PG essays aren't going to change, he isn't going to write exclusively about startups and he has no conflict of interest. One of his main messages in the past was "You don't have to take a corporate job like people may have advised you to, you can start your own company". I don't think his stance on that has changed, he just doesn't have to say it as loudly. Dorm room startups have become part of the cultural zeitgeist and the word has gotten out. Oscar winning movies have been made about prototypical startup founders, everyone has become familiar with the companies, the people behind them and the amount of money that they make. If you told someone at a cocktail party that you were going to start a software company back when PG wrote some of his first essays, you would have been looked at as a crazy risk taker. Now someone will say "Going to make a billion dollars, huh?". PG hasn't changed, the culture around him has.
Any conflict of interest is marginal at best. Paul Graham is in a situation where more startups will help his business interests, but only by a little bit. He's already built a world class brand and he doesn't need to hype it up like a late night tv commercial pitch man. It wouldn't change his financial standing if he did, and that's just not his personality. He's too smart, too wise and has much more to lose from damaging his image and reputation than he does to gain by convincing yet another college kid to start yet another photo sharing site. "his co-founder wife" won't be mad at him if he tells people not to start companies, or to start companies, or to study art instead. Make no mistake: Paul and Jessica are grown and highly intelligent people. They are in a place where petty greed isn't going to influence their decisions in any way.
Paul Graham is not a perfect man, but he sure as hell isn't weak minded. He's incredibly careful and he's usually right. All of his essays may not hit the mark, but I'm always looking forward to the next one.
Human beings are affected by conflicts of interest. Not weak minded people, not immature or stupid or unwise or careless people. People. All of them. It's how the heuristics in our evolved brains work.
I agree, if you have a view of people being rational actors, then Paul Graham seems like the kind of guy who would be able to rise above this kind of thing. We now know that this model of human behaviour is a fantasy. These types of biases affect your thoughts before they rise to conscious awareness.
Comments
PG essays aren't going to change, he isn't going to write exclusively about startups and he has no conflict of interest. One of his main messages in the past was "You don't have to take a corporate job like people may have advised you to, you can start your own company". I don't think his stance on that has changed, he just doesn't have to say it as loudly. Dorm room startups have become part of the cultural zeitgeist and the word has gotten out. Oscar winning movies have been made about prototypical startup founders, everyone has become familiar with the companies, the people behind them and the amount of money that they make. If you told someone at a cocktail party that you were going to start a software company back when PG wrote some of his first essays, you would have been looked at as a crazy risk taker. Now someone will say "Going to make a billion dollars, huh?". PG hasn't changed, the culture around him has.
Any conflict of interest is marginal at best. Paul Graham is in a situation where more startups will help his business interests, but only by a little bit. He's already built a world class brand and he doesn't need to hype it up like a late night tv commercial pitch man. It wouldn't change his financial standing if he did, and that's just not his personality. He's too smart, too wise and has much more to lose from damaging his image and reputation than he does to gain by convincing yet another college kid to start yet another photo sharing site. "his co-founder wife" won't be mad at him if he tells people not to start companies, or to start companies, or to study art instead. Make no mistake: Paul and Jessica are grown and highly intelligent people. They are in a place where petty greed isn't going to influence their decisions in any way.
Paul Graham is not a perfect man, but he sure as hell isn't weak minded. He's incredibly careful and he's usually right. All of his essays may not hit the mark, but I'm always looking forward to the next one.
Human beings are affected by conflicts of interest. Not weak minded people, not immature or stupid or unwise or careless people. People. All of them. It's how the heuristics in our evolved brains work.
I agree, if you have a view of people being rational actors, then Paul Graham seems like the kind of guy who would be able to rise above this kind of thing. We now know that this model of human behaviour is a fantasy. These types of biases affect your thoughts before they rise to conscious awareness.