Why You Need To Start A Startup | Hacker News Reader

Why You Need To Start A Startup

onstartups.com

If one can program a computer, chances are that it would be foolish not to try to sell the result, if only to augment one's "luck surface".

A $30 a month EC2 instance can host thousands of users, depending on the service proposed. If a service has "any sort of value", chances are that some money will get out of it, maybe much more than was invested.

What is the source of the term "luck surface"? It's a good one.

It sure is. Jason Roberts of the TechZing podcast coined it: http://www.codusoperandi.com/posts/increasing-your-luck-surf...

See Jason? They ARE noticing. :-)

Wow, that's kinda cool! What's funny is that by simply coining the term "luck surface area" I've actually managed to increase my luck surface area. ;)

Led me to sign up for the AppIgnite notifier. :)

... in accordance with the prophecy (cue evil laugh). ;)

Jason, "luck surface area" is one of the best metaphors I've heard in a while, and certainly one of the most useful. It clarifies something that a lot of people don't realize: the harder you work and the more you get yourself out into the world, the more your chance of being lucky.

Great post! I was especially curious about your statement that some of the info provided about startups is full of snake oil, so I posted a follow-up question:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1907065

Ok 134 tweets I can accept, but did 11,164 people really like it on Facebook in less than 24 hours or is that the likes for the whole site?

Whole site. It's connected to the FB fan page.

Wrong title. I was expecting something positive, explaining why I should start a startup; instead, I found something negative, explaining why these reasons not to no longer hold.

Agree that the "11 Harsh Realities" post was somewhat overstated -- it was meant as a warning that startups are hard and demand serious work and optimism. But that shouldn't stop anyone. In fact, all the "harsh realities" could be considered attractive by some.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com