[extropy-chat] Why Australians will never be prosperous

[J. Andrew Rogers]

Amara wrote:
> Whether it is true or not, perhaps it is a fashionable concept
> presently..
> Didn't Steve Jobs say this at Stanford recently? I keep seeing
> references in the news to this 'hunger' aspect of entrepreneurs.


The descriptive of "hungry" has been in use since I first moved to
Silicon Valley, some 15 years ago.  It is not a new adjective in the
entrepreneurial world, and certainly not in Silicon Valley.

Many (most?) people think they meet this description, but few actually
do in practice.  I would say maybe 10% of all startup inclined
individuals actually qualify based on my personal experience, which is
not exactly limited.  The very best crucibles are startups that
bootstrap to profitability over several years rather than being funded
early.  They will often have a 3-4x staffing turnover along the way due
to people who couldn't cut it, but there is always a small number that
can handle the whole ride from inception, no matter where it takes you.
 Those people are "hungry".  If you are starting a new company, the
ideal personality type is someone who has survived that kind of fire in
the past as one can generally be fairly certain they will survive the
diamond anvil that is the startup business.

In a nutshell, it is some combination of high competence and a
constitution of steel in the face of extreme adversity.  Most people
cannot take that kind of beating for very long.  The ones who can
survive that environment for years on end are worth their weight in gold
in a startup environment.  Those people are "hungry".


cheers,

j. andrew rogers