Life isn't fair. We're all born into different means and of course more money allows for more optionality. The "poor kids" have to work harder to save up their money to get their chance, but that's completely possible and is the majority of those who start companies.

This article is the typical BS that assumes "entrepreneurs" only do SV startups or want a big exit. The actual reality is that there are millions of small businesses out there, full of hard working entrepreneurs who saved and sacrificed, and are perfectly happy growing modestly and providing for their family. That's the prize that many chase, and many do end up winning.

I like this metaphor, with one modification:

The "poor kids" working at the carnival get unlimited free throws.

Because that's what it's like in Software right now. There has never been an industry before where the market rate is so high for individual contributors, and the real cost of starting a business are so low.

Software is a Perfect Storm of near-zero overhead and near-infinite execution leverage as compared to pretty much any other type of business.

So sure, you're right that a poor kid working at a Shoe Store can, over the course of his lifetime, open between zero and one shoe stores. But a poor kid who takes his self-taught programming skills and gets a job writing code 40 hours a week can moonlight out several hundred Minimum Viable Products if necessary until something hits big.

So yeah, it's darts. But if you throw lots of them, you'll probably hit something.

Right, and letting everybody see some lucky person win once in a while sort of perpetuates the delusion that it could be you, the guy standing on the sidelines.

Ultimately, it's cheaper for whoever owns the tent to let one person win every once in a while then to just let everybody lose.

I may be stretching the analogy but yeah.

That is a brilliant analogy. I would add that some kids may naturally have a better arm, so success is not solely correlated with number of tries you can afford.

Then why are such a high percentage of entrepreneurs immigrants from poor countries? Sure the rich kids have it easier. But it's not that difficult to live cheaply for awhile to pursue a business if you are motivated.

It might just be cultural. Rich successful people encourage their children to be successful like they were. It could be genetic. Those immigrants I mentioned go through a fairly difficult and selective process to get into the country. They have higher IQs and conscientiousness than average. Factors which are both fairly heritable, and correlate very well with success in life. Meritocracy rewards the most able and driven. But no one said ability and motivation were distributed fairly.

Yup, if you want to hit the big time, you have to try, and try, and try again and again and again, and never give up. This is what I'm repeatedly told. Trying again is expensive though.

To extend the metaphor even further, sometimes the ones with the money spend so much winning the prize that they could have simply bought it outright.

this analogy completely breaks-down at the beginning and at the end, as it implies that poor people are somehow running a scam to rip-off the rich! Everyone knows that carnival games are rigged, like casinos.

However, it is true that rich people can afford to take more risks (and therefore stand to gain more) for the same amount of hard-work.

The really interesting cases, to me, are the Jan Koums and J K Rowlings of the world.

I'm just shocked at what this message board has become. All I see now are endless stories and comments on high rent, inequality and politics. Just yesterday tons of people were complaining about how much money a startup was spending on marketing as if development should be the only expense.

Not rich? Work smarter - you probably have a much better perspective on what the masses need / use than a rich person does. Convince a money man to invest in your ideas.

Rent is too high? Consider the chances your SV startup will make you a millionaire are near 0. You may want to live elsewhere.

Don't like your elected officials? Tough shit, 50% of the country does or doesn't.

Your boss or management sucks? Chances are they think you suck too. Find a new job you enjoy and are appreciated. Work culture is like dating and not everybody is compatible.

Nature and the universe aren't fair. Don't expect anything to be given to you.

I just wish this site was about technology and ingenuity, now it just sounds like a bunch of grovelling losers, upset they won't hit a 1M+ active daily users.

How many throws did Mark Zuckerberg have? Sergey and Larry? Elon Musk? I'm not saying life is fair, but you shouldn't generalize like this.

This comment highlights the victim mindset that seems to be more and more common these days... I've been on Hacker News for 6 or 7 years and it is only the past 2 or 3 that the notion that everything should be "fair" has taken such a deep hold. It is one of the major reasons I am starting to lose faith in this country.

We have a generation of people that thinks every person can be rich, successful or famous... and if they aren't then they are a victim somehow.

Perhaps they are. But the issue I have is that this type of thinking is fundamentally unproductive. The barriers that have been broken have been done so by achieving success despite the odds, and becoming a role model ... not through whining. Equality is only achieved when people obtain power and change things. Power requires being successful and valuable to whatever society exists, not complaining.

EDIT: I guess I take issue with the fact that "life" is being compared to a dart game. It's just not the case. You can reduce it down to "throwing darts" ... but that is a very pessimistic way of viewing the world ... and it's quite sad. I've seen so many "rich kids" who were total nut cases and poor kids who were able to overcome the odds through their character. Reducing the human condition down to the amount of wealth is excessively simplistic. I agree that rich kids might get a few percentage points of help (maybe 5-10%) but if you come from a middle class background you can still become a billionaire and sometimes even if you're dirt poor. What other country let's you do that? yes my screenname is "Stanfordkid"... I came from a very poor family and am not some entitled brat. The fact that that was the first thing people pointed out I think speaks to the way in which people are trying to reduce everything down numbers or labels that are in fact, very complex.