{"id":180715,"date":"2017-01-24T19:28:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-25T00:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2017\/01\/24\/being-born-on-3rd-base-and-thinking-that-you-hit-a-triple\/"},"modified":"2017-01-24T19:28:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-25T00:28:00","slug":"being-born-on-3rd-base-and-thinking-that-you-hit-a-triple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2017\/01\/24\/being-born-on-3rd-base-and-thinking-that-you-hit-a-triple\/","title":{"rendered":"Being Born on 3rd Base and Thinking That You Hit a Triple"},"content":{"rendered":"

It turns out that the single most statististically segnificant characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is that they come from rich families<\/a>:<\/p>\n

<\/span>
We\u2019re in an era of the cult of the entrepreneur<\/a>. We analyze the Tory Burches<\/a> and Evan Spiegels<\/a> of the world looking for a magic formula<\/a> or set of personality traits<\/a> that lead to success. Entrepreneurship is on the rise<\/a>, and more students coming out of business schools are choosing startup life<\/a> over Wall Street. <\/span>

<\/span>But what often gets lost in these conversations is that the most common shared trait among entrepreneurs is access to financial capital<\/a>\u2014family money, an inheritance, or a pedigree and connections that allow for access to financial stability. While it seems that entrepreneurs tend to have an admirable penchant for risk, it\u2019s usually that access to money<\/a> which allows them to take risks<\/a>. <\/span>

<\/span>And this is a key advantage: When basic needs are met, it\u2019s easier to be creative<\/a>; when you know you have a safety net, you are more willing to take risks. \u201cMany other researchers have replicated the finding that entrepreneurship is more about cash than dash,\u201d University of Warwick professor Andrew Oswald tells Quartz. \u201cGenes probably matter, as in most things in life, but not much.\u201d<\/span>

<\/span>\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

For creative professions, starting a new venture is the ultimate privilege. Many startup founders do not take a salary for some time. The average cost to launch a startup is around $30,000<\/a>, according to the Kauffman Foundation. Data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor show that more than 80% of funding<\/a> for new businesses comes from personal savings and friends and family. <\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing your dreams is dangerous,\u201d a 31-year-old woman who runs in social entrepreneurship circles in New York, and asked not to be named, told Quartz. \u201cThis whole bulk of the population is being seduced into thinking that they can just go out and pursue their dream anytime, but it\u2019s not true.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m not surprised, but I am a bit disgusted. <\/p>\n

We need to understand that much of the sociology of success in the US, as it is everywhere, boils down to nepotism and tribalism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It turns out that the single most statististically segnificant characteristic of successful entrepreneurs is that they come from rich families: We\u2019re in an era of the cult of the entrepreneur. We analyze the Tory Burches and Evan Spiegels of the world looking for a magic formula or set of personality traits that lead to success. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[365,364,597,606],"class_list":["post-180715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-business","tag-evil","tag-inequality","tag-sociology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180715"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180715\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}