Excellent point, but I'm not sure either his friend or father are interested in investing so they can increase the aggregate wealth of society.
That being said, I think that at the very least your father can look at it as a better investment than college if you do fail. You'll learn more in 6 months to a year building your own business than 4-5 years of college teaches 99% of people.
Plus, it can be said that Casinos increase the aggregate wealth for society as well. They are a business like any other and as valid as any Zynga, Playdom or Playfish. They are in the business of offline social gaming.
I think you misunderstood me or, more likely, my argument wasn't clear. What I really meant was that the "money" generated by startups > "money" invested in startups. Which implies that on average a startup makes more money than it loses (expected value is positive). This is opposed to gambling against the casino where on average, you lose money.
I think the venture capital industry would disagree with you as they have lost money in aggregate. I'm almost certain that if you take the last 10 years of NVCA data you will said that VCs on average lose money.
That being said, I think that at the very least your father can look at it as a better investment than college if you do fail. You'll learn more in 6 months to a year building your own business than 4-5 years of college teaches 99% of people.
Plus, it can be said that Casinos increase the aggregate wealth for society as well. They are a business like any other and as valid as any Zynga, Playdom or Playfish. They are in the business of offline social gaming.