Has this post been moderated away? I'm not seeing it anywhere, even 5+ pages deep. If so... is that really necessary; is someone threatened or offended? This is a real article with just as valuable a point as all the self-posted 300-word blogspam that occupies the front page daily.
Let's All Shed Tears For The Crappy Startups That Can't Raise Any More Money
71–80 of 101 posts
Re: Let's All Shed Tears For The Crappy Startups That Can't Raise Any More Money
#72I'm going to kill this article as a dupe. It's just other articles rewritten in more colorful language. But it's giving this thing too much credit even to call it a dupe, because in the process of making the language more colorful, he's now describing something that is definitely not the case. The other articles are talking about a trend that's happening as slowly as global warming. No door has suddenly crashed down,…
note: typing on a smart.phone sucks balls. ha ha! I knew you would have commented on this article and tried to debase it even before I opened the comment section! it seems to me that the entire business of YC relies on there being a market for the exact type of start ups that this article describes as a waste of human talent. It is in your (pg's) best interest to kill this article because if there is a bubble, and it…
When formulating this elaborate theory, did you stop to ask yourself why it would be in our interest to fund shitty startups when all the returns are concentrated in the most successful ones?
Re: Let's All Shed Tears For The Crappy Startups That Can't Raise Any More Money
#73How do you report on business for a decade and yet hold such a visceral and character flaw type thesis about behavior that's nothing more than the intended, text-book result of specific monetary policy decisions?
What's the monetary policy that's influencing startups?
Low interest rates offered on savings (treasuries) drives investors who want to see a reasonable return on their money (most everyone) into riskier investments like equities and convertible notes.
Re: Let's All Shed Tears For The Crappy Startups That Can't Raise Any More Money
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the monetary policy that's influencing startups?
He's referencing the Austrian Business Cycle theory: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_business_cycle_theory The argument is that inflationary spending is what causes the boom bust cycle. Inflation creates an initial perspective of prosperity and causes an increase and shift in investment from capital goods to consumer goods. This leads to a self reinforcing bubble which eventually drains the economy and leads to…
Note that while it's understandable to think that this is an austrian theory given all of the argument on the internet about whether or not it's a good idea, the idea that easy credit drives business expansion is absolutely agreed upon by both schools and pretty much every working economist.
You can think of it a bit like amphetamines. No doctor would disagree with the idea that amphetamines produce energy in the patient. The debate would only center around how productive or destructive that energy is.
Re: Let's All Shed Tears For The Crappy Startups That Can't Raise Any More Money
#75I'm going to kill this article as a dupe. It's just other articles rewritten in more colorful language. But it's giving this thing too much credit even to call it a dupe, because in the process of making the language more colorful, he's now describing something that is definitely not the case. The other articles are talking about a trend that's happening as slowly as global warming. No door has suddenly crashed down,…
The day Steve Jobs passed the entire front page was filled with dupes.
Wow, it's like you can see through the matrix.
Re: Let's All Shed Tears For The Crappy Startups That Can't Raise Any More Money
#76I'm going to kill this article as a dupe. It's just other articles rewritten in more colorful language. But it's giving this thing too much credit even to call it a dupe, because in the process of making the language more colorful, he's now describing something that is definitely not the case. The other articles are talking about a trend that's happening as slowly as global warming. No door has suddenly crashed down,…
note: typing on a smart.phone sucks balls. ha ha! I knew you would have commented on this article and tried to debase it even before I opened the comment section! it seems to me that the entire business of YC relies on there being a market for the exact type of start ups that this article describes as a waste of human talent. It is in your (pg's) best interest to kill this article because if there is a bubble, and it…
you are a fucking retard. wow.
Re: Let's All Shed Tears For The Crappy Startups That Can't Raise Any More Money
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
note: typing on a smart.phone sucks balls. ha ha! I knew you would have commented on this article and tried to debase it even before I opened the comment section! it seems to me that the entire business of YC relies on there being a market for the exact type of start ups that this article describes as a waste of human talent. It is in your (pg's) best interest to kill this article because if there is a bubble, and it…
When formulating this elaborate theory, did you stop to ask yourself why it would be in our interest to fund shitty startups when all the returns are concentrated in the most successful ones?
If you're actually willing to engage in this discussion, then here's
your answer.
YC and (other "incubators" like it) are basically opportunistically
exploiting cheap/free labor of thousands of naive (mostly) young
developers to play the lotto on the cheap. You throw in a laughably
small amount of money for a good chunk of equity, encourage your young
charges to go forth on a steady diet of ramen noodles and ketchup --
burning through 100 hour weeks to experiment with 100's of
different(mostly bullshit) trendy catchwords of the day.You only need
to get lucky to be able to flip a few of these companies to the next
level of VC's or acquirers to make back your money multiple times
over. Rest of the blood, sweat, lost sleep and trashed health of the
thousand of other fools that failed is no sweat off your back.
Care to publish aggregate statistics on the percentage of yc backed startups became profitable businesses compared to rest of the industry?
EDIT: Apparently I was mistaken. He's not actually looking to engage in a real discussion of yc's business model.
Re: Let's All Shed Tears For The Crappy Startups That Can't Raise Any More Money
#78I really don't understand the hate with which Dan Lyons is speaking. Startups are crazy, sometimes hugely profitable companies that sometimes start up with the same money it takes to start a restaurant or less. Sometimes they succeed, sometimes they fail, sometimes they are a complete joke. It's intense and awesome and that's why we are all drawn to it: huge potential. VCs are a part of it and without them this marke…
Re: Let's All Shed Tears For The Crappy Startups That Can't Raise Any More Money
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
When formulating this elaborate theory, did you stop to ask yourself why it would be in our interest to fund shitty startups when all the returns are concentrated in the most successful ones?
If you're actually willing to engage in this discussion, then here's your answer. YC and (other "incubators" like it) are basically opportunistically exploiting cheap/free labor of thousands of naive (mostly) young developers to play the lotto on the cheap. You throw in a laughably small amount of money for a good chunk of equity, encourage your young charges to go forth on a steady diet of ramen noodles and ketchup…
you will probably be interested in this article that appeared ok Forbes awhile ago, entrepreneurs are the new labor:
www.forbes.com/sites/venkateshrao/2012/09/03/entrepreneurs-are-the-new-labor-part-i/
its a long read, but worth it. it basically covers and expounded.upon the ideas you presented in your comment, that the incubators are exploiting the entrepreneurs
Re: Let's All Shed Tears For The Crappy Startups That Can't Raise Any More Money
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
note: typing on a smart.phone sucks balls. ha ha! I knew you would have commented on this article and tried to debase it even before I opened the comment section! it seems to me that the entire business of YC relies on there being a market for the exact type of start ups that this article describes as a waste of human talent. It is in your (pg's) best interest to kill this article because if there is a bubble, and it…
you are a fucking retard. wow.
edit: actually I'm deleting my response to you.