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Comment by caveman82 | Hacker News Reader

The article's fault is not that the message itself is overtly obvious, it's that it neglects the more important question of: Why there will always be a large number of entrepreneurs in spite of the low success rates of starting a business and the enormous amount of work, dedication, and "luck" required to be immensely successful.

But that would be opening up an economic/philosophical can of worms that is neither here nor there.

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> Why there will always be a large number of entrepreneurs in spite of the low success rates

Visit Las Vegas or lotto ticket booth and chat to people... it will clear up a lot of things.

I've played blackjack in vegas, and I am also working on my web app these days. The latter is relatively harder

This isn't a very good comparison.

I applaud the fact that the post is advocating a bit of realism (something which is in short supply in the entrepreneurial world). I also don't deny that there is an element of luck in succeeding. But it's _not_ a total crapshoot. There is a lot more variance and room for planning in a business than there is sitting at a craps table.

I think on average people who at least try to start a company and work to build something are not comparable to people sitting on their asses pouring quarters into slots or lottery tickets.

The question you are asking has a very obvious answer, because people are willing to take their chances in hopes of becoming rich. Look at the number of people trying to become actors/actresses or hope to make it big as a professional basketball/football/baseball player or heck even become a drug dealer. It's simple economics.

The potential rewards are great and most folks over estimate their ability.

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