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by nebulousthree 975 days ago
When you get on a plane do you think they fuel it to run out exactly at the moment the plane stops at its final destination, and not a drop more? Don't you think that they reserve fuel for emergencies?

Why shouldn't a business consider itself at 0 operating dollars but still have a full account for healthcare or equivalent severance?
3 comments
pxx 975 days ago
It sounds like you shouldn't join a startup then. The very concept here is that you're taking some of this risk.
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drjasonharrison 975 days ago
There is risk of not working for another twelve years, of being laid off, or the C-level getting paid out and no one else.

But a startup that raises a billion dollars and fails to set a cut-off that gets everyone out the door with their last paycheques is one that people will jump out of earlier.

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camhart 975 days ago
Planes prepare for basically 0 chance of failure.

Most startups fail. And everyone involved should know that going into it.

To operate a startup protecting against all risk will likely guarantee failure in almost all cases.

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mrguyorama 975 days ago
>Planes prepare for basically 0 chance of failure.

NO, the entire point of plane safety is that you are prepared for the VAST MAJORITY OF FAILURES, through extensive planning, testing, regulations that force certain choices, redundancy, backups, etc.

Maybe companies should stop trying to play check kiting as SOP for business operation, and be willing to admit that they sucked at business, burned a billion dollars, and didn't even keep any of it to help any of the people who did the work survive for the next few months as they adjust.

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camhart 975 days ago
You misunderstood my meaning. Planes prepare for, I guess what I'd call individual component type failures, so the flight as a whole doesn't fail. They do not accept a 1% chance of failure. The plane stays grounded and doesn't leave the gate.

Startups on the other hand, (normally) must accept some risk of failure in order to have any chance of success.

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otteromkram 975 days ago
Using all capitalized characters doesn't make your argument any better, bud.
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brianwawok 975 days ago
Do you run a business? How much reserve are you saving for if you go bankrupt? Can I see a screenshot of it?
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