Are Startups Useful?

Recently I had a conversation with a college student that stuck with me. This person had previously worked for a start up for a few years and I assumed that once he graduated that he’d be anxious to jump back into that world. He’s just the kind of intelligent, thoughtful, and hard working person who could potentially thrive in the start up community here in Bay Area. So it’s with good reason that when I asked him if he’s going to try to try to join another start up upon his graduation his answer surprised me. He said that “It doesn’t seem to be very useful...” After a brief pause he resumed and said “…or at least not more useful than doing nothing.” That struck me pretty hard. As someone who has only worked for start ups his whole career I should have been ready to argue against his statement but I had trouble doing so. Is it true? Are we really helping anything? I’m sure there are young companies and young entrepreneurs out there who are making a positive impact, but they seem pretty far and few between. Sometimes it’s hard to think of most companies than much more than a money grab.

I’m probably being pessimistic and I’m almost definitely wrong, but I think it’s important to think about if the actions I choose to take help more society forward. If they don’t then I need to change what I’m doing. Maybe that means getting a job that’s isn’t so cushy. Maybe that means getting paid less. Maybe that means having to go back to school. I don’t have an answer for myself yet, much less for other people. All I know is that this conversation had woke me up a little bit and made me think twice. I hope I can do the same for you.