Like Sports, Startups Have Leagues
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Like Sports, Startups Have Leagues
1–10 of 18 posts
Re: Like Sports, Startups Have Leagues
#2Hard to argue with this post. It really breaks out the "everyone can start a company" myth into something I've been trying to explain for a while.
The analogy I've been working with is comparing startups to the mid 2000s Poker boom - once the internet made it easier for anyone to play competitive poker, more and more people started doing it. Once one "regular guy" - Chris Moneymaker - won the WSOP and ESPN televised the hell out of it, poker rooms were flooded.
But who did you see still sitting back there taking in this new money? The same old guys who had been grinding out livings on the card table for years. The same guys you see regularly placing in the top 20 at WSOP events around the occasional flash in the pan newbies who get a hot streak.
Re: Like Sports, Startups Have Leagues
#3I can't stand reading posts like this anymore on HN. The title is literally the entire article.
Who knew the harder you work the more successful you are? I wish there were some sort of hypothesis. Grouping startups together, identifying what's unique/different, talking about founders, etc.
Re: Like Sports, Startups Have Leagues
#4Hard to argue with this post. It really breaks out the "everyone can start a company" myth into something I've been trying to explain for a while. The analogy I've been working with is comparing startups to the mid 2000s Poker boom - once the internet made it easier for anyone to play competitive poker, more and more people started doing it. Once one "regular guy" - Chris Moneymaker - won the WSOP and ESPN televised…
It is really odd to think of the skill development it takes to be in the top 20 of poker, or your niche league. Does this have anything to do with 10k hours of development time or being built as a 6'9" athlete (or the intellectual, or drive equivalent).
Re: Like Sports, Startups Have Leagues
#5This question presents a very false dichotomy: "Is the startup world a meritocracy, or are there leagues in startups?"
If we are making a sports analogy, then having different leagues does NOT imply that it is not a meritocracy. The very best (judged from merit) end up in the top leagues. Sports is the ULTIMATE meritocracy, in fact, because there is a simple and fair way to judge who is better.
Leagues just form so that that similarly talented people face each other in fair competition.
Re: Like Sports, Startups Have Leagues
#6I can't stand reading posts like this anymore on HN. The title is literally the entire article. Who knew the harder you work the more successful you are? I wish there were some sort of hypothesis. Grouping startups together, identifying what's unique/different, talking about founders, etc.
The point of the article is the notion that you might not be able to graduate to another league by effort.
Re: Like Sports, Startups Have Leagues
#7This question presents a very false dichotomy: "Is the startup world a meritocracy, or are there leagues in startups?" If we are making a sports analogy, then having different leagues does NOT imply that it is not a meritocracy. The very best (judged from merit) end up in the top leagues. Sports is the ULTIMATE meritocracy, in fact, because there is a simple and fair way to judge who is better. Leagues just form so t…
Perhaps the BCS is a great analogy: there is a seemingly fair competition but luck, tradition and money sure help you get into the championship game.
Re: Like Sports, Startups Have Leagues
#8I can't stand reading posts like this anymore on HN. The title is literally the entire article. Who knew the harder you work the more successful you are? I wish there were some sort of hypothesis. Grouping startups together, identifying what's unique/different, talking about founders, etc.
The point of the article is the notion that you might not be able to graduate to another league by effort.
So this article introduced me to the concept of luck? Ok..
Re: Like Sports, Startups Have Leagues
#9This question presents a very false dichotomy: "Is the startup world a meritocracy, or are there leagues in startups?" If we are making a sports analogy, then having different leagues does NOT imply that it is not a meritocracy. The very best (judged from merit) end up in the top leagues. Sports is the ULTIMATE meritocracy, in fact, because there is a simple and fair way to judge who is better. Leagues just form so t…
Maybe a better analogy is the promotion and relegation system popular in European football[1]. The teams are all divided up into separate tiered leagues, but through success a team from a lower division can move up to the higher tiered leagues. Likewise a top tier team needs to keep a certain baseline of success to prevent themselves from being sent down to a lower league.