crassus

Allegations of "Victim blaming" are a classic tactic to shut down discussion by implying that anyone who steps out of the appropriate mental box will be deemed an accomplice.

Every US Government department operates on a shoestring budget, if you listen to them. It's amazing that they can keep the lights on.

Empathy is easy. Building something worth a damn is hard, and incredibly rare in human history.

Moreover, calling it "luck" discourages others from adopting these repeatably beneficial habits and ideas for pulling a family out of poverty.

How could I make sure my offspring have a better life than I did? If my only option is "luck", then why bother trying?

I know that people will make political hay of this, but there is danger to managing to quarterly statistics. If your economy needs some adjustments to achieve long-run sustainability then it's possible that GDP may fall for a quarter or two and there's nothing wrong with that.

GDP is a great metric for long-term or inter-national comparison. It's terrible as a quarterly national management metric.

The crazy thing is that people go through this experience and want to do it again. A failed startup leaves you burned out, emotionally wrecked, and financially crippled. Why take another ride on that roller coaster? Pride? Status? Money?

That's because our culture is sick. Generalizations about gender has been the main stuff of art, literature, and personal correspondence for 500 years - only now are they offensive.

I'd recommend the author substitute it with "let down", even though it doesn't as accurately describe how she likely feels.

I find it refreshing that we got this level of truth and detail from a startup post-mortem. The price for that transparency is selective opacity in a few still-sensitive areas. I get the deal.