Hacker News Reader

Comment by aelaguiz | Hacker News Reader

As a YC founder I know exactly what I signed up for. YC is in the business of placing a series of low risk bets twice annually and then sorting through those bets looking for likely winners, doubling down and helping when possible

It doesn't matter though, they still lower my overall risk profile by being involved and (I believe) increase my odds of success. I believe it's a square deal.

I also believe that fundamentally if there's a time to aim high rather than minimizing downside risk in one's life, it's your 20s. Furthermore to a certain type of personality (mine) a secure life making a few hundred thousand dollars a year in an essentially mind-numbing profession that does little for humanity is unthinkably depressing.

It ain't for everyone, but I don't think it's fair to act as if it's some sort of sinister delusion projected by YC in order to benefit Paul Graham.

View on HN

There are people who aim high whether they are in the 20's, 30's, 40's ... and then there are those who aim low.

Age is rarely a factor for those who are shooting for the moon, but it's a great excuse for those who don't.

Yeah I didn't say people past their 20s don't aim high. I said your 20s is a great time to aim high.

Spend your youth however you want to, but there's no refunds.

And your point is...?

You can "aim high" working long days in your 20s, 30s, or 40s. But in your 20s maybe there's other stuff you want to do, like chasing college tail, or not having kids.

Yeah, the family and significant obligations one takes on with age are terrible excuses for not aiming high. Losers!!

> secure life making a few hundred thousand dollars a year in an essentially mind-numbing profession that does little for humanity is unthinkably depressing.

You realize Wall Street bankers make a few million dollars a year doing mind-numbing work that does little for humanity, right?

Yeah that doesn't matter to me.

Maybe others experience wealth differently but it made substantially no difference to my day to day happiness (once the newness of the money had worn off) - but working on a project I feel strongly about makes a strong and lasting difference.

May I ask, after you were acquired, how long did you end up working for them? How did you feel about it? Was it a jarring experience trying to transition back into more of a "traditional 9-5 mindset," or were you expected to work as hard as before? I've always wondered what that type of situation is like.

Just under 2 years, it was a nightmare. I gained weight and became depressed. I left and will never sell a company like that again. If there's an earn out it'll be 1 year, otherwise I won't do it.

Perhaps it's my own superego unable to understand experiences outside of my own mind, but I think you either didn't get enough money or haven't learned how to transmute it into happiness. Money is freedom and freedom is happiness. It's that simple. If money doesn't make you happy, nothing will. If you have enough money, you can do anything you want. If you don't have enough money, you can't do anything you want. If you can do anything you want, then by definition you either have happiness or you are unable to achieve happiness. It really is that simple.

The thing that makes me happy is sitting in a room with a few people I really like and building something I'm interested in. We already all live in nice houses and have the computers we want. We can eat wherever we'd like. If I want to take a vacation I can afford it.

How will having more money make it so I can better sit in a room with a few people I like and build stuff?

I mean it's not like being wealthier will make my Netflix have cooler stuff in it.

> If you have enough money, you can do anything you want.

Man lives not by bread alone. Only a simple hedonist is going to find contentedness through a pallet of cash.

It's not the actual cash. Money is actually worthless in and of itself, it's the using of it that makes it worthwhile.

Money gets you access to resources to MAKE things, that is why R&D takes so much money. You have to pay a lot of people to think and work hard - only if it's your money you can pay them to think and work hard on YOUR idea and YOUR dream.

Money also gets you the ability to influence change, politically or otherwise. Right or wrong that is how it works, and deciding you are better than that and not playing the game won't stop that from being true - all that will mean is that it will be that much harder for you to actually influence.

So no, money is worthless, it's the things you can do with it that will find your contentedness.

Many of the things we all find contentedness through can be purchased with cash. I for one would love to take a multi-year round-the-world trip with my partner, or own a house and a grand piano I could use without having to worry about neighbors. Does that make me a materialistic hedonist?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com