> I think I could have been a pretty formidable startup founder had I been born five or ten years earlier.
I used to think that. I came to the realization that I could have technically built Facebook the product, but would never in a million years have built Facebook the company. But having just finished "Careless People" I feel kinda good about that.
I also just got back from a vacation to Alaska. Lots of gold rush stories from Skagway. One of my favorites was a lady who became massively wealthy by starting baking apple pies for the gold rushers. The classic "sell the shovel" story we hear. And one that also tells me not to lament not being first.
I see people who chased that with crypto or whatever hot trend. None of them struck it rich and feel burned out and have little to show for it. But instead to focus on your values and delivering value. Explorers at the time were suffering scurvy from too much canned and salted food so a pie served not just the soul but the body. She didn't have to be there first even.
I also think that the person I am today might not have even had the skills or gotten into the industry if it were 5 or 10 years earlier. It's the mighty ducks "a half inch and it would have gone in" but a half inch in the other direction could have also completely whiffed it.
as long as there are things in and our lives to improve, there are opportunities to build great companies that provide a lot of value
i dont think those exist purely in software anymore- but if you look around at say, the skyrocketing number of elderly and nursing homes (just as an example) there are probably dozens of ways to improve lives and make a good living there
and electronics and hardware has always been so difficult and expensive to get into- but with new infra and workflows and 3d Printing and getting stuff from China- it's vastly cheaper and easier to do a robotics or hardware startup than 20 years ago
schneems · · focus · HN ↗
I used to think that. I came to the realization that I could have technically built Facebook the product, but would never in a million years have built Facebook the company. But having just finished "Careless People" I feel kinda good about that.
I also just got back from a vacation to Alaska. Lots of gold rush stories from Skagway. One of my favorites was a lady who became massively wealthy by starting baking apple pies for the gold rushers. The classic "sell the shovel" story we hear. And one that also tells me not to lament not being first.
I see people who chased that with crypto or whatever hot trend. None of them struck it rich and feel burned out and have little to show for it. But instead to focus on your values and delivering value. Explorers at the time were suffering scurvy from too much canned and salted food so a pie served not just the soul but the body. She didn't have to be there first even.
I also think that the person I am today might not have even had the skills or gotten into the industry if it were 5 or 10 years earlier. It's the mighty ducks "a half inch and it would have gone in" but a half inch in the other direction could have also completely whiffed it.
yawnxyz · · focus · HN ↗
i dont think those exist purely in software anymore- but if you look around at say, the skyrocketing number of elderly and nursing homes (just as an example) there are probably dozens of ways to improve lives and make a good living there
and electronics and hardware has always been so difficult and expensive to get into- but with new infra and workflows and 3d Printing and getting stuff from China- it's vastly cheaper and easier to do a robotics or hardware startup than 20 years ago
there will always be opportunities!