Risk it When You're Young
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Risk it When You're Young
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Re: Risk it When You're Young
#2Sure, risk it when you're young, but don't think that the older you get the less risks you should take. It's just the opposite. The "old dogs, new tricks" adage is a fallacy designed to keep people in line. Don't believe it! Take risks when you're young, when you're middle-aged, and when you're old!
Re: Risk it When You're Young
#3I don't think it's responsible to advise people with negative cash to take big risks. Risk is for people with no debt and a year or two of living expenses in cash.
Re: Risk it When You're Young
#4Definitely do the things that you're passionate about, because you will only end up regretting and coming up with those "what-if" questions everyday. Do it anyway.
They WePay founders are right in a way. You do give up (or do not adapt) a certain lifestyle if you do choose the entrepreneurial path, but the long-term rewards are endless.
Re: Risk it When You're Young
#5The sooner you risk it, the sooner you'll start learning.
Re: Risk it When You're Young
#6I don't think it's responsible to advise people with negative cash to take big risks. Risk is for people with no debt and a year or two of living expenses in cash.
If you have a year or two of living expenses, a mortgage, and a family, it's a much bigger risk than if you have nothing...especially if "nothing" means very few big-ticket expenses.
If you have nothing, you are risking the opportunity cost of having a "real job". As long as you can find a way to support yourself (food and shelter), it's a good time to gamble.
Re: Risk it When You're Young
#7I don't think it's responsible to advise people with negative cash to take big risks. Risk is for people with no debt and a year or two of living expenses in cash.
If you would truly be homeless if you went bankrupt, then yes, it's not prudent.
But many of the people who would be in this position have a safety net if things go bad. They can default on their debt, move in with a friend or relative, and get a job and get back on their feet.
Re: Risk it When You're Young
#8I'm 30 now and just getting going on this. My startup is just starting to get some nice sales traction.
I've never really understood the assessment of risk that people apply to starting a company. If my company fails when I start full time on it then I'll get a job in a week tops unless I decide to take some time off. My family won't ever notice the difference except when I have to get the insurance information changed with our doctors.
I have a wife who stays home with our daughter and another kid on the way. Maybe I'm delusional but it really doesn't seem very risky to me.
Re: Risk it When You're Young
#9I don't think it's responsible to advise people with negative cash to take big risks. Risk is for people with no debt and a year or two of living expenses in cash.
If you have a year or two of living expenses, a mortgage, and a family, it's a much bigger risk than if you have nothing...especially if "nothing" means very few big-ticket expenses. If you have nothing, you are risking the opportunity cost of having a "real job". As long as you can find a way to support yourself (food and shelter), it's a good time to gamble.
> As long as you can find a way to support yourself
I'm not nearly so sanguine about most people's ability to make that happen. The kind of people who get into a seed funding program probably don't have to worry about living in mom's basement for three years before something comes together. I think that kind of penalty for failure would be way more common among most people than you're acknowledging.
Re: Risk it When You're Young
#10Steve Hafner (founder of Expedia, Kayak) sums it up perfectly with the theory of a personal Drag Coefficient:
http://startupatwork.org/video/concept-of-drag-coefficients/