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The Future of Web Startups

paulgraham.com

51–60 of 173 posts

Re: The Future of Web Startups

#51
Paul, you always speak of acquisition of a startup by a big company. What possibilities exist for startups merging? Is it common, or do you expect it to be?

I know a couple other startups in my town (one of your big 3) who do similar things to my startup. Thanks to the public (link-happy!) structure of the web, we already let people go from one to the other: a loose ad-hoc integration. Will this be the future of cooperative web software development?

Re: The Future of Web Startups

#52
post #40

I dont think starting startups gets cheaper. The whole essay is based on this idea. But Paul gives no reasons, why there should be a such a trend.

Moore's Law, open source, more abstract languages, the web for promotion. (I believe this list is in the Wikipedia entry for YC.)

Re: The Future of Web Startups

#53
"And being Google, they're figuring out how to do it efficiently."

pg, I am a little alarmed by this flat recognition that is awarded to Google. It might be actually true. But its not an optimal way to think about things in the long run. As a teen ager I was a Michael Jackson fan, It took me a good while longer than other people to realize that he has turned into shit.

Re: The Future of Web Startups

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Will investors start being required to submit reports to the government to prove that their investment decisions aren't racially biased? Are you suggesting that investors should be racially biased? I'm playing devil's advocate far further than intended for sure, but the laws regarding employment, although bureaucratic are there for very good reasons.

I think he's suggesting that they could be accused of it. Startups are disproportionately started by men, most of whom are white or Asian. Paul Graham says not to blame on malice what you can attribute to math, but other people might not see it that way. "I'm playing devil's advocate far further than intended for sure, but the laws regarding employment, although bureaucratic are there for very good reasons." What is…

Human Rights trump Economics.

That's what our society has decided, therefore employment laws, while imperfect, have good reason.

For reference, see 19th century factory conditions.

Re: The Future of Web Startups

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he's suggesting that they could be accused of it. Startups are disproportionately started by men, most of whom are white or Asian. Paul Graham says not to blame on malice what you can attribute to math, but other people might not see it that way. "I'm playing devil's advocate far further than intended for sure, but the laws regarding employment, although bureaucratic are there for very good reasons." What is…

Human Rights trump Economics. That's what our society has decided, therefore employment laws, while imperfect, have good reason. For reference, see 19th century factory conditions.

So you think that seed and VC firms should be bound by the same laws?

If not, why the distinction?

Re: The Future of Web Startups

#57
post #6

What Paul ignores is the fact that most people out of college are faced with seemingly insurmountable debt as a result of having to pay for an education - esp. in America (and to a lesser extent in Canada). This is one problem that will prevent startups from happening at such a rapid pace as he anticipates. In fact, most graduates want to find stable jobs to pay off their debt -- startups are not really on most gradu…

So wouldn't those people drop out earlier? If you strip out the emotional content of your post, it's quite banal: the price of a product (college) is going up, so people who buy the product (students who pay full tuition) have less money, and since money is a transportable, transferable form of freedom, they're less free. " In fact, most graduates want to find stable jobs to pay off their debt -- startups are not rea…

> If they're already way in debt, shouldn't they want to take more risks?

1. They took basically zero risks before, so it would not be "more".

2. And screw up their credit history/get creditors chasing them?

> So wouldn't those people drop out earlier?

Because they couldn't predict the future? Not everyone who does a startup knew their path since they were 2 years old.

Re: The Future of Web Startups

#58
In point 1 where Paul states there will be a lot of startups because it's cheap to startup, I have to wonder where is the demand side of the equation. Is there enough demand for whatever it is these startups are/will be doing? Hearing more about that would be very interesting; I'd love to see a world with many many more startups.

ak

Re: The Future of Web Startups

#60
post #51

Paul, you always speak of acquisition of a startup by a big company. What possibilities exist for startups merging? Is it common, or do you expect it to be? I know a couple other startups in my town (one of your big 3) who do similar things to my startup. Thanks to the public (link-happy!) structure of the web, we already let people go from one to the other: a loose ad-hoc integration. Will this be the future of coop…

> What possibilities exist for startups merging?

Sure they can merge, but this is not an "exit". As far as I know, the purpose of a startup is a successful exit of some type.

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