| Upvoted..... I appreciate your perspective on things - it's refreshing. However, it's important to note that an either/or "our way or their way" mentality limits one's options. And there seems to be two worldviews (your terminology by the way ;)) - two cultural camps and people in various communities are basically being asked to choose. "Either you're with us or them!" Lifestyle business owners have a mental equation where:
Wealth = Net (passive) Income others view it : Wealth = Net Income + Asset Value. The greatest asset an entrepreneur will create isn't its income producing products - it's the sum of the whole - the BUSINESS itself (where there's a multiplier affect involved). By business I mean the system of 7-8 interconnected parts (hat tip to E-Myth) that combined, create the profitable products and services of the company. Just like learning how to create a software product or a training product is a learned skill - so too is creating a sellable company (a mentor, John Warrillow of Built to Sell speaks quite well on this....only approx. 1 in 100 businesses are sellable http://www.builttosell.com/blog/) The either/or mentality can be dangerous. Either you're with us (VC funded startups) or you are with "them" (the lifestylers). There's a happy medium - Jason Cohen is a voice in the wilderness when it comes to this perspective - http://blog.asmartbear.com/rich-vs-king-sold-company.html. How about more of a push from influencers in the lifestyle tech business community to help entrepreneurs understand the wisdom of building a business they can sell one day? What about influencers in the VC-funded startup community standing up and saying "wow, making a profit is actually...a good thing!" Learning to create a company that is profitable makes sense. Learning to create a company that is customer-funded, just makes sense. Learning how to create a company that attracts investors-as-trusted advisors and that is sellable also makes sense. Creating a business that sells profitable products is a different skill set from creating a business that one can sell at a profit. That said, Dixon gets my respect when he said,
"the best source of capital is customers. The next best is the founders (cash or forgone salaries), or investors who are less aggressive about returns than VCs. Every startup has its natural source of financing. Venture capital is the natural source of financing for only a small fraction of startups, despite what the press might lead you to believe."
http://cdixon.org/2012/07/19/shoehorning-startups-into-the-v... I suspect there are more people here than you realize who appreciate the value of what a Dale Carnegie, Gary Halbert, Eugene Schwartz or Kennedy (or you!) have to say about "shutting up and letting people pay you" as much as they do about what a Ben Horowitz, Graham or Suster has to say about the funding game. Reminds me of what one of the most creative business minds of the past 100 years once said (Olgivy)
David Ogilvy: We Sell or Else:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br2KSsaTzUc |