

Entrepreneurship Sucks - brownie
http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2011/11/entrepreneurship-sucks.php

======
endtwist
This article reeks of inexperience and just a dash of sour grapes.

 _Supplier got the order wrong? Your problem; you fix it. Sales team can't get
their act together (despite a wonderfully choreographed song and dance
routine)? That's on your shoulders. People fighting? Smooth things over.
Someone is only working at 103% efficiency, not pumping out enough likes and
tweets and check-ins? All you to handle._

Yes, that's called being in charge. If you can't handle it all and have the
means, _delegate_.

 _Brief edit:_ turns out this guy went to my school and is a friend-of-a-
friend. Did some due diligence and friend says he's just trying to provoke a
reaction (aka "troll"). He is, says my friend, "one of the hardest working
people" he knows. Nothing to see here.

~~~
jpdoctor
> _This article reeks of inexperience and just a dash of sour grapes._

My diagnosis is even worse. His basic mistake is "I'm like me; therefore,
everybody is like me."

To choose one specific example: "Supplier got the order wrong? Your problem;
you fix it." Ever worked in a union shop, John? You are _forbidden_ from
fixing it, and you get to visit the supply foreman who will delegate to
somebody (x2 or 3) before the order gets fixed, so go do something else for a
few weeks. Stuff like that drove me up a friggen wall.

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tluyben2
[let's feed]

Some people might have this experience. I'm not one of them. I love being an
entrepreneur for the reasons he indicates. And I don't see or have those
negatives.

John Petersel seems to have failed as entrepreneur (or maybe he never tried,
which is even worse writing stuff like this...), but I think I make more money
than him, have more free time, spend more time with my family, actually manage
my company instead of 'doing everything myself' (as he seems to suggest). And
I do what I love and have always done that. Life's too short not to.

Some people shouldn't be entrepreneurs, luckily not everyone wants to, but
writing crap like this...

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peterselj
Hi guys - author (Josh) here.

Thanks for reading and commenting. Even the negative stuff is appreciated. I
thought I'd leave you a quick response.

First, I'm thrilled that you thought to do a brief background check, and found
me. I can offer some explanation to some of the conclusions you've drawn based
on the article and otherwise.

The most important note that I think gets lost in translation: In its original
form (appearing in Harvard Business School's newspaper), the piece is a
satire. Specifically, it's a response to a series of events that painted a
particularly gushy and fuzzy picture of entrepreneurship. As many of you were
quick to point out the holes in an article that was blatantly and exclusively
negative, I had merely been acting likewise to the opposite prompt. Also,
lamentably, much of the piece's humor had to be edited out for the broader
internet audience (unless you suspect you'd appreciate quips about the
eccentricities of HBS's staff & curriculum). In the given context, and even in
the broader context, much of your criticism is certainly valid.

endtwist- I think "trolling" is a bit harsh, but yes, the goal is to provoke a
discussion. Mission accomplished? I'm happy to hear that some mutual friend
has vouched for me. And yes, given a broader scope and bigger word count, the
art of delegating would certainly have been investigated at length.

jpdoctor- I understand your point. No, I've never worked in a union shop
(sorry!). My argument was that, in some strange, perverse way, having such a
burden lifted (as in your union shop illustration) is a nicety compared to the
stresses of ultimate responsibility. But again, I can see why this might not
be the case.

bdrocco- Yep. You're right.

MJR, brownie- Yep, you found me. Sorry about the typo- publishing the article
on RWW was done through a third party. Though I can't claim to be a venerable
authority with decades of experience, I hope my credentials (and brief
explanation above) can add a little more worth to the piece.

tluyben2- I don't think I failed as an entrepreneur. And I most definitely
tried. (I suppose the edited version of the article's second doesn't really
make this clear, but I did continue to work full time after graduating from
undergrad.) Without a doubt you make more money, have more free time, etc.
etc. than I do - do bear in mind that I'm currently a student. That all said:
much like you, I was in love with what I did, and look forward to re-entering
the entrepreneurship field some day in the future. Thanks for commenting.

GFisher- Sorry for baiting you. But yeah, you're absolutely right.

rdl, chr15- technically I wasn't a 2+2, though most of the structure is
accurate. As for "accomplishing nothing," I suppose it depends on your
definition of accomplishment. And again, the article doesn't totally make it
clear that I ran my company full-time, expanded operations cross-country, and
exited via sale in the two years between now and my time in undergrad. Not
your typical consulting background, but I think HBS likes to bring in a few
strange people for diversity.

bodegajed- I'm with you 100%.

moocow01- I'm with you 115%.

Everyone else- thanks, too.

Cheers.

------
bodegajed
The author needs to understand that being an entrepreneur is not about the
result. Steve Jobs said in his bio "The reward is the Journey." It's the
excitement of what's in store for the future.

