I wouldn't go quite a far as the poster. I do agree that the default state of an idea is "not being done", but once it IS done, does offer something, and has any paying users at all, the default if they are happy is for them to return and keep spending (if you remain competitive and fill a void with great customer satisfaction) and moreover to tell their friends. People worry about scalable business models for a good reason: if there is a bottleneck (e.g. you have to personally meet the client before they pay you in the business you chose) then you will meet that bottleneck very soon! I would say the default state of a startup that is shipping and has cusomers is "more work (demand) and ideas than we're able to roll out/handle". not a bad place to be, but if you do your job you can count on being there. If you follow PG's philosophy, then when you're at this point you have lots of revenue (instead of lots of users overpowering your resources, with you trying to 'grow some more' before 'eventually' figuring out a monetization model)
The default state of a startup is failure
21–29 of 29 posts
Re: The default state of a startup is failure
#22Paul Graham has a similar premise in this essay: http://paulgraham.com/hubs.html, where he mentions that the default mode for startups is Death. Dixon argues for surrounding yourself with extraordinary people, Graham makes the case for being in a startup hub.
Re: The default state of a startup is failure
#23"A friend of mine got a job at a big company and was shocked to see his colleagues worked just a few productive hours a day." Depending on what you do, I would say this is natural. I don't care what Henry Ford says (8 hours a day is different for some types of work than it is for others.) I can't go into "super focus" mode for much more than 4 hours per day. I can do my half day of being "wired in" and then take care…
I can run into a problem which I bang my head on for a couple of hours and then fix it within 5 minutes the next day after a refreshing sleep.
The act of banging your head on a problem for several hours might help to kick the problem into your unconscious mind (your big brain), where the real horsepower is. And while you sleep, your mind sorts it out. That may be why you are able to fix it within 5 minutes the next day.
Rich Hickey talks about this in his talk on "Hammock Driven Development" (http://blip.tv/clojure/hammock-driven-development-4475586).
Re: The default state of a startup is failure
#24"A friend of mine got a job at a big company and was shocked to see his colleagues worked just a few productive hours a day." Depending on what you do, I would say this is natural. I don't care what Henry Ford says (8 hours a day is different for some types of work than it is for others.) I can't go into "super focus" mode for much more than 4 hours per day. I can do my half day of being "wired in" and then take care…
I agree on some level. Certain tasks require sleep, others can be done in deprivation. If I am familiar with a programming language and problem I do okay even if I am sleep deprived, however new tasks or very difficult problems I cannot do well on a lack of sleep.
Re: The default state of a startup is failure
#25I would go so far as to say the default state of a human is mediocrity and general failure. It takes discipline to achieve even moderate success
Re: The default state of a startup is failure
#26de·fault [dih-fawlt] noun 1. failure to act; inaction or neglect: They lost their best client by sheer default. 2. failure to meet financial obligations. 3. Law . failure to perform an act or obligation legally required, especially to appear in court or to plead at a time assigned. 4. Sports . failure to arrive in time for, participate in, or complete a scheduled match. 5. lack; want; absence. http://dictionary.refer…
default is also a verb. From the Oxford English dictioonary
verb
1. fail to fulfil an obligation: some had defaulted on student loans, declare (a party) in default and give judgement against that party.
2. (default to) revert automatically to (a preselected option).
Re: The default state of a startup is failure
#27Another way to put it is that, if you move from full-time job to startup, you are going to have to actually create real value (at least value for some large number of people). At a regular 9-5 job, especially if you havent worked anywhere else before, you can fool yourself into believing that you create value by doing 1-2 hours of work a day (I know lots of people like this). This is also the reason why people such a…
Alternate interpretation, at a startup you end up thrashing around a lot and think you're creating value when in fact you're just reinventing wheels and doing a whole lot of ultimately unproductive work.
Re: The default state of a startup is failure
#28"A friend of mine got a job at a big company and was shocked to see his colleagues worked just a few productive hours a day." Depending on what you do, I would say this is natural. I don't care what Henry Ford says (8 hours a day is different for some types of work than it is for others.) I can't go into "super focus" mode for much more than 4 hours per day. I can do my half day of being "wired in" and then take care…
But it's not the days when I "only" get two hours of work done that worry me. It's the days when I can't do anything.
Re: The default state of a startup is failure
#29"A friend of mine got a job at a big company and was shocked to see his colleagues worked just a few productive hours a day." Depending on what you do, I would say this is natural. I don't care what Henry Ford says (8 hours a day is different for some types of work than it is for others.) I can't go into "super focus" mode for much more than 4 hours per day. I can do my half day of being "wired in" and then take care…
I agree that you can only effectively spend a short amount of time focusing on a single task, but if the rest of your day is spent idling, it may be a sign you're not spreading yourself around enough. In software development, that might mean four hours focusing on programming and another four hours focusing on design, for example.
It seems to me that the idea of hyper-specialized employees is often the root of the problem. The brain needs variety.