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A comment on Poll: Non-Founders, Why Are You Not Starting a Start-Up?. Parent comment

Re:Poll: Non-Founders, Why Are You Not Starting a Start-Up? by DanielRibeiro on Wednesday September 28, 2011 @03:53PM (#3049585)
This makes it seem that starting a startup is a way to make money. As Myth: Entrepreneurship Will Make You Rich[1] says:

So why become an entrepreneur instead of developing technology in an R&D lab? Three reasons: change the world, make customers’ lives better and create an organization of lasting value. If you only want to do one of these things, there are better options. But only startups combine all three.

Making money is a fuel to a goal, not a goal in itself. As Tim O'Reilly[2] put it very well:

You should regard money as fuel for what you really want to do, not as a goal in and of itself. Money is like gas in the car -- you need to pay attention or you'll end up on the side of the road -- but a well-lived life is not a tour of gas stations!

[1] http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2009/10/myth-entreprene...

[2] http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/01/work-on-stuff-that-matters-...

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Re:Poll: Non-Founders, Why Are You Not Starting a Start-Up? by Apreche on Wednesday September 28, 2011 @04:02PM (#3049616)
You are crazy rich. You have millions to burn on some VC. You have an idea for software that is actually legitimately useful and world changing. Screw a startup. Just start an open source project. Changes the world, makes people's lives better, creates an organization of lasting value, isn't a startup.

Why do all these commenters seem to think you need a for profit company in order to make things? The Internet is nothing but billions of things that have been made for free in people's spare time. I want nothing more than infinite spare time to make whatever I please as I please as I relax in a tropical paradise with the people I care about. Startups are the opposite of that.

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Re:Poll: Non-Founders, Why Are You Not Starting a Start-Up? by ctide on Wednesday September 28, 2011 @04:54PM (#3049863)
It's not just building software, building companies is inherently fun. It's a different set of challenges problems that need to be solved.

It's ok that you have a different mentality, but understand that it's just that, a different mentality. Some people enjoy the hustle and bustle of building organizations more than lounging on tropical beaches for the rest of their lives.

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