Do you really want to be rich? • Hacker News Board

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#81

Post by robin_reala » Wed, Mar 24, 2010, 9:30 AM UTC

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #58

aarongough wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may be a non-profit but it does still have people on the payroll, people who get paid to do what they love...

And could be raking in millions in advertising dollars, like the non-profit Mozilla, if it chose to.

The Mozilla situation is rather different. It’s actually two entities: the non-profit Mozilla Foundation ( http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/ ) and the for-profit Mozilla Corporation ( http://www.mozilla.com/ ). MoFo shepherd the code, but MoCo do a lot of the business arrangements.

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#82

Post by ZeroGravitas » Wed, Mar 24, 2010, 9:32 AM UTC

robin_reala wrote: post #81

ZeroGravitas wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And could be raking in millions in advertising dollars, like the non-profit Mozilla, if it chose to.

The Mozilla situation is rather different. It’s actually two entities: the non-profit Mozilla Foundation ( http://www.mozilla.org/foundation/ ) and the for-profit Mozilla Corporation ( http://www.mozilla.com/ ). MoFo shepherd the code, but MoCo do a lot of the business arrangements.

I think it's more MoFo sets the direction, MoCo pays the tax.

"The creation of the Mozilla Corporation should eliminate some of the thorny legal and tax issues that have been caused by the revenue-generating potential of Firefox and Thunderbird. The Mozilla Corporation will now handle all relationships with commercial companies and its status should allow more flexibility in this area. It is hoped that the income from the Mozilla Corporation will help the Mozilla project (including both the Foundation and the Corporation) to be more self-supporting, though donations will still be welcome."

http://web.archive.org/web/20060907025204/http://www.mozilla...

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#83

Post by pbhjpbhj » Wed, Mar 24, 2010, 4:10 PM UTC

fnid2 wrote: post #11

pw0ncakes wrote: post #6

I don't like any of those categories. 1st group: starfucker douchebags, properly characterized by the OP. Prone to serve the "high-status" set they want to join as soon as they have access to those people, and therefore a liability to anyone who wants . 2nd group: contains a lot of clock-punching mediocrities, also correctly portrayed by OP. 3rd group: driven by empty ambition, likely psychopaths. These people are re…

Right! There are two kinds of wealth: Monetary wealth and time wealth.

>Mark 8:36 (The Message) What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?

There is wealth in being able to be yourself (which might be an abstraction of your 2 wealths?). Also, to love and be loved.

Re: Do you really want to be rich?

#84

Post by ekanes » Thu, Mar 25, 2010, 12:26 PM UTC

GFischer wrote: post #73

ekanes wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you have to move? I'm guessing you're thinking along the lines of a funded startup, and access to capital and "deals" versus bootstrapping it yourself, but my guess is froo's startup is closer to the latter. When you bootstrap it, you call the shots and there's little reason you can't do just as well living wherever you are! Go for it.

That's the second choice, and far more appealing (don't have to uproot). Reading HN does keep that option front and center! I'm still searching for what to sell - I have access to a relatively cheap and talented labor pool, and to some nice technology not used in the US (the Genexus codegen tool), but I don't know what niche I should target.

It's easy to get hung up on finding "the right (perfect) idea", but the highest probability for a new business to succeed is to do something that is already being done by others, who are making a living at it. Add to it, change it, innovate on it, but start with something that's already a proven model in the world.

In other words, pick something (a piece of software?) you care about, that others are making a living with, do a knock off of it and then innovate.

People think the challenge is succeeding, but the more important challenge is starting at all.