[dkrich]

Here's my take on it- if you are reading for personal accounts or advice on whether to start a business, the best advice comes from people who have done it. To me, that is the target audience for this author's advice, and precisely the reason I find fault with it.

If you are reading to learn a new skill, then academics are great. For example, if I want to learn how to set up an LLC, the intricacies of employment law, or accounting methods for a small business, learning from academics is the best way.

In either case you are learning from people who know from experience. I tend to take advice from those most experienced in the advice they are offering. Who is this guy to explain the difficulties of starting a business? Would I be qualified to write about the difficulties of becoming a physician if I have never gone through the process myself? Probably not.

To take that a step further, if I am looking to open a bakery, I want to talk to people who have opened bakeries. They know better than anybody what to expect and can paint a vivid picture of what my life will look like if I choose to proceed. What applies to other entrepreneurs in other fields is largely irrelevant. Which is why it is so ridiculous to try to boil something as complicated as starting a business down to "it's really fucking hard and you probably won't succeed, so be realistic." While that may be true, it is not particularly helpful. Nor is advising people to go learn to code.

[EREFUNDO]

Well I agree that it's better to talk with people who did the exact same thing you're planning to do. The experience is more detailed. But her article is about entrepreneurship in general, not a specific type of business. That's why one of her advice was to work for a company that specializes on the industry you want to get into.