Evernote CEO to entrepreneurs: "don't do it"

I don't think this advice applies to every type of business. Particularly service-oriented startups that are able to land paying clients right from the beginning.

I will agree though that working at a company that isn't financially stable is not a good place for someone who needs financial stability. Imagine your boss telling you that your next paycheck will only be half - or they can't pay it at all, but you'll get paid back later. Imagine that happening occasionally throughout the year. Add to that a constant, looming feeling that your company could go out of business any day even though you love working there. If those kinds of things upset or stress you out then a startup probably isn't a good place to work.

While those men did great things, who actually implemented their discoveries? Drug and biotech companies. Businesses have their place too.

"side effect of purer motivations. If you're in it to be rich, then you're in it for the wrong reasons. If you're in it create an amazing product and be impactful on a stranger's life, then you're in it for the right reasons"

"Right reasons". The judgmental-nis of that is what I don't like.

Why do people comment on HN? One reason that I do is because of the good feeling that I get from passing along what I know. I've always liked to teach others what I know online and also offline. Wrapped into that though is the acknowledgement from others that they like what I've said that ends up in the "mental" bank and makes me feel good.

I don't think you can have one without the other. And is there really anything wrong with doing for others even if solely for the "wrong" reason which would be the deposit into the mental bank?

Reasons not to listen to this guy:

1. Not all CEO's work 20 hour days, and he probably doesn't either

2. Starting your own company can give you the ability to challenge the outdated 9-to-5 sit-at-your-desk status quo more than working for someone else can

3. His skewed view of upcoming entrepreneurs as only the subset that bother him for advice doesn't reflect on you or your ability to successfully launch your own business

4. Seriously, Evernote? It's cloud data with a bow around it.

5. Working long hours doesn't mean slaving away at the office for long hours, it means that you're always "on". If you start a business around something you're passionate about, you'll be thinking about it all day anyway.

6. Ryan Carson just told us last week that he works 32 hours a week, and his company impacts the world a whole lot more than Evernote IMO (subjective, yes, but Treehouse and Carsonified educate and connect people in a way they couldn't have done otherwise, whereas you can eliminate the need for Evernote by creating a folder or two on Dropbox).

7. If you fail, you can always try again and/or re-join the work force.

8. Most people would feel a lot better about trying and failing than not trying at all.

And the number one reason I'd say this video should be completely ignored is that you might actually succeed.

This video tells me very little about entrepreneurship. The real message is that Evernote is run by a pretty unlikeable guy who would advise you, without getting to know you, to be a working stiff your entire life instead of taking chances. Advice that he obviously would not have taken himself.

It felt like I was a fresher listening to a senior at college doing the raw talk about the truths at college. You might not like them at first, but you will realize utterly that they are the truths and might even find yourself saying the same to another fellow, a different day.

I couldn't agree with everything though - Evernote is second brain of the universe? Is it not under rating the human brain? Human brain is capable of many amazing things. If I am going to hear some one call something a second brain, it should be able to take decisions. Evernote is only a digital notebook that is accessible from many platforms keeping all the users away from a lot of dirty work(copying, syncing, etc.). That's it. I don't think that could ever CHANGE THE WORLD. That will only MAKE MY LIFE EASIER. I could even argue that entrepreneurship is more about MAKING MY LIFE EASIER than about CHANGING THE WORLD.

When I get five minutes of waiting time, I don't open evernote to write something or read something. I open my twitter account and follow up with the links on hackernewsbot and few other tweets from people I like. That makes me feel productive. If I don't feel like reading technical things, I open my facebook and check what my friends are upto and I still feel productive.