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Comment by sojacques | Hacker News Reader

While I totally understand your feeling, you should be aware that this strategy wouldn't work if you wanted to start a company like Tesla or Intel.

No offense, but what you call a startup might be more considered like a business by the HN crowd, and this is why you can operate this way.

Not every type of company can stay out of the now traditional pitching/VC game.

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There is a lot of room between a 1-man show and Intel/Tesla. People really think it's all or nothing and there is so much room in between.

It doesn't mean it's a lifestyle business either, you can have a business earning over $10 million revenue p/year in this in between and with no funding. Is that really just a lifestyle business?

Of course there is a lot of room, but it doesn't invalidate my point.

Most people i've met seeking venture capital have zero chance of being capable of building the next giant company. Yet many have succeeded in raising capital regardless. VC's generally aren't willing to take on much risk, so you see them spending lot's on low-capital requirement companies that are +EV. And little on companies that need large amounts of capital to scale.

Nothing wrong with a "lifestyle" company and making a couple 100k for yourself. No need for all the headaches of running a public company and possibly getting kicked out of your own company by VCs, boards, etc. like Jobs did.

If his business is not a "startup" then I would rather be like him than the startup of that HN crown that you're saying.

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