True, people do think I am a bit of an asshole, but those are the types who take everything they read on the internet seriously.
Anyway, you ever notice how when some dick writes about startups or entrepreneurship on his "Random Musings of an X Programmer" blog, he writes it with a holier-than-thou tone, implying that anybody who is not an entrepreneur is somehow either dumb or less of a man? You know, cocksteaks like Paul Graham?
Well, I'm not one of those guys. I'm just full of piss and vinegar, and I call 'em as I see 'em.
Being A Successful Entrepreneur Is Free License To Act Like A Dick
If you start a company and manage to sell it or IPO, then you really are entitled to hold your nose up to first-time founders at parties. You can listen to their pitches, let them ask you for $250,000 in exchange for 10% equity, and then tell them to come back when they have users. You earned that shit.
You earned that shit as much as someone who won $10,000 on a scratch-off lottery ticket earned the right to look down on other people for not buying lottery tickets, and then tell them that they're doing it all wrong when they finally do buy a lottery ticket. No, no, no... you're supposed to buy the Scratch4Millions ticket, not the Pot Of Gold ticket. Dumbass. Why don't you know that?
Want To Start A Company? Don't Do It In Software.
Well, why start your own company in the first place? If you're doing it for money, chances are you're going to end up worse off financially at the end. I make less than 30% of my previous industry salary as a startup founder. If the company is successful, then great. If not, then I've lost a few good earning years. Money can be made elsewhere, without nearly as much bullshit: Wall Street, the court room and the operating room, to name a few. If you're a smart person, you can succeed at any one of these.
I didn't go off on my own hoping for riches. I did it so I wouldn't have to take shit from anybody. And you know what? I still take plenty of shit. From investors, the illegitimate tech media, from bloggers, from users, everybody.
Doing a startup outside of software, most importantly, outside of the Silicon Valley microcosm, means you will take substantially less shit from substantially fewer people.
So Why Do It?
Good question. If you ask a lot of founders why they did it, they'll give you some smoke-up-the-ass answer about wanting to change the world. The true answer, the one I would give if you got me drunk enough, is fucked if I knew. But I am starting to figure it out:
Will my startup make it? Who knows, but at least it was more fun than a colonoscopy.
Anyway, you ever notice how when some dick writes about startups or entrepreneurship on his "Random Musings of an X Programmer" blog, he writes it with a holier-than-thou tone, implying that anybody who is not an entrepreneur is somehow either dumb or less of a man? You know, cocksteaks like Paul Graham?
Well, I'm not one of those guys. I'm just full of piss and vinegar, and I call 'em as I see 'em.
Being A Successful Entrepreneur Is Free License To Act Like A Dick
If you start a company and manage to sell it or IPO, then you really are entitled to hold your nose up to first-time founders at parties. You can listen to their pitches, let them ask you for $250,000 in exchange for 10% equity, and then tell them to come back when they have users. You earned that shit.
You earned that shit as much as someone who won $10,000 on a scratch-off lottery ticket earned the right to look down on other people for not buying lottery tickets, and then tell them that they're doing it all wrong when they finally do buy a lottery ticket. No, no, no... you're supposed to buy the Scratch4Millions ticket, not the Pot Of Gold ticket. Dumbass. Why don't you know that?
Want To Start A Company? Don't Do It In Software.
Well, why start your own company in the first place? If you're doing it for money, chances are you're going to end up worse off financially at the end. I make less than 30% of my previous industry salary as a startup founder. If the company is successful, then great. If not, then I've lost a few good earning years. Money can be made elsewhere, without nearly as much bullshit: Wall Street, the court room and the operating room, to name a few. If you're a smart person, you can succeed at any one of these.
I didn't go off on my own hoping for riches. I did it so I wouldn't have to take shit from anybody. And you know what? I still take plenty of shit. From investors, the illegitimate tech media, from bloggers, from users, everybody.
Doing a startup outside of software, most importantly, outside of the Silicon Valley microcosm, means you will take substantially less shit from substantially fewer people.
So Why Do It?
Good question. If you ask a lot of founders why they did it, they'll give you some smoke-up-the-ass answer about wanting to change the world. The true answer, the one I would give if you got me drunk enough, is fucked if I knew. But I am starting to figure it out:
- Being an entrepreneur doesn't mean you're smart. A smart guy will figure out how to make a bunch of money while taking on much less risk. Corollary to this, there are a lot of dumb entrepreneurs out there.
- Being an entrepreneur doesn't mean that your dick is longer than most. No, the guy in high school who got with all the girls while you sat in your room playing Starcraft has that one covered.
- As an entrepreneur, probably 2 days out of 3 are better than they would be if I had a real job. That's probably the best reason I can come up with.
Will my startup make it? Who knows, but at least it was more fun than a colonoscopy.
