Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses • Hacker News Board

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#241

Post by orangepurple » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 9:26 PM UTC

daemoens wrote: post #165

orangepurple wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consider the hypothetical case of a man who can have anything he wants just by wishing for it. Such a man has power, but he will develop serious psychological problems. At first he will have a lot of fun, but by and by he will become acutely bored and demoralized. Eventually he may become clinically depressed. History shows that leisured aristocracies tend to become decadent. This is not true of fighting aristocracie…

I've never seen anybody cite the Unabomber before.

Ted's major major mistake was using violence and intimidation to raise awareness

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#242

Post by anonymouskimmer » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 9:39 PM UTC

s1artibartfast wrote: post #240

anonymouskimmer wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The very top, sure. But there are effects all down the ladder, and at some point the effects of the laws stop helping build wealth and start hurting it. Some of these taxation regimes are functionally regressive, at least at the top. https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriksherman/2023/03/26/financia... > The reason most people don’t get the mortgage interest benefit is because claiming it requires itemizing tax deductions…

>But there are effects all down the ladder, and at some point the effects of the laws stop helping build wealth and start hurting it. This was actually the point I was trying to make. It depends on how you look at it, but by one measure, taxes on net are slowing the wealth accumulation of everyone who pays more than the national average tax. Those who pay less than the average are typically living hand to mouth and n…

For the generationally wealthy laws such as stepped up basis and lower taxes on capital gains are also counter factors.

The mortgage interest deduction in particular now helps the top 20% or so afford their homes. And afford to continue paying more for homes in their range. Thus boosting property values and prices. While the lack of mortgage interest deduction for additional homes increases the cost of homes which are let out as rentals, which directly impacts the cost of renters, and indirectly boosts the costs of renters through the rise in property values.

I haven't studied this, and lack the ability to do an economic analysis of the yoyoing of increasing home prices versus new construction. But there's probably a regressive effect on wealth even for some of those who aren't living hand-to-mouth.

It looks like the mortgage interest tax deduction did decrease from interest on up to $1 million in loans to interest on up to $750 thousand with the 2017 tax change. This should help reduce the effect on house prices a little bit on the margin.

> it is mostly the high earners that are paying for everything, offsetting the their wealth accumulation.

To an extent this is true. But this argument is also used to say that renters don't pay property taxes. Maybe not, but property taxes have a direct, proportionate effect on the rent that they pay.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#243

Post by lmeyerov » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 9:42 PM UTC

svnt wrote: post #158

lmeyerov wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the US, you can part-time consult, as programmers are paid way above the national median income. This can either be in a lucrative field, giving you more time, or in your vertical, giving you more pmf exposure. The result is living like a normal US person, though not necessarily your peer group. As most commenters note, the youth aspect is a big differentiator for the middle class. All this is hard as soon as a fa…

This common advice is arguably the best way to guarantee the failure of your new venture.

Source? Every path is hard, so saying that's the worst is one of the most extreme claims one can possibly make.

Ex: I can argue that VC funding is much worse than having paying customers in your space and the luxury to pivot & explore until things work. Having to double down your growth bet every 18mo or die trying is a real killer. People get confused by thinking the VC path is awesome because VCs only fund good companies, but that doesn't mean it helps them, just that the company was good. Back to my main point, I wouldn't say VC funding is the kiss of death, but it a bad fit for many and arguably most companies ;-)

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#244

Post by anonymouskimmer » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 9:44 PM UTC

treis wrote: post #238

anonymouskimmer wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but that safety net runs out. And once it runs out with nothing established beyond it, the "shithead" is SOL.

Sure, but it runs out after a dozen start up attempts. And at that point you haven't got a business you can live on it's because you're not cut out to be a founder.

> Sure, but it runs out after a dozen start up attempts.

For middle class adults living with their parents?

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#245

Post by quags » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 9:49 PM UTC

ta1243 wrote: post #127

boplicity wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Middle class kids can afford one throw. Gotta disagree with this. As someone who grew up middle class, I was fortunate, in a lot of ways, to also learn to be prudent with money. I started bootstrapping microbusinesses with almost no monetary investment. This eventually allowed me to support myself (on a very low budget), and then, later, on a slightly larger budget. Eventually, one of these businesses became succes…

How did you make rent while you were bootstrapping?

Can’t speak to parent comment. But I started a business 20 years ago and I lived in my business partners moms basement. He lived in his old room - this no rent. This lasted 2 years in my early 20s. I’d guess anyone paying rent bootstrapping is doing something similar or the business is paying rent in some way.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#246

Post by simonswords82 » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 9:52 PM UTC

okeuro49 wrote: post #19

A cynic would say that the BBC is preparing the public for the Online Safety Bill, where many small online ventures will become unviable.

Sadly the beacon of balanced reporting that the BBC once was is now a distant memory. It's politicised, click bait nonsense just like most of the news on the Internet. So your assessment is more than likely accurate.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#247

Post by treis » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 9:52 PM UTC

anonymouskimmer wrote: post #244

treis wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but it runs out after a dozen start up attempts. And at that point you haven't got a business you can live on it's because you're not cut out to be a founder.

> Sure, but it runs out after a dozen start up attempts. For middle class adults living with their parents?

If you do one a year from 18 to 30 that's an even dozen.

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#248

Post by simonswords82 » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 9:53 PM UTC

davidn20 wrote: post #18

My guess is running a startup is like running a marathon. The idea of it is great to many people, but as people start to train they realize all the work it takes and drop out. People get into things without fully understanding it all the time. The few that really love it or enjoy the process makes it to the starting line.

Totally agree. The number one rule of (most) startups is that everything takes infinitely longer than you would imagine. And then, even longer than that still...

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#249

Post by postsantum » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 10:23 PM UTC

okeuro49 wrote: post #19

A cynic would say that the BBC is preparing the public for the Online Safety Bill, where many small online ventures will become unviable.

That's what I thought. BBC and their likes lost all credibility and the first thing the reader should wonder about is what agenda they are pushing today

Re: Entrepreneurs who regret starting businesses

#250

Post by AmericanOP » Tue, Apr 04, 2023, 11:22 PM UTC

rsrsrs86 wrote: post #51

onion2k wrote: post #6

One of the things I learned running my first startup was that I really don't enjoy running a business. The mountains of admin work, the never-ending decision making, the constant anxiety of whether or not I made the right call, the pressure to never actually switch off and just work work work , all of the pointless 'networking' with people who're pretending to be interested ... it all adds up to a pretty horrible exp…

I always ask candidates why they want to work at an early stage startup as a developer, and “because it must be fun” is a show stopper. Being a founder is certainly not fun. The good parts are there, like earning money, interacting with your team and seeing them grow, the first round, the first sale. But the job is quite painful itself. Please note that not all startups and founders are / want to be funded with billi…

I enjoyed every aspect of starting a brand other than the lack of customers :)