> Excluding outliers such as Gates/Zuckerberg, is the inference that a good hacker can make more from the market directly actually valid?
No, it is not.
It makes a huge number of assumptions without bothering to mention them: that the hacker is equally skilled at public relations, marketing, business management, financial management, and on and on. Running a business -- even a relatively simple one -- requires much more than, "sit down and write great code for 12 hours a day, six days a week."
As the business grows towards that $3 million / year figure, the number of business-y things that have to be successfully managed also grows.
Yes, there are stories of people who have done it (e.g., Minecraft) -- and yet, on further investigation, you often find that there's a lot more to the story than there appears to be (Angry Birds). Still, these are the exceptions, the breakout successes, and it's as foolish to go into business for yourself expecting this kind of outcome as it is to walk into a casino and expect to walk out as the big winner of the month.
I think that trying to distill the entire process down into whether or not you're a "good hacker" ignores all of the other talents and luck that are required, and also really diminishes the perception that any business acumen is required for that kind of success.
While I agree with you that not everyone can make a billion dollar business I can't help but think that there ARE people they did it. That other people already did it doesn't mean that you will do it the same way. These thinks require a lot of luck and much more hard work.
BUT what I want to say is non of these people made a billion dollar business because they want to make billion dollar business. No, they did it because they found finally something they thought people on earth do need. Some of them were wrong (like most of the weekend projects on HN will die because of monthly costs ect.) but a few of them were right and did it.
If you want to play this coke game then you should it and you should do it with a fun project, with a project you think the world needs, with a project you would love and whole bunch people too.
BUT make sure that you know that you don't have to play this game. There is also a way to make great money (not billions tough). If you want to go into the million dollar business you could dig into cooperate e-business stuff. These may not be fun and you can't program in Haskell but if do it big you will get your money. There is a lot of room for smart people you just need to say what they want you to say and make them happy. This will let you make so much money you wouldn't have thought about.
In recent weeks/months there was some discussion over the connotations of the term "hustler." To be succesful, you have to put forth the effort (hustle) in every single area of a business.
The assumption made is that skill (and determination) alone can lead to success. It can, but you need the determination in all other areas outside of hacking alone.
No, it is not.
It makes a huge number of assumptions without bothering to mention them: that the hacker is equally skilled at public relations, marketing, business management, financial management, and on and on. Running a business -- even a relatively simple one -- requires much more than, "sit down and write great code for 12 hours a day, six days a week."
As the business grows towards that $3 million / year figure, the number of business-y things that have to be successfully managed also grows.
Yes, there are stories of people who have done it (e.g., Minecraft) -- and yet, on further investigation, you often find that there's a lot more to the story than there appears to be (Angry Birds). Still, these are the exceptions, the breakout successes, and it's as foolish to go into business for yourself expecting this kind of outcome as it is to walk into a casino and expect to walk out as the big winner of the month.
I think that trying to distill the entire process down into whether or not you're a "good hacker" ignores all of the other talents and luck that are required, and also really diminishes the perception that any business acumen is required for that kind of success.