~~~
moocow01
Agreed - I think his fundamental 'flaw' may be be his MBA-ness meaning he is
looking for the efficient, predictable, safe way to make money for the
organization which in this case is himself. Its been said over and over but
for the majority of people entrepreneurship is typically not the 'best' way to
make money or going to make one materially wealthy beyond their wildest dreams
- in most cases its probably going to be better for your spreadsheet if you
just get a normal job. BUT a normal job 9 times out of 10 does not 'pay'
anywhere close to the things one will get out of an entrepreneurial effort
that is the right fit (meaning doing what your passionate about, living your
life your way, etc.)

------
GFischer
"I can't see why you wouldn't rather sit back in your ergonomically-designed
desk chair, crack a beer you bought on the company's expense account, and cut
your biweekly salary checks that could feed a family of five for three
months."

I know that's bait, but I can't help falling...

Maybe that's true for the author (or someone Harvard-educated), but here in
the third world, enterpreneurship sounds a lot better when you see that a
"dream" job like mine pays U$ 15.000 after taxes (and yes, people think I'm
mad because I want to quit).

I do have job security people in Spain or the US might only dream of (six
months' severance plus a year's salary if I'm fired), but being secure in a
dead end isn't my dream life.

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MJR
Who is the author? What are his credentials? What has he built? With a blank
page for a bio, no other authored articles and a Google search that returns
next to nothing, this article is worth just that - next to nothing.

<http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/author/john-petersel.php>
<http://www.google.com/search?q=John+Petersel>

~~~
brownie
It looks like RWW made a typo with the author - his name is Josh, not John.
Searching for "Josh Petersel" "Harvard Business School" will turn up a bio
<http://averyjoshblog.wordpress.com/about-josh/>

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zerostar07
You suck as an entrepreneur ergo entrepreneurship sucks.

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rdl
How so you graduate from a mid-tier school with an undergraduate business
degree in 2009, then get into Harvard Business School in a couple years later,
without having anything noteworthy as a job in between?

~~~
chr15
Probably through Harvard's 2+2 program, which accepted its first class in
2009. The 2+2 program permits undergrads to apply to HBS. If accepted, you
agree to work 2 years then go to HBS for 2 years.

I've had a couple of friends that were accepted in 2009, and they speculated
the 2+2 program had as high as a 30% acceptance rate in its inaugural year
since it wasn't well publicized.

That's my guess.

~~~
rdl
Wow, that sounds like a really bad innovation for HBS; the other way in used
to require 2-3 years of high-end consulting work, or 4+ years of normal work.

They're bigger than most business schools already (900 students in the
class?). Why are they doing this?

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dlf
So, this article is saying that entrepreneurship is hard. Just because
something is hard doesn't mean it sucks. Anything worth doing is hard. Living
a life of ease is boring as hell.

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TDL
The author's attitude towards salaried work, let alone entrepreneurship, is
awful. If that really is his attitude and I was his manager, he would be fired
with in six months.

~~~
forensic
this is why your employees hate you and constantly talk bad about you to your
own boss.

Did you hear about the quiet mutiny being arranged to have you pushed out when
John is distracted by his vacation?

Didn't think so.

~~~
tfb
I'm a little bit confused by your comment. Do you know something about the
grandparent I don't or were you speaking figuratively as if you or the GP were
an employee alongside John/Josh?

Edit: Wait I think I get what you're saying. I had just assumed the GP had no
boss so it didn't make any sense.

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pknight
Waste of time. Author just wanted somebody to read his pseudo-polarizing
superficial drivel.No substance to be found

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josephmosby
Honestly, if the author line had said "Tyler Winklevoss" I wouldn't have been
surprised. This individual has confused "responsibility is hard" with
"responsibility sucks," which is a very poor comparison to make if you want to
do anything well.

------
jeisenberg
If entrepreneurship was easy, everyone would do it. That's all there is to it.

~~~
herval
it really seems EVERYONE is doing it these days...

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nullsub
hahaha i hope this guy is ready to be purified by a storm of angry frustrated
entroporn enthusiasts

