggle to motivate themselves to push through the hard stuff, get over the pits of depression, and to drive themselves following mistakes and rejections if they have resources to fall back on. It's a lot easier to take a month off and book a nice vacation after you've been told "no" by an investor or a major custome…

They literally don't have a choice except to succeed Most founders I know can easily find a normal 9-5 job if they wanted to.

As a poor kid who recently failed to get a startup off the ground, I'll second this. It may have been hard to pay rent, but I knew I could have a 200k base salary whenever I needed to give up. "Getting by" is just not something a reasonably talented engineer in the U.S. ever has to worry about, no matter their background.

Other motivators are required.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#48

Post by timmg »

All things being equal, obviously, having money makes things easier. That doesn't mean that children born to rich parents can all be successful entrepreneurs. And it doesn't mean you need rich parents to be successful.

But even aside from money, rich parents are likely to know more about business and can teach you. And if you believe intelligence is (at least partly) inherited, it's easy to argue that smart parents are both: more likely to be rich and more likely to have smart kids.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#49

Post by david38 »

onion2k wrote: post #21
skywritergr wrote: post #9

Once you don't have to worry about not having to pay rent, not having to pay electricity etc then your appetite for risks grows. To get to that point you either need to start from a rich household (parents) or get to a certain age, have some money to support you (from previous work) and then go into entrepreneurial experiments. This is a big reason why you see older entrepreneurs embarking into that journey.

your appetite for risks grows Your need for success diminishes with wealth though. A lot of founders struggle to motivate themselves to push through the hard stuff, get over the pits of depression, and to drive themselves following mistakes and rejections if they have resources to fall back on. It's a lot easier to take a month off and book a nice vacation after you've been told "no" by an investor or a major custome…

No. A smart person can always get a well paying job and still be considered successful by his peers or family.

The son of a wealthy family may think going to Google is the same as failure. He has the money to try over and over again and does so because working for someone else is like being a sheep.

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