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On the Fetishism of Capital and Prestige
11–20 of 47 posts
Re: On the Fetishism of Capital and Prestige
#12Note to the author: your Twitter account doesn't seem to exist?
Thanks! Fixed.
Re: On the Fetishism of Capital and Prestige
#13> The Valley is not a world run by 20-somethings bringing about the future, it is a world run by the same people who run the real world - the financiers. It's surprising to me that anyone would think otherwise. Weighted for risk, the winning play in Silicon Valley is not to take a Thiel fellowship and go found a startup. It's to do what Thiel did--take a pair of prestigious Stanford degrees into the finance sector. I…
> It's surprising to me that anyone would think otherwise.
I'm pretty sure you're more worldly and knowledgeable than I am, and yet you've managed to maintain more optimism than I have. :P
Re: On the Fetishism of Capital and Prestige
#14So the "businesses" you looked at when you were 17 and 18, did you actually do any development on them? Or by "not going anywhere", do you mean you never crossed the first hurdles (financing, media exposure, etc)? I'm fascinated by the idea that you can build million dollar ideas while dealing with the demands of school and (presumably) a social life. I wonder if having a third business by age 20 leads to ADD-driven…
I did some development work on the first idea but didn't get funding or media attention before a founder breakup. For the second idea I was even worse - I decided not to even attempt to build the project unless I got YC. This sounds ridiculous, but this story is so incredibly common. I talk to my peers and I read posts about people who completely abandon their projects the moment they fail to get into YC or [name incubator]. As if these fellas are legitimate gate holders.
I am admittedly fickle when it comes to startup ideas, but I must make it clear that these were not my only projects - they were the projects that I modeled my understanding of entrepreneurship on. I was the Director of Technology at Modify Watches [1] for two years and helped grow that business with the team to a pretty healthy size. I also created a coupon site that was generating about a thousands bucks a month semi-automatically which I ran for two years. These just weren't Silicon Valley opportunities... I wasn't at the helm.
My timespan for success is completely dependent on which level of success I'm looking at. With my current business, I consider the fact that I wrote software which generated revenue within an hour of turning it on to be a pretty huge success. In terms of how long I expect it to take to make the Big Bucks, I am completely realistic that this doesn't happen overnight. I plan to be in this company for the long haul.
Although I do not have the life experience of an older gentlemen, I would posit that my experience is light-years ahead of people who are my age. [1] I've literally been running companies or been deeply involved in them almost non-stop since I was 13 years old. I have real, executional experience and textbook knowledge from my Berkeley education. Not to mention, this company is not a company of one... Anywhere my team and I need help, I'm exciting to bring on somebody who does have the life experience.
I really appreciate your perspective. I love a bit a constructive criticism / interrogation... It helps with introspection!
[0] http://www.modifywatches.com/
[1] Not necessarily light-years ahead of other 20-year old entrepreneurs, but of the 20-year old public at large.
Re: On the Fetishism of Capital and Prestige
#15It goes without saying on HN that not playing the VC-driven-startup game is the tougher road of the two options. That being said I have the utmost admiration and respect for those who are working hard to give us a more role models to follow in this mold. ---- Btw completely off topic, but the red square on white background design immediately evoked images of Campbell soup in me, at which point I realized the magnitud…
> It goes without saying on HN that not playing the VC-driven-startup game is the tougher road of the two options.
Tougher how? There's no way I could start a company if I was resigned to the fact that I'd have to be selling myself to financiers constantly. To me, running off my own cash is easier and saner.
Re: On the Fetishism of Capital and Prestige
#16So the "businesses" you looked at when you were 17 and 18, did you actually do any development on them? Or by "not going anywhere", do you mean you never crossed the first hurdles (financing, media exposure, etc)? I'm fascinated by the idea that you can build million dollar ideas while dealing with the demands of school and (presumably) a social life. I wonder if having a third business by age 20 leads to ADD-driven…
I did some development work on the first idea but didn't get funding or media attention before a founder breakup. For the second idea I was even worse - I decided not to even attempt to build the project unless I got YC. This sounds ridiculous, but this story is so incredibly common. I talk to my peers and I read posts about people who completely abandon their projects the moment they fail to get into YC or [name inc…
> I talk to my peers and I read posts about people who completely abandon their projects the moment they fail to get into YC or [name incubator].
Yeesh. As someone who's currently bootstrapping a lifestyle business, this point of view seems downright toxic to me. If you really believe in your company (and its product-market fit), then giving away equity (and control!) should be an absolute last resort, not something to be sought out. Better to work on your business as a side-project for months of alternating consulting gigs and destitution.
Re: On the Fetishism of Capital and Prestige
#17High on emotions. Low on facts and ideas.
Re: On the Fetishism of Capital and Prestige
#18High on emotions. Low on facts and ideas.
I don't write much. If you have concrete feedback, I'd appreciate the commentary!
Re: On the Fetishism of Capital and Prestige
#19So the "businesses" you looked at when you were 17 and 18, did you actually do any development on them? Or by "not going anywhere", do you mean you never crossed the first hurdles (financing, media exposure, etc)? I'm fascinated by the idea that you can build million dollar ideas while dealing with the demands of school and (presumably) a social life. I wonder if having a third business by age 20 leads to ADD-driven…
I did some development work on the first idea but didn't get funding or media attention before a founder breakup. For the second idea I was even worse - I decided not to even attempt to build the project unless I got YC. This sounds ridiculous, but this story is so incredibly common. I talk to my peers and I read posts about people who completely abandon their projects the moment they fail to get into YC or [name inc…
"I read posts about people who completely abandon their projects the moment they fail to get into YC or [name incubator]. As if these fellas are legitimate gate holders."
Shows you the brainwashing going on in the community just like any community actually. [1] But they are gate holders for that dream. Look people try to get into good colleges also. But they don't abandon going to college if they don't get accepted to "A" schools.
"I would posit that my experience is light-years ahead of people who are my age."
Anecdotally, I agree after reading your post.
[1] Wedding singers, wedding photographers probably feel the same way. Entertainment and creative pyramid simply doesn't give much respect to people who don't volunteer for suicide missions. Taking the bullet is viewed as being honorable, not stupid.
Re: On the Fetishism of Capital and Prestige
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I did some development work on the first idea but didn't get funding or media attention before a founder breakup. For the second idea I was even worse - I decided not to even attempt to build the project unless I got YC. This sounds ridiculous, but this story is so incredibly common. I talk to my peers and I read posts about people who completely abandon their projects the moment they fail to get into YC or [name inc…
> I talk to my peers and I read posts about people who completely abandon their projects the moment they fail to get into YC or [name incubator]. Yeesh. As someone who's currently bootstrapping a lifestyle business, this point of view seems downright toxic to me. If you really believe in your company (and its product-market fit), then giving away equity (and control!) should be an absolute last resort, not something…
"then giving away equity (and control!) should be an absolute last resort"
You are focusing on the down side and not the upside of taking money.
As well as the upside to having to not give up any control or equity vs. the downside to trying to do it without that money. And totally underestimating what you can do with a shit load of money vs. what you can't do.