ghaspland
Joined 15 years ago
Joined 15 years ago
Also, I think the section regarding TechStars success makes an assumption mistake:
"The national rate of failure for startups is 75-90%. So lets say it was a good year and Techstars Chicago received a 1000 applicants/startups to choose from. You know based on national averages that 750-900 of these companies will fail. That leaves 100-250 that will succeed. Techstars is only taking 1% of applicants, which is 10 startups. Unless Techstars is picking poorly, they are selecting companies that are positioned for success from day one. These startups would most likely succeed with or without Techstars."
The common assumption that 75%-90% of startups fail is usually regarding venture backed startups, not people who fill out the TechStars applications. I would wager that the if you looked at the failure rate of anyone who had an idea they wanted run through an accelerator, the failure rate would be much, much higher. What you should benchmark TechStars against VC performance.
(Disclaimer: I went through TechStars.)
My biggest concern with American politics is that everyone sees the other side as evil or wrong. We could have a much more productive debate if we did a better job of understanding the positions rather than just dismissing them as "out of touch with reality".
I think this is particularly important if you're trying to learn how to run a company rather than learn specific job skills.
"holier-than-thou Whole Foods shoppers" is just hyperbolic language designed to drive blog readership.
I'm reminded of why McArthur was removed from the command of the UN forces in Korea. McArthur came out strongly against Truman in the press, because Truman refused to use nuclear weapons against the Chinese, who at the time were not a nuclear power but were successfully driving the UN forces out of the peninsula. Truman was forced to sack McArthur. McArthur then went on a national tour talking about how Truman was basically an idiot and losing the war. McArthur suggested that if he was elected president he could bring the war to a speedy conclusion. Truman started taking a real beating in the press as a result. Then the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs came out and publicly said that while McArthur's strategy would drive the Chinese back, McArthur didn't appreciate the wider political implications of his strategy. China, at the time, was an ally of the Soviet Union. A strike against China could have forced the Soviets into the war or at a minimum destabilized other areas of the world, such as Eastern Europe. The Chairman's defense of Truman basically shutdown McArthur's political aspirations.
I don't mean to imply that the McArthur case is what is going on here. It's very possible that this person's managers are all just idiots. What I'm suggesting is that he take a breath and try to better understand the pressures and perspective of people he works with. I find that the majority of people I work, even those I'm not impressed by, mean well and cursing them out isn't moving the strategy, profits or even that particular conversation in a positive direction. (That doesn't mean I haven't gotten mad and lost it. I have. It's just those aren't my proudest moments.)