[Achshar]

>We need to discourage those who aren’t fit to start their own business.

I request you to define "fit". How can one know if one is "fit". The line is very blurry I believe, unless there is something that I am missing here.

Not unlike many others here, I aspire to be an entrepreneur too. But after reading this article I am left undecided on what side I "fit" in. Am I not supposed to be doing this? How am I (or others like me) supposed to know? It would really help if there were some questions that we could answer. I understand the answer will not always be yes/no but I have to start somewhere.

The author's main point seems to be that not everyone realizes that chances of success is very very small. But I know that, and I understand that very well. So where does that leave me?

One moment I am absolutely sure I know what I have to do, then I read some article like this and it makes me think. The more I think, the more likely I am to be confused.

[nirvana]

Here's one objective way to measure fit: If you let a half assed article from someone who (I suspect) has never started a business dissuade you from being an entrepreneur, then you don't fit.

The skill to have (and it is easy for me, but it may not be for everyone) is to know what's right and what you're going to do, while at the same time separating the signal from the noise out there and integrating what the signal tells you about the market into your business.

There are a surprising number of people who think their mission in life is to "help" entrepreneurs... who think that their opinions are helpful independant of whether they are or not.

IF you remain unsure, there's nothing wrong with working for others (or working for someone else's startup) and doing your own thing on the side. Side projects can be very educational-- I learned as much from my side projects as I did from my day jobs working for startups.

You don't have to start off on your own right now, if you feel you're not ready.

Also, I don't think the chances of success for starting business are very small. I think they are probably better than 50/50. (Of the dozens of businesses I've started in my life, nearly all have been profitable.) People think a "startup" is this magical thing that is a "Scalable business", but most of the businesses I've started in my side projects have been scalable as well.

Moving to the bay area and starting a web site that has no real business model other than "sell advertising once we get to 50 million users" and high real costs making it dependent on external financing, on the other hand, is an approach that has very, very small chances.

I think the real problem is that this is the only model people seem to think exists.

[Achshar]

What you say makes sense but I just wanted to point out that i never said that I question my decision. I said "The more I think, the more likely I am to be confused". But other than that, I would like if you appreciate that it is not the easiest thing to tell the noise from the signal when you are new. Everyone seems to be right in their place and have valid points. I believe it takes experience.