Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Who becomes an entrepreneur? Insights from research studies

generalist.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 121 posts

Re: Who becomes an entrepreneur? Insights from research studies

#61

Post by dagorenouf »

I left a 6 figure engineering job to build my own startup with my wife. For the past 5 years, we spent 2/3rds of our savings on it and almost didn’t take vacation. This year we finally reached ramen profitability.

When I look at where we would be if I had kept the job, we would be homeowners, be able to buy new clothes regularly, go to restaurants and take awesome vacations a few times a year.

But the missing thing would be autonomy. The reason why I’m willing to sacrifice so much is because i fundamentally don’t like having to follow orders from a boss or manager. I’m arrogant enough to think i know better, and want to prove it by actually building my own thing.

Regardless of how silly it sounds on a financial level, the calculation makes sense once we look at the sense of ownership and autonomy over our own work. It’s worth more to me than any money I could make.

Ps: if you’re curious, the startup is logology.co

Re: Who becomes an entrepreneur? Insights from research studies

#62

Post by mattgreenrocks »

jaggederest wrote: post #26
shon wrote: post #20

It’s an interesting article. In my view, Non-conformists start companies. Possibly aggressive non-conformists most of all. In my personal case, I made many questionable choices, including turning down a job at Microsoft in the nineties (would have been better financially) and leaving multiple great jobs (one of which afforded me corporate apartments in Honolulu and London) to risk everything multiple times to start m…

Not especially non-conformists - non-conformity is merely a symptom. As you say, risk seeking behavior, resulting from the actual cause: "poor risk assessment" - ties right in to difficult childhood, mental health issues, and the market misjudging you (all causes or signs of trauma and being outside the norm). I say this as someone with an appetite for trying new things, being non-conformist, and adventure sports - c…

Risk aversion is not an immutable trait.

At age 6, I was tested for my tendency towards risk aversion. I scored as high as possible in risk aversion; in other words, I was extremely risk-averse, as my parents worried. That tendency marked a better part of my life, and it brought forth/was comorbid with GAD and generalized depression. All of those things make you think that if you just had more control you would feel better, but the grasping for it only exacerbates the symptoms.

Now I'm 41, and am really interested in bootstrapping (I have made one small app, working on the next). In particular, I love the risk/reward calculus especially. I've gradually awoken to the amount of value I bring via programming and strategy versus the salary structure in place at a lot of companies. This year I'm focusing on amassing leverage in several forms, be that a more public voice, a more fit body, additional income streams (however small), etc. (Typical midlife stuff, yes.)

Re: Who becomes an entrepreneur? Insights from research studies

#64

Post by nottorp »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #15
paxys wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of times people don't know they want something until it is in front of them.

The trick: they didn't actually need or want it until you put it in front of them, engineered to induce the want.

Here's an anecdote.

I used Linux as my main desktop OS for like 15 years. One day someone paid me to write some Mac software for them. I did the project on a $150 ancient mac from a second hand store, and partially on Linux.

When the project ended I bought a new macbook when i got paid because i thought "ok, there's money in doing mac stuff, i better have current hardware". Linux was still my main desktop OS.

2 years later I switched my desktop to Mac OS too because after using it, it was simply far less annoying than either alternative.

So when you see people talking about the reality distortion field and why pay extra for Macs... take it with a grain of salt. It's likely they just looked at prices and guessed it's not worth it, maybe thought about induced want. So was I before I got paid to use one :)

Re: Who becomes an entrepreneur? Insights from research studies

#65

Post by mattgreenrocks »

shon wrote: post #20

It’s an interesting article. In my view, Non-conformists start companies. Possibly aggressive non-conformists most of all. In my personal case, I made many questionable choices, including turning down a job at Microsoft in the nineties (would have been better financially) and leaving multiple great jobs (one of which afforded me corporate apartments in Honolulu and London) to risk everything multiple times to start m…

> This is why I can’t play any games which require grinding (looking at you Eve) because I know it’s more fun IRL. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This realization almost permanently put me off most online video games. Most team-based games are made such that one individual can't swing the game too much, because that's seen as bad. Thus only about 20-30% of games you can directly impact, thus you're mainly just burning time with limited agency for player skill. MMORPGs are timesinks first and foremost, rather than skill-based games.

