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Is success tied to having rich parents?

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Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#13
I would say at the very minimum, you need to have middle class parents who don't need your support after you get out of college and hopefully no school debt. It is certainly much much easier to focus all your energy on your product, when you don't need to worry about bills.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#14
It's a huge advantage for sure but not required. Much like two startups in the same industry where one of them has raised 10x the money vs the other.

Having money:

- gives you more chances to pivot

- more time to find product/market fit

- more time to not need to get a "normal" job just to pay your bills

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#16

Rich parents means you eat better, have access to higher quality resources, have more time for fitness, more time to go to the doctor for preventative issues. Rich parents means you don’t have to work two jobs or work while studying. Means you have free “consulting” on life decisions from the perspective of the upper class. Means you access to new things like computers, phones, cars, etc. It’s a huge advantage to com…

Successful is not the same as rich though if it's run for a few generations it likely will be. The difference is important.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#17

Rich parents means you eat better, have access to higher quality resources, have more time for fitness, more time to go to the doctor for preventative issues. Rich parents means you don’t have to work two jobs or work while studying. Means you have free “consulting” on life decisions from the perspective of the upper class. Means you access to new things like computers, phones, cars, etc. It’s a huge advantage to com…

I would agree with a lot of this. On the flip side, there's the sayings "Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times." and "Wealth does not last beyond three generations".

I've anecdotally seen this where kids from rich parents take a lot of their wealth for granted and don't understand fully what it takes to build-up and retain wealth for the long-term. They usually get high-end jobs in society - CFO of company a dad started, doctor, lawyer, etc however it feels some depth to that wealth may have been lost...

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#18
Yeah, a lot of things in life are easier if you have safety nets.

Creating a startup is a lot more difficult if you have to pay for your own insurance which is why a lot of new creators that aren't super rich run a sidegig while fully employed before eventually jettisoning from their regular jobs.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#20
Money opens doors, but wealthy living also tends to teach bad habits that limit ambition and grit.

Also, in that thread it was asserted that Steve Jobs did not have rich parents, but they were reasonably well off and lived in a leafy and pleasant neighborhood with excellent schools.

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