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Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

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Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#171

Post by ameister14 »

wootland wrote: post #122
czbond wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Realize the game you and your family are playing. Middle class have 3 paths out: - Single shot entrepreneurship - Repeated entrepreneurship with a job (no free nights or weekends) - Long term, multi generational wealth building over the course of 40-100 years with a mixture of stable career or above A wealthy family did the above but a generation or two before you or yours & someone else is reaping the benefit. Don't…

That's not how most generational wealth was created. From mobsters that went "legit" (Bronfmans, Kennedys...) to people who build their fortunes off war profiteering, slavery, genocide, child labor... They weren't grinding away for 40-100 years at some labor job. They exploited people, captured the gains, then used the power law to stay on the top.

That doesn't describe most generational wealth.

A family house is generational wealth. Most people who at age 65-75 are worth over $1 million dollars didn't get there by using the power of law to stay on top or profiteering from slavery or genocide. That's insane.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#172

Post by ameister14 »

wootland wrote: post #163
czbond wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure - those are some very specific examples. But whatever town you're in, drive around the nice areas. Those $1M-$5M houses with BMW's or etc. Are they gangsters and warlords? No, they're just normal people who tried and took a different path. Some by luck, some by skill, some by experience. Just as one can't judge a person who's on the streets - one can't judge a wealthy person with such lenses.

The vast majority of those people are middle/upper-middle class people in massive debt. The kind of upper-class Harvard grad that VCs like are most definitely of the old money variety.

>The kind of upper-class Harvard grad that VCs like are most definitely of the old money variety.

Do you have any evidence for this?

[edit] Of course, you'll likely be able to find a single case and that's any evidence. So how about is there sufficient evidence to support your conclusion that "old money" is getting all the VC funding?

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#173

Post by s1artibartfast »

wootland wrote: post #160
s1artibartfast wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar to the other post, Every American who passes a house to their decendents has built some level of generational wealth. There are a lot more people in this bucket than the Kennedy wealth bucket

We're talking about wealthy entrepreneurs that raise millions of dollars from VCs, not average homeowners. One house passed down to 4 kids, isn't going to get those kids invited to Marc Andreessen's bbqs.

To the contrary, the parent post you respnded was talking about what options middle class families have to make it to the upper class. This is a seperate question than what option middle class familes have to get to an Andreesen BBQ.

Maybe it is just a confusion over the definition of "multi generational wealth".

Many if not most people consider getting a house, inheretence, or small business "multi generational wealth", especially in economic literature.

You dont need an 8+ figure inheretence to be upper class in the US.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#174

Post by qup »

coldtea wrote: post #152
idopmstuff wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole point of the post you're responding to is that it's not a random outcome; it's an outcome driven by a strategy that is specifically useful for people with $0 in the bank and middle class connections. You're talking about $300k in the bank, but the quote you included literally says "almost no monetary investment."

It's still a random personal anecdote. And the "strategy" is an empty trivial advice. Do you think other poor people trying to start businesses don't try to do it with "almost no monetary investment"? Not only they try that, that's the only way they can afford to try anyway. Still no match for a big monetary investment, and still much much harder for them to get the same outcomes as an enterpreneur coming from privil…

Chiming in with my random personal anecdote: I worked a very low-paying job, started with zero dollars, saved my money, and took a shot on a business with less than 5-figures.

This system is very repeatable. I'm 13 years in.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#175

Post by goodpoint »

FlyingSnake wrote: post #8

Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something. Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on. Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good…

> Middle class kids can afford one throw.

More like upper middle class or if you are in the right country.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#176

Post by JamesBarney »

FlyingSnake wrote: post #8

Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something. Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on. Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good…

If you're a dev living moderately in a reasonable cost of living city you can afford to go all in on a startup every few years without any familial income or wealth.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#177

Post by JamesBarney »

digging wrote: post #145
czbond wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Realize the game you and your family are playing. Middle class have 3 paths out: - Single shot entrepreneurship - Repeated entrepreneurship with a job (no free nights or weekends) - Long term, multi generational wealth building over the course of 40-100 years with a mixture of stable career or above A wealthy family did the above but a generation or two before you or yours & someone else is reaping the benefit. Don't…

> Don't get mad at someone else because of your own families path Should I get mad at my family? This part is not clear to me. You are also saying this like it's possible for everyone to become wealthy, if only they were picking one of these three options. Not every family can be wealthy - the wealthy make sure of it. It's a zero-sum game (well, more of a negative-sum game? as wealth becomes more concentrated at the…

If the economy was a zero or negative sum game we'd still have the same food insecurity we did 500 years ago. But we don't, the world has gotten much better in the last 500 years from people working hard on making it better, many getting rich in the process.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#178

Post by ClumsyPilot »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #159
FlyingSnake wrote: post #8

Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something. Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on. Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good…

> Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good about themselves. I see this story repeated over and and over again on the internet, but I don't really see it playing out the same way in the real world. I've seen a lot of "rich kids" try to start businesses, but then quickly realize that it's a huge amount of work and not guaranteed…

Rich kids does not mean rich idiots and does imply they do no work.

It simply implies that in a case where both have considerable skills and effort, the 'rich kid' will get much farther

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#179

Post by wootland »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #173
wootland wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're talking about wealthy entrepreneurs that raise millions of dollars from VCs, not average homeowners. One house passed down to 4 kids, isn't going to get those kids invited to Marc Andreessen's bbqs.

To the contrary, the parent post you respnded was talking about what options middle class families have to make it to the upper class. This is a seperate question than what option middle class familes have to get to an Andreesen BBQ. Maybe it is just a confusion over the definition of "multi generational wealth". Many if not most people consider getting a house, inheretence, or small business "multi generational weal…

I think multi generational wealth would mean that people are a member of the capital class and not the labor class (i.e. they don't have to work for a living). Those are the people who go on to be serial entrepreneurs, because, why not? Nothing to lose other than effort.

Anyone else is taking on risk of becoming destitute if they repeatedly try to start businesses. Even a small business can drain a million dollars very quickly.

> You dont need an 8+ figure inheretence to be upper class in the US.

I think you do since that's about the level where you don't have to work anymore, especially if you're talking about passing that money down to multiple children and keeping them in the upper class.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#180

Post by ClumsyPilot »

czbond wrote: post #114
pvsukale3 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, a lot of things you do in life are based on how many times can you absorb the failure and recover from it. This ability is just not financial, it also has physical, mental health, relationships aspect to it. You could get be the "lucky" person either tomorrow or 10 years from now, question is how long can you afford to continue.

You can always afford to continue - just with your after hours work job nights and weekends. In my experience, the stress and mental aspects are the hardest because each has to decide what to give up for potentially nothing in return.

> You can always afford to continue - just with your after hours work job nights and weekends.

I don't like pointing out 'privilege', but this is it.

Many of us have to spend weekends and evenings looking after kids, or ill parents. Family responsibilities in other words.

Some of us have jobs that demand more than standard 9/5.

And some have to work a second job to make ends meet.

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