I replaced them (mostly) with music. Music has an infinite skill ceiling that is apparent, it is cooperative, creative, and tends to have people that want to be there, versus people who are there because they don't have anything better to do.

Have to throw a good mention of Dark Souls here. The vibes, the story, and the themes resonate deeply with me and connect naturally with the highs and lows of entrepreneurship.

Re: Who becomes an entrepreneur? Insights from research studies

#66

Post by altgeek »

mattgreenrocks wrote: post #65
shon wrote: post #20

It’s an interesting article. In my view, Non-conformists start companies. Possibly aggressive non-conformists most of all. In my personal case, I made many questionable choices, including turning down a job at Microsoft in the nineties (would have been better financially) and leaving multiple great jobs (one of which afforded me corporate apartments in Honolulu and London) to risk everything multiple times to start m…

> This is why I can’t play any games which require grinding (looking at you Eve) because I know it’s more fun IRL. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This realization almost permanently put me off most online video games. Most team-based games are made such that one individual can't swing the game too much, because that's seen as bad. Thus only about 20-30% of games you can directly impact, thus you're mainly just burning time with limited a…

Had to chime in here RE: music. When I encounter people that wish they could play guitar/piano/etc and say "they have no time", but then I find out they play games for hours per day. Well... priorities right? (I hardly play games anymore)

Re: Who becomes an entrepreneur? Insights from research studies

#67

Post by lnsru »

JanSt wrote: post #54
lnsru wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am almost here. Similar age and in a company planing 2nd round of layoffs. I really have no delusions that somebody will want to hire me again. Universities are pumping out thousands of cheaper and better looking graduates. I never saw big corp hiring (in Germany) a graybeard like me for developer role. All the graybeards were so called consultants hired over specific agency. 40 is the magic number I guess. On the…

My employer is hiring many older people. Where do you live in Germany?

I am near Munich. There 2 classes in “our” floor: people working for decades in the company and the young guys who come and go. Max age for hiring lies somewhere at 35.

Re: Who becomes an entrepreneur? Insights from research studies

#68

Post by prakhar897 »

dagorenouf wrote: post #61

I left a 6 figure engineering job to build my own startup with my wife. For the past 5 years, we spent 2/3rds of our savings on it and almost didn’t take vacation. This year we finally reached ramen profitability. When I look at where we would be if I had kept the job, we would be homeowners, be able to buy new clothes regularly, go to restaurants and take awesome vacations a few times a year. But the missing thing w…

It's a logo generating site. Can you tell us why it took 5 years for 2 people to make?

Re: Who becomes an entrepreneur? Insights from research studies

#69

Post by katsura »

dagorenouf wrote: post #61

I left a 6 figure engineering job to build my own startup with my wife. For the past 5 years, we spent 2/3rds of our savings on it and almost didn’t take vacation. This year we finally reached ramen profitability. When I look at where we would be if I had kept the job, we would be homeowners, be able to buy new clothes regularly, go to restaurants and take awesome vacations a few times a year. But the missing thing w…

I've been following you for quite some time now, and I really appreciate the honesty and the way you share both the ups and downs of running your own small business.

Re: Who becomes an entrepreneur? Insights from research studies

#70

Post by khoadlw »

prakhar897 wrote: post #68
dagorenouf wrote: post #61

I left a 6 figure engineering job to build my own startup with my wife. For the past 5 years, we spent 2/3rds of our savings on it and almost didn’t take vacation. This year we finally reached ramen profitability. When I look at where we would be if I had kept the job, we would be homeowners, be able to buy new clothes regularly, go to restaurants and take awesome vacations a few times a year. But the missing thing w…

It's a logo generating site. Can you tell us why it took 5 years for 2 people to make?

Why?

Because making is not selling.

Post reply on HN