While what Khallil has done isn't easy and some may admire it, this article made me frustrated and sad. It's like an extreme example of how out-of-whack priorities in Silicon Valley can be.
For one thing, it conflates raising money with success. Funding shouldn't be an accomplishment to celebrate. At worst, it's an indication that your model will never work. At best, it's an indication that your model doesn't work at its current scale -- which still means it may never work.
For another, it perpetuates the idea that starting and running a company is more important than one's health. It sounds like the founding team was living the low-sleep, high-stress lifestyle that many founders do. This is why so many VCs prefer young founders: they gleefully jump into the meatgrinder instead of wringing their hands and worrying about their children/mortgages/etc.
But in Khallil's case, he did have a reason to avoid that lifestyle: his health. While I doubt his lifestyle caused his cancer to come back, it couldn't possibly have helped.
And not to be too morbid, but what if he had died from his cancer? If he were my relative and spent all his last months working on a business that (let's be honest) isn't exactly making the world a better place, I'd be furious. How many human lives are easier tire changes worth? I'd say zero.
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[ 2.8 ms ] story [ 10.4 ms ] threadFor one thing, it conflates raising money with success. Funding shouldn't be an accomplishment to celebrate. At worst, it's an indication that your model will never work. At best, it's an indication that your model doesn't work at its current scale -- which still means it may never work.
For another, it perpetuates the idea that starting and running a company is more important than one's health. It sounds like the founding team was living the low-sleep, high-stress lifestyle that many founders do. This is why so many VCs prefer young founders: they gleefully jump into the meatgrinder instead of wringing their hands and worrying about their children/mortgages/etc.
But in Khallil's case, he did have a reason to avoid that lifestyle: his health. While I doubt his lifestyle caused his cancer to come back, it couldn't possibly have helped.
And not to be too morbid, but what if he had died from his cancer? If he were my relative and spent all his last months working on a business that (let's be honest) isn't exactly making the world a better place, I'd be furious. How many human lives are easier tire changes worth? I'd say zero.