Entrepreneurship Sucks | Hacker News Reader

Entrepreneurship Sucks

readwriteweb.com

51 pointsbrownie25 comments

This article reeks of inexperience and just a dash of sour grapes.

Supplier got the order wrong? Your problem; you fix it. Sales team can't get their act together (despite a wonderfully choreographed song and dance routine)? That's on your shoulders. People fighting? Smooth things over. Someone is only working at 103% efficiency, not pumping out enough likes and tweets and check-ins? All you to handle.

Yes, that's called being in charge. If you can't handle it all and have the means, delegate.

Brief edit: turns out this guy went to my school and is a friend-of-a-friend. Did some due diligence and friend says he's just trying to provoke a reaction (aka "troll"). He is, says my friend, "one of the hardest working people" he knows. Nothing to see here.

> This article reeks of inexperience and just a dash of sour grapes.

My diagnosis is even worse. His basic mistake is "I'm like me; therefore, everybody is like me."

To choose one specific example: "Supplier got the order wrong? Your problem; you fix it." Ever worked in a union shop, John? You are forbidden from fixing it, and you get to visit the supply foreman who will delegate to somebody (x2 or 3) before the order gets fixed, so go do something else for a few weeks. Stuff like that drove me up a friggen wall.

You can be extremely hard working, but that doesn't make you an entrepreneur.

The one common trait I've found among great entrepreneurs...? They want to change the world in a big way.

The great ones don't care about the money or being their own boss or working from wherever. And almost certainly, they love what they do precisely because they aren't sitting back cracking open a beer (no matter how high up the podium)... instead, they've got bigger things to achieve. The drive never stops.

Thanks for investigating!

[let's feed]

Some people might have this experience. I'm not one of them. I love being an entrepreneur for the reasons he indicates. And I don't see or have those negatives.

John Petersel seems to have failed as entrepreneur (or maybe he never tried, which is even worse writing stuff like this...), but I think I make more money than him, have more free time, spend more time with my family, actually manage my company instead of 'doing everything myself' (as he seems to suggest). And I do what I love and have always done that. Life's too short not to.

Some people shouldn't be entrepreneurs, luckily not everyone wants to, but writing crap like this...

Hi guys - author (Josh) here.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Even the negative stuff is appreciated. I thought I'd leave you a quick response.

First, I'm thrilled that you thought to do a brief background check, and found me. I can offer some explanation to some of the conclusions you've drawn based on the article and otherwise.

The most important note that I think gets lost in translation: In its original form (appearing in Harvard Business School's newspaper), the piece is a satire. Specifically, it's a response to a series of events that painted a particularly gushy and fuzzy picture of entrepreneurship. As many of you were quick to point out the holes in an article that was blatantly and exclusively negative, I had merely been acting likewise to the opposite prompt. Also, lamentably, much of the piece's humor had to be edited out for the broader internet audience (unless you suspect you'd appreciate quips about the eccentricities of HBS's staff & curriculum). In the given context, and even in the broader context, much of your criticism is certainly valid.

endtwist- I think "trolling" is a bit harsh, but yes, the goal is to provoke a discussion. Mission accomplished? I'm happy to hear that some mutual friend has vouched for me. And yes, given a broader scope and bigger word count, the art of delegating would certainly have been investigated at length.

jpdoctor- I understand your point. No, I've never worked in a union shop (sorry!). My argument was that, in some strange, perverse way, having such a burden lifted (as in your union shop illustration) is a nicety compared to the stresses of ultimate responsibility. But again, I can see why this might not be the case.

bdrocco- Yep. You're right.

MJR, brownie- Yep, you found me. Sorry about the typo- publishing the article on RWW was done through a third party. Though I can't claim to be a venerable authority with decades of experience, I hope my credentials (and brief explanation above) can add a little more worth to the piece.

tluyben2- I don't think I failed as an entrepreneur. And I most definitely tried. (I suppose the edited version of the article's second doesn't really make this clear, but I did continue to work full time after graduating from undergrad.) Without a doubt you make more money, have more free time, etc. etc. than I do - do bear in mind that I'm currently a student. That all said: much like you, I was in love with what I did, and look forward to re-entering the entrepreneurship field some day in the future. Thanks for commenting.

