It really bugs me that virtually all of the top-rated comments here are petty attacks on the author. This was better written and more interesting than 90% of the puff pieces I read about startups, here or elsewhere. I don't see why it merits such a mean-spirited response.
I think the comments here are a great example of why women don't want to be in this industry.
It was interesting in a "Watch a car crash" type way. If you're short on cash, you don't have a "House manager".
It doesn't sound like she makes a good CEO to me at all. Not because she's a woman, but because firstly, she is spending more money than she should be, and secondly, because she sounds like an emotional wreck.
Most people in that situation would be emotional wrecks.
I agree with you that her business seems very unsound, but she should get massive points for being honest and sharing this with people so others can learn from those mistakes.
Most people are not good CEOs. Her story is just written from a much more human angle than the other "not good CEO" stories that show up on HN.
You're right dude, it's the patriarchy, it isn't that she:
*makes a living blogging (and is part of that circle)
*wastes money
*essentially has no other skills
*writes like a pierced emotion
*embellishes everything (how can you be truthful about your life when all you do is blog?)
*is not level-headed (wish she was my CEO!)
*is running a goofy business
*contributes nothing to this business beyond her money and her celebrity
If Fred Wilson or Mark Zuckerberg wrote this blog post how would people react? The only reason you're defending her is because she is a woman, and, in fact, you've been sucked into her 'read my blog' trap. You need to check yourself man, because it sounds like you have some mushy ideas in your head.
This is about a FAILING BUSINESS, not about which extracurricular gets equal time down by the quad.
She could be the melodramatic manager of a nail salon, for all I care. The point is, she wrote a good article about the emotional toll of not being able to make payroll.
Her chosen profession, spending habits, personal life -- nothing else is relevant to the discussion.
From what I can tell, the attacks have very little to do with her being a woman and everything to do with her personal spending habits, chasing hype for a living & embrace of cliches, fluff words & low brow writing. Coachology? Thought leaders? Gen Y? The "I will Teach You to be Rich Scholarship"?
That's my point -- the attacks have nothing to do with the content of the post, and everything to do with judgments that people here are making about her personality and habits.
I think the comments here are a great example of why women don't want to be in this industry.