[busterarm]

Also it's a false dichotomy mainly pushed on you by venture funds to encourage you to play in their world.

Bootstrapped tech startups have such low costs and labor as to make other traditional small-business owners jaws hang on the floor in envy.

Unicorn money is a distraction that's keeping everyone's eye off the ball and deluding people into ignoring the power in their fingertips.

[cjbgkagh]

The low cost base also means it’s really hard to compete against. A lot of VC money is aimed at monopolizing a niche and extracting long term above average returns out of it. Having a lifestyle company operating in their niche destroys that as a possibility and means they’ll never be able to get the returns they want.

[j4yav]

Which is an interesting perspective if you're considering a lifestyle business. Can you build a small but meaningful competitor and draft off all the treasure some VC is plowing into r&d and marketing?

[cjbgkagh]

In my niece they spend all their money on playing dirty with being cozy with govt and basically none on r&d. Eventually I’ll be able to beat them in price and product quality but for now I make a living on being the low cost alternative.

[robertlagrant]

> Having a lifestyle company operating in their niche destroys that as a possibility

Can you give an example of how that destroys what they're doing?

[robertlagrant]

I don't think it's pushed really. Certainly not on me.