GFisher- Sorry for baiting you. But yeah, you're absolutely right.

rdl, chr15- technically I wasn't a 2+2, though most of the structure is accurate. As for "accomplishing nothing," I suppose it depends on your definition of accomplishment. And again, the article doesn't totally make it clear that I ran my company full-time, expanded operations cross-country, and exited via sale in the two years between now and my time in undergrad. Not your typical consulting background, but I think HBS likes to bring in a few strange people for diversity.

bodegajed- I'm with you 100%.

moocow01- I'm with you 115%.

Everyone else- thanks, too.

Cheers.

The author needs to understand that being an entrepreneur is not about the result. Steve Jobs said in his bio "The reward is the Journey." It's the excitement of what's in store for the future.

Agreed - I think his fundamental 'flaw' may be be his MBA-ness meaning he is looking for the efficient, predictable, safe way to make money for the organization which in this case is himself. Its been said over and over but for the majority of people entrepreneurship is typically not the 'best' way to make money or going to make one materially wealthy beyond their wildest dreams - in most cases its probably going to be better for your spreadsheet if you just get a normal job. BUT a normal job 9 times out of 10 does not 'pay' anywhere close to the things one will get out of an entrepreneurial effort that is the right fit (meaning doing what your passionate about, living your life your way, etc.)

“When playing a game, the goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning.” -- Reiner Knizia

(He's a well known German board game designer and mathematician. I like the quote, because it applies to more than just games.)

"I can't see why you wouldn't rather sit back in your ergonomically-designed desk chair, crack a beer you bought on the company's expense account, and cut your biweekly salary checks that could feed a family of five for three months."

I know that's bait, but I can't help falling...

Maybe that's true for the author (or someone Harvard-educated), but here in the third world, enterpreneurship sounds a lot better when you see that a "dream" job like mine pays U$ 15.000 after taxes (and yes, people think I'm mad because I want to quit).

I do have job security people in Spain or the US might only dream of (six months' severance plus a year's salary if I'm fired), but being secure in a dead end isn't my dream life.

Who is the author? What are his credentials? What has he built? With a blank page for a bio, no other authored articles and a Google search that returns next to nothing, this article is worth just that - next to nothing.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/author/john-petersel.php http://www.google.com/search?q=John+Petersel

It looks like RWW made a typo with the author - his name is Josh, not John. Searching for "Josh Petersel" "Harvard Business School" will turn up a bio http://averyjoshblog.wordpress.com/about-josh/

You suck as an entrepreneur ergo entrepreneurship sucks.

How so you graduate from a mid-tier school with an undergraduate business degree in 2009, then get into Harvard Business School in a couple years later, without having anything noteworthy as a job in between?

Probably through Harvard's 2+2 program, which accepted its first class in 2009. The 2+2 program permits undergrads to apply to HBS. If accepted, you agree to work 2 years then go to HBS for 2 years.

I've had a couple of friends that were accepted in 2009, and they speculated the 2+2 program had as high as a 30% acceptance rate in its inaugural year since it wasn't well publicized.

That's my guess.

Wow, that sounds like a really bad innovation for HBS; the other way in used to require 2-3 years of high-end consulting work, or 4+ years of normal work.

They're bigger than most business schools already (900 students in the class?). Why are they doing this?

So, this article is saying that entrepreneurship is hard. Just because something is hard doesn't mean it sucks. Anything worth doing is hard. Living a life of ease is boring as hell.

The author's attitude towards salaried work, let alone entrepreneurship, is awful. If that really is his attitude and I was his manager, he would be fired with in six months.

this is why your employees hate you and constantly talk bad about you to your own boss.

Did you hear about the quiet mutiny being arranged to have you pushed out when John is distracted by his vacation?

Didn't think so.

I'm a little bit confused by your comment. Do you know something about the grandparent I don't or were you speaking figuratively as if you or the GP were an employee alongside John/Josh?

Edit: Wait I think I get what you're saying. I had just assumed the GP had no boss so it didn't make any sense.

Waste of time. Author just wanted somebody to read his pseudo-polarizing superficial drivel.No substance to be found

Honestly, if the author line had said "Tyler Winklevoss" I wouldn't have been surprised. This individual has confused "responsibility is hard" with "responsibility sucks," which is a very poor comparison to make if you want to do anything well.

If entrepreneurship was easy, everyone would do it. That's all there is to it.

it really seems EVERYONE is doing it these days...

hahaha i hope this guy is ready to be purified by a storm of angry frustrated entroporn enthusiasts

Reply on news.ycombinator.com