Comments on: Why Not To Do A Startup

By: Rick Dane

Rick Dane — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:21:41 +0000

Good article, I think something that is underused by many people is taking advantage of outsourcing when creating start-ups, its a way to spend less time working on the project yourself and to be able to employ more people at once. I write about this on my site.

By: Mark

Mark — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 05:11:02 +0000

I'm fortunate enough to be writing from the "have made it" side of the line but it took me nearly 20 years across four startups to do it. I agree with much of your post but I think it also depends very much on the personality make-up of the entrepreneur. I've gone through the years of deprivation (both financially and socially) and have learned that those things were actually more of an unconscious choice in how I played the game. In several cases I had offers to sell out early but chose the "double or nothing" route and never regretted it, even those times that I ended up with less than I would have gotten if I had sold early.

In my younger years I enjoyed the hyper-focus and ascetic lifestyle of a 'hard-core' entrepreneur. Was it healthy? No, but lots of people enjoy highly challenging extreme sports or lifestyles that aren't exactly "healthy". For example, monks who celebrate life with a vow of silence and poverty seem far weirder to me than my particular obsession.

In my case, when I looked at what others would call sacrifices, I saw challenges. I also accept that there are many people to whom it would be a huge mistake to do what I did. They would be sacrificing and essentially depriving themselves of a life that could make them happier. But please don't map what is ultimately a personal value judgment onto others. I'm different and I think the same is true for many of the entrepreneurs I know.
There's a young entrepreneur training program in my area and when I teach there I spend a lot of time on this topic. I describe it as being "broken" in a certain way that makes massive challenges and huge sacrifices seem like obstacles to be heroically surmounted (as opposed to foolishly endured). I admit that this perception may even be a false illusion but to some, battling these metaphorical dragons is a source of joy even if in reality they are only windmills.

You are quite right to be warning youngsters contemplating "the life". If their motivation is money then they'll likely be disappointed. If their motivation is creating something unique from nothing and doing it against overwhelming odds through sheer skill and force of will, then they have a decent chance of finding rich personal rewards in this journey even if little of it is money.

By: Mrinal

Mrinal — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:06:13 +0000

Great post but seem feels very strongly to have only one perspective. I penned down my thoughts on it here:
http://mrinal.vox.com/library/post/who-is-your-...

By: mattmaroon

mattmaroon — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:16:02 +0000

Its hard not to find a job at least close to that in the bay area.

By: jake

jake — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:05:57 +0000

6 figure income from CS? Maybe if you went to an Ivy League School.

By: Stefan

Stefan — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 09:00:51 +0000

I am university student, working independently. I think having your own company while studying is perfect source of income and gives you flexibility and a lot of free-time at the same time. The only pity is that most students dream about perfect job but never tried to work in one for longer time.

By: Maheswaran

Maheswaran — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:54:27 +0000

No pain, no gain. And its because of these guys who take pain, we have these nice products..

By: verasen

verasen — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:43:11 +0000

Running a startup for me has been the best thing since sliced bread. I don't make any money and had to move in with my parents to cut expenses. Do I regret it? Hell no. I work 80 hr weeks, but it's not really work when you love what you do. It's the excitement, it's the passion to do what you love. Haven't made much money, but I love waking up everyday and getting to work. Girlfriend is happy too, so are my friends. You can't beat the freedom of working when you want, on whatever you want. That's why I do a startup.

By: mattmaroon

mattmaroon — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:23:02 +0000

Please reread the first paragraph.

By: Bill Moore

Bill Moore — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:21:16 +0000

This post seemed to be mostly about money. Is that the only reason do startups? I kinda thought it was to create something cool, to have an impact on the planet and, maybe, leave it a little better off then it was before you were here.

If you're in it purely for the money, well, sucks to be you. The money is good, but it' s not the reason, is it? Really? The reason is no way could you do what you're doing at Boeing, IBM or CitiBank. You want to create something right? You want to get it into the hands of millions and create a little joy and mirth out there in the world.

Maybe this is a Silly-con Valley thing. Good thing there are places not like this where doing a startup is actually fun (Portland, Austin, Boulder, etc.)