[TheOsiris]

these are not startups though and you can't compare them to a startup.

sure, luck is a factor in everything but it's not a make or break factor in startups. in startups you make your own luck. you work hard, suffer the small wins and losses, until you get yourself in the right place at the right time. some people find that opportunity early, some later but both get there because they worked at it. even Uber founders had to work hard for it. and don't even get me started on Airbnb's founders

[jenthoven]

[Julia again] Y'all should read the article! These examples of "lightning striking" absolutely happens to people that don't work hard for it. But knowing and appreciating the role of chance doesn't mean that hard work doesn't pay off, because hard work can make you more likely to experience a stroke of luck.

[TheOtherHobbes]

The question is the extent to which that is true, and whether or not it's the primary factor involved in a success.

Work hard => success is a simplistic and misleading mythology, not an evidence-based reality. It also leads to toxic relationships with workers, because if a founder or manager believes that more hours = success they'll make some very stupid business decisions and trash the quality of life of some of their employees for no good reason.

If hard work (how is that measured?) isn't a primary factor - and plenty of research suggests it isn't - then the realistic way for founders to increase their chances of success is to understand that factors that actually contribute the most, and maximise those.