[got2surf]

I completely get your point, and Emil is a great role model for all (not just young) entrepreneurs faced with failure.

What I don't understand is all the animosity towards Nick D’Aloisio. What makes him not a "real" entrepreneur? Whatever the means, he still took a company from inception to acquisition, which fits any definition of entrepreneurship.

There are lessons we can learn from Emil, and also lessons that we can learn from Nick. They've both had valuable experiences that I'm sure many of us would love to hear about.

[brightghost]

Funny; all this time I thought the goal of entrepreneurship was to build a sustainable business.

[alttab]

Sustainability is a waste of time when your only goal is to cash out as big as you can with as little investment as possible.

You are mixing up "entrepreneur" with "wanting to create lasting value." A lot of what I see on HN is not the latter.

[jakerocheleau]

I think I would classify myself and most of my startup-knowledgable friends in the latter crowd.

Is that a particularly bad thing to not be motivated by large cashouts, and instead by creating a company with long-term value?

[alttab]

Not at all. In fact, I was insinuating that a lot of the start up crowd is motivated by the wrong reasons - money.

You can get rich by buying up real estate and charging rent. All you did is sign paper and make money. "Charging rent" isn't a service. "Allowing you to live in property I purchased." isn't really providing value either.

"Building a house and selling it to a family." <=== that's creating value.

[argonaut]

That is one possible goal. That is not the goal for everyone.

[hajrice]

Thanks for the awesome comment. It's very thoughtful and I completely agree with you there.

Nick is one of the youngest people (if not the youngest) to ever raise venture capital, perhaps to also sell a company for that range aswell.

He's definitely someone we should look up to. I actually find it pretty amazing, what he did. :-)