[pg]

There's nowhere I say that "starting a company is the best thing in the world to do." I describe it as an efficient but intrinsically painful way to solve the money problem.

"Imagine the stress of working for the Post Office for fifty years. In a startup you compress all this stress into three or four years. You do tend to get a certain bulk discount if you buy the economy-size pain, but you can't evade the fundamental conservation law."

And far from trying to draw people out of school, we actually have a bias in the other direction. We're very reluctant to fund students unless they seem like they already want to quit.

[dabent]

"Imagine the stress of working for the Post Office for fifty years."

Maybe it's a matter of how pain is perceived. I think I'd rather do 10 5-year stints at startups than endure that sort of pain. Nothing against post office personnel, but I've been in government-like operations before and much prefer startups or earlier stage companies I've worked for.

[kerryfalk]

I haven't read anywhere that you have said that, but would you agree that starting a company was the best thing in the world for you to do?

My network of company founders is much smaller than yours but I think if I were to ask them if starting their company was one of the best things they ever did, and I know it to be true for myself, they most certainly wouldn't say no.

I'm guessing that's also probably true of the majority, if not all, of the Y-Combinator backed founders. Whether their company is still alive or not.

To answer the parent, starting and running a company through the fight in the trenches is massively rewarding but also massively frustrating in many ways. I know I can't give it up and do anything else and am sure I'm not alone. I don't think anyone would try to sell you on the dream of diving into the fight. It's something you have to want, it can't be sold.

Regarding the talent pool: HN is just the squeaky wheel and doesn't represent the entire market so I would doubt that hackers starting companies is negatively affecting the available resources.

[pg]

You mean as more than a way of making money? It depends on the type of person you are, and what your ambitions are. If you're (a) the right sort of person to start your own company, and (b) your ambitions in life would be best realized in the form of a company, then yes. So e.g. Steve Jobs clearly has (a) and as far as I can tell has (b), so for him starting a company was in itself a good thing to do.

[kerryfalk]

Yes, I did mean as more than a way of making money. You've stated that you did in fact start Viaweb to get rich. I know a few other founders that also started companies as an attempt to get rich (I am among them) and continue to chase more. But if I were to ask those same people, whether their companies earned them wealth or not if starting their company was one of the best things they ever did I doubt that the money (or lack thereof) would be much of a factor. Realizing other ambitions (b) is a much, much greater factor.

I'm curious now though. The YC application tries to screen for (a) but doesn't test for (b). Or at least, I didn't recognize that to be the case. Why is that? Is it not just as important? I would think so as I think it's realizing those ambitions that seem to keep people going and provide them with the relentless focus on winning. Or am I wrong and you've designed the application to screen for that as well?

Why a founder will continue to push seems as important as the ability to continue to push.

[pg]

Because (a) is enough. We're cool funding people who are doing it for the money; the startup doesn't have to be their life's work.

[kerryfalk]

That's very interesting, maybe my perspective isn't quite accurate then as your strategy has clearly already been successful. My thought is that to build a large and successful company you need to develop an interest that goes well beyond the desire for money - but I haven't built a large company yet so perhaps I'm naive. Thanks for the reply, pg.

[mb21]

sorry - I knew I'd read an article about enticing people to leave school and associated it to YC. It was actually Peter Thiel: http://www.dawnmontgomerypresents.com/?p=2104 Now, having said that, there does seem to be a lot of pressure to go be an entrepreneur when the chances for success are still extremely small (depending on how you define success of course). success != happiness however and I agree that there are a lot of people out there that will grow immensely if they go take these chances.

I would much rather people go take a chance starting a company than go into finance - that's my personal bias.

Thank you for responding to my post and clarifying.