This post was either written entirely by chatGPT, or mostly. Multiple instances of "...this isn't just X - it's Y."
"The contrast isn't just economic — it's philosophical."
"family wealth isn't just an advantage in entrepreneurship — it's often a prerequisite"
"entrepreneurial success isn't just about fairness — it's about creating more pathways for the next generation of innovators"
This fact doesn't undermine the value of the article - but it is frustrating for the level of LLM authorship to get to the point where I can spot this in a number of HN posts.
It seems to me that many entrepreneurs are people who have substantial safety nets, where failing over and over isn't likely to ruin them
The narrative is always that they are bold risk takers, but I think the reality is that it's much easier to take risks when you are insulated from consequences
Personally, I experienced something like this in the past. I moved to a new city to try and start over at 27 years old after struggling for several years where I was. I was employed at a startup in my new city. The founder/CEO was a guy who I can only describe as enormously privileged. His parents were bankrolling him, he owned multiple properties, and he had a successful business in another industry that he built using his father's connections. He was also only a couple of years older than me, who was broke and kinda desperate
I was broke and needed to be able to afford my rent. So I had to insist that he pay me a salary, which he reluctantly agreed to do, and in exchange he basically gave me no equity in the company even though I was basically the technical lead. I was making mid-five figures and less than 1% equity as a "founding engineer" in a pretty well funded startup attempt
Maybe I would have been building my own businesses if I had the same kind of family wealth and support that he had, instead of being a fairly desperate employee
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"family wealth isn't just an advantage in entrepreneurship — it's often a prerequisite"
"entrepreneurial success isn't just about fairness — it's about creating more pathways for the next generation of innovators"
This fact doesn't undermine the value of the article - but it is frustrating for the level of LLM authorship to get to the point where I can spot this in a number of HN posts.
It seems to me that many entrepreneurs are people who have substantial safety nets, where failing over and over isn't likely to ruin them
The narrative is always that they are bold risk takers, but I think the reality is that it's much easier to take risks when you are insulated from consequences
Personally, I experienced something like this in the past. I moved to a new city to try and start over at 27 years old after struggling for several years where I was. I was employed at a startup in my new city. The founder/CEO was a guy who I can only describe as enormously privileged. His parents were bankrolling him, he owned multiple properties, and he had a successful business in another industry that he built using his father's connections. He was also only a couple of years older than me, who was broke and kinda desperate
I was broke and needed to be able to afford my rent. So I had to insist that he pay me a salary, which he reluctantly agreed to do, and in exchange he basically gave me no equity in the company even though I was basically the technical lead. I was making mid-five figures and less than 1% equity as a "founding engineer" in a pretty well funded startup attempt
Maybe I would have been building my own businesses if I had the same kind of family wealth and support that he had, instead of being a fairly desperate employee