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Is success tied to having rich parents?

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Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#131

Post by lamontcg »

notacoward wrote: post #128
lamontcg wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There has to be a name for this fallacy. The fact that applying it to any one individual is the wrong mentality doesn't mean that at the level of broader society it isn't entirely correct. Its the difference between sociological statistics and life advice.

> There has to be a name for this fallacy. It looks like plain old cherry picking to me. "Ask around here" ... well, no, this is just about the worst possible place to get a significant or even interesting sample. "Some do succeed" is just anecdata, no substitute for statistical reality. Secondarily, we have a strawman. "If you’re looking for an excuse" ... you who? Anyone here? Nobody that I'm aware of has said it's…

I read too much Asimov as a kid, though, and the thing that really sets me off every time I read that argument is that it tickles the "psychohistory cannot be applied to the actions of individuals" neurons in my brain.

Happens all the time when I want to talk about the statistical mechanics of a large gas of people and conservatives/republicans/right-wingers always want to argue that any given particle can do whatever it wants and I'm just disincentivizing it.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#132

Post by jandrewrogers »

bradlys wrote: post #129
jandrewrogers wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in Silicon Valley a long time, and I knew several of these people from when they (and I) were still very poor. They are hiding in plain sight and "pass" as generic upper-middle class people because many have gone to great lengths to project that image and erase the affectations of their background. Obscuring whence they came has significant social advantages. There is still a lot of visible bigotry in Silicon…

How long ago and how much money - because I'm speaking of recently... I think things have changed over the last 10 years and I don't really see anyone who is like what you're talking about. If you're talking about someone who managed to get into a 6-figure job - not really a significant talking point. I'm speaking more of fatFIRE type money - which is common among people here and that is downplayed quite often. I've…

I'm talking about people that I know are at least in fatFIRE range that started life somewhere between abject poverty and burger flipper. Their income is not relevant here, and some make seven-figures today. I am in Seattle now, but it is essentially the same as Silicon Valley in that regard. Little has changed; I know young people that started on that journey quite recently that are well on their way.

Your "under 30" criterion may be your problem, that selects for a very narrow set of circumstances while excluding most actually wealthy people. Virtually no one becomes wealthy before 30. Especially if you are starting from less than zero, like people that come from true poverty. Anecdotally, they usually enter fatFIRE territory in their 40s. Until very recently, tech did not pay a typical wage where someone could fatFIRE easily. Most of the people I know did it before that was a thing, without any big exits to pad their net worth. They did it the old fashioned way.

Again, I find it pretty bizarre that people in the US think it is exceptionally rare that people born into poverty become quite wealthy. In that community, there are often many examples of people that "got out" by various means, many going on to become quite wealthy. In the tech locales, that is multiplied dramatically because it is so easy for a moderately ambitious person to make silly money. Easiest ticket to wealth for a poor person ever, if they are willing to put in the effort.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#133

Post by foogazi »

fellowniusmonk wrote: post #130
foogazi wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I eventually co-founded a company with two others and it went well, Success!!! > but after exiting I am still not plugged into VC. Isn’t this moving the goal posts ?

All successes is relative, so I'm not sure there is such a thing as moving the goalposts. I do think it's best to frame "success" based on the question as originally posted instead of some undefined framing from one of the two of us, so let's do that: Vitalik Buterin is extremely successful. It appears he has never had to worry about finances, even as an extreme outlier for my cohort I still have to mind my p's and q…

> I am successful for my impoverished cohort.

Extremely successful

> At one point it looked like I would hit financial escape velocity where I could essentially retire, which of course would just have gotten me to Vitalik's childhood starting point.

You have more control over the assets than a child - it was not their money

Maybe you are supposed to be Vitalik’s parent instead of Vitalik

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#134

Post by fellowniusmonk »

foogazi wrote: post #133
fellowniusmonk wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All successes is relative, so I'm not sure there is such a thing as moving the goalposts. I do think it's best to frame "success" based on the question as originally posted instead of some undefined framing from one of the two of us, so let's do that: Vitalik Buterin is extremely successful. It appears he has never had to worry about finances, even as an extreme outlier for my cohort I still have to mind my p's and q…

> I am successful for my impoverished cohort. Extremely successful > At one point it looked like I would hit financial escape velocity where I could essentially retire, which of course would just have gotten me to Vitalik's childhood starting point. You have more control over the assets than a child - it was not their money Maybe you are supposed to be Vitalik’s parent instead of Vitalik

Who "supposed" me do you reckon?

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#135

Post by RamblingCTO »

adamsmith143 wrote: post #73
RamblingCTO wrote: post #40

I beg to differ. Coming from a lower middle class background I got a lot of grit and hunger. I studied computer science, being the first at uni in my family. I always hustled part time while studying. Afterwards, I joined a startup and later co-founded another one. All without any support from my parents or anyone else. My actions ultimately put me on a path of success, not anyone else. Although I understand that thi…

If I say on Average Americans are taller than Chinese and you say "What about Yao Ming??" That doesn't disprove what I just said. Anecdotes aren't all that valuable/

Well, I'm in the German startup scence for over 7 years now. I haven't met a lot of founders that fit your image, so I'd say it's anecdotal evidence as well. It might be true for the USA, but it's not in Germany in my experience.

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#136

Post by RamblingCTO »

staticassertion wrote: post #79
RamblingCTO wrote: post #40

I beg to differ. Coming from a lower middle class background I got a lot of grit and hunger. I studied computer science, being the first at uni in my family. I always hustled part time while studying. Afterwards, I joined a startup and later co-founded another one. All without any support from my parents or anyone else. My actions ultimately put me on a path of success, not anyone else. Although I understand that thi…

Not being in the USA seems really important. For one thing, insurance is tied to employment in the US, so if you're taking time to work on a company that's a lot of money you're going to have to pay every month if you want healthcare.

Agree, thanks, that was my point!

Re: Is success tied to having rich parents?

#137

Post by RamblingCTO »

fellowniusmonk wrote: post #67
RamblingCTO wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I still find it impossible to find and get in front of investors Any ideas why?

My startup that was successful was bootstrapped by us founders, so it just seems like a lack of network, I apply through different programs but I think a more personal touch seems neccessary if "friends and family" rounds are not possible.

I see, thanks!
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