Comment by sayemm | Hacker News Reader

Comment by sayemm | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

The irony is that most startup blogs are written and maintained by failed entrepreneurs. Despite their exalted status in the tech scene, look closely at their bio and you'll be surprised that they have yet to really prove themselves as entrepreneurs. It's far easier said (or blogged) than done.

It's like the affiliate marketer, the self-help guru, or the Dr. Phils of the world who've made a name for themselves only by selling you and others into it. There are several startup blogs and schools of thought that I'm thinking of here that are no different.

It's like the publishing industry. For every great book or blog you read there are thousands of other crappy ones. People in the startup/venture business who have the strongest track records though are also the same people who write the best startup advice.

That's why I love reading posts by Mark Cuban, PG, Paul Bucheit, Derek Sivers, Fred Wilson, Howard Lindzon, Andy Swan, the list goes on... real wisdom is always hard-earned.

"The irony is that most startup blogs are written and maintained by failed entrepreneurs."

In the last six months or so, I've felt the same way about a lot of the users here on HN. It's a joke amongst my friends who also read this site that we wish there was a "PROVE IT" button next to each comment... just as a way to tweak all of the people who like to talk like they've come down the mountain with stone tablets to tell us how to do things.

That's not to say that everyone here who has taken the time to offer advice and suggestions to others is full of it, of course. Yet I still think you should hesitate to take a lot of what people say with any degree of importance until you know that their background justifies it.

Meh. I maintain a blog on startups/motivation/minimalism/etc. "Failed" is just your negative way of seeing that they haven't been successful yet. I blog for all the reasons listed here: http://techneur.com/post/524363996/the-best-exercise-any-ent... In short: to learn, get feedback, and document my experiences.

How cool would it have been if you could go back and read Mark Cuban's blog or PG's blog before they were successful? Don't you think that even reading about their struggles before they were successful might help to keep you motivated as you may find yourself with similar struggles?

I only have a gripe with bloggers who post as if they know what the hell they're talking about but don't have any real past success to back up their assumed authority.

I bet if you looked back at the posts of anyone who's a real success today before they proved themselves you wouldn't see them preaching as if they know everything. I think that's a big problem in the startup/venture business, some people seem to develop larger personalities online than they do offline.

This thread, and my response to it, was related to giving out startup advice. I'm not against blogging at all and I think it's great that you're doing it. I plan on starting a blog soon myself, but until I earn my stripes I'll always think of myself as a student.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com