It's a "con game" to these folks because all of the strategies for getting VC investment is described as such. And when someone succeeds in winning the "game", these people take it personally. I would call it "resentment" instead.
For me, the dream of entrepreneurship isn't about selling my company to a BigCo (TM), or even getting VC funding. It's about building a business that will sustain my family for years to come. Exactly like businesses in my Chicago neighborhood who start restaurants, or retail shops, etc. I want to build something that I can call my own and not be dependent on an employer's paycheck. And the fear of being pink-slipped because I'm not a "young rock star ninja." I just happen to know software and GIS, etc rather than widgets. And I know it really well.
DHH has talked at length about this trend, and although it's not quite as strong in Chicago as S.V., it's still present. Many people in GenX/Y/etc aren't willing to work their asses off to build a business. Popular media and SV successes only build on this fantasy. This adds to peoples' resentment. It's like the American Dream has morphed from bootstrapping your own small business into something larger, to building something that someone else will pay you F.U. money to take off your hands. Then you can sip Mai-Tais on the beach with half-naked women wandering around. If that's your vision, then Godspeed. But don't assume everyone has that same vision.
I don't mean to sound trite, but that's not the America I grew up with. This entire forum has the undercurrent of the very idea/goal you're complaining about. Building start-ups, but let's glamorize the VC-funded ones that got lucky in the lottery. If this forum was about "bootstrapping companies" into successful small businesses, I think the tone would be very different.
Regardless, I'll keep reading HN, and taking pleasure in those diamonds in the rough that inspire my vision of America.
For me, the dream of entrepreneurship isn't about selling my company to a BigCo (TM), or even getting VC funding. It's about building a business that will sustain my family for years to come. Exactly like businesses in my Chicago neighborhood who start restaurants, or retail shops, etc. I want to build something that I can call my own and not be dependent on an employer's paycheck. And the fear of being pink-slipped because I'm not a "young rock star ninja." I just happen to know software and GIS, etc rather than widgets. And I know it really well.
DHH has talked at length about this trend, and although it's not quite as strong in Chicago as S.V., it's still present. Many people in GenX/Y/etc aren't willing to work their asses off to build a business. Popular media and SV successes only build on this fantasy. This adds to peoples' resentment. It's like the American Dream has morphed from bootstrapping your own small business into something larger, to building something that someone else will pay you F.U. money to take off your hands. Then you can sip Mai-Tais on the beach with half-naked women wandering around. If that's your vision, then Godspeed. But don't assume everyone has that same vision.
I don't mean to sound trite, but that's not the America I grew up with. This entire forum has the undercurrent of the very idea/goal you're complaining about. Building start-ups, but let's glamorize the VC-funded ones that got lucky in the lottery. If this forum was about "bootstrapping companies" into successful small businesses, I think the tone would be very different.
Regardless, I'll keep reading HN, and taking pleasure in those diamonds in the rough that inspire my vision of America.