5 ms·

Or to have parents to seed said company. Not sure why you got downvoted. It’s easier to say “Go do what JK Rowling did” than to say “Go do what Elon did” lmao.

Or to have parents to seed said company. Not sure why you got downvoted. It’s easier to say “Go do what JK Rowling did” than to say “Go do what Elon did” lmao. I can write a fantasy series with $0. The same can’t be said necessarily for building companies.

WalterBright 7y ago
Musk's first company he founded with his brother got $28,000 investment from his father. It's not an outlandish amount - less than the cost of a car.
- danielg6 7y ago
  It’s still more than most people have and during a specific time in history. What you said doesn’t negate my point. There’s more involved to starting a company than money. Such as your network. Your support system. Even your race and geographic location could play a factor. Luck, etc. “You go be a 7-ft basketball player if you think it’s so easy!!!”
  - WalterBright 7y ago
    > It’s still more than most people have and during a specific time in history. The freeways around here are gridlocked with cars costing more than $28,000. > Such as your network. Your support system. Even your race and geographic location could play a factor. Luck, etc. Oh phooey. I started my company with nothing more than an IBM PC. Nobody knew my race or location - it was mail order. Want to network? Use the internet. The D development community is all over the world. On HN I regularly see extreme negativity and often outright hostility to all the opportunities all around us. What I enjoy about Musk is he likes to do things everyone else says can't be done.
    - gnaritas 7y ago
      > The freeways around here are gridlocked with cars costing more than $28,000. Yea, financed with debt over what is now typically 7-10 years. 28k of capital to invest is out of the reach of the majority of Americans. Please don't pretend that's a small amount of money anyone can come up with.
      - WalterBright 7y ago
        > anyone Somehow "most" morphed into "anyone". BTW, if you can finance $28,000 over 7-10 years, you can buy a perfectly fine $3,000 car, save up what your payment would have been, and have those funds to invest. My daily driver, for example, is 31 years old now, and is worth maybe $500. I invest the money I save (taxes, insurance, and repairs are pretty cheap for the thing, too). My not-so-humble opinion is that if you have to finance a car, you should buy a cheaper used one you can pay cash for. Financing an expensive car is a great way to never have any spare funds available.
        gnaritas 7y ago
        Oh I agree with you on the car, but this assumes you know enough about them to get a decent one for 3k; people go for newer used ones because it's a black box to them and they want something they "feel" is reliable and they don't feel that about older cars. They're wrong, but that's the nature of not understanding a thing. 28k is still out of the reach of most.
    - jacobush 7y ago
      Can't help but think about the Yorkshiremen. :)
  - danielg6 7y ago
    I can’t reply to WalterBright, but I’d say “ok boomer”.
    - WalterBright 7y ago
      Right now, there's someone in his garage starting a company that'll be worth a $billion 5 years from now.
      - danielg6 7y ago
        So you mean in the United States or some other developed country? Ok. I know you already understood what I was saying. I’m not going to argue.
        SyneRyder 7y ago
        The guy who made Flappy Bird lived in Vietnam. Sure, he's not Elon Musk, but apparently a single day of Flappy Bird ad revenue was enough to earn that $28K. It's a shame he let everyone's negativity and tall poppy syndrome talk him into killing the app, instead of riding out the wave all the way. He made something that made a lot of people happy all over the world. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-flight-of-the-birdman-flappy-bird-creator-dong-nguyen-speaks-out-112457/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-flight...
        danielg6 7y ago
        Yeah, sure. We’re talking about Elon Musk though... And whether it’s fine to say “you go do what Elon did.” It’s more realistic to say “you go do what the flappy bird guy did”. You fanboys are hilarious.
      - labster 7y ago
        Ten years from now, someone will start a billion dollar company in their rover garage on Mars because of Elon Musk.
      - gnaritas 7y ago
- sgc 7y ago
  And even that investment has been disputed - by Elon himself - as per the zip2 wiki page.
  - WalterBright 7y ago
    I got the figure from his biography. Regardless, given the shoestring conditions the company operated on, it could hardly have been a lot of money.
    - sgc 7y ago
      I am no expert, but the wiki mentions the biography and that he disputes the claim made there. You are right it is inconsequential either way.

WalterBright 7y ago

Musk's first company he founded with his brother got $28,000 investment from his father. It's not an outlandish amount - less than the cost of a car.

danielg6 7y ago
It’s still more than most people have and during a specific time in history. What you said doesn’t negate my point. There’s more involved to starting a company than money. Such as your network. Your support system. Even your race and geographic location could play a factor. Luck, etc. “You go be a 7-ft basketball player if you think it’s so easy!!!”
- WalterBright 7y ago
  > It’s still more than most people have and during a specific time in history. The freeways around here are gridlocked with cars costing more than $28,000. > Such as your network. Your support system. Even your race and geographic location could play a factor. Luck, etc. Oh phooey. I started my company with nothing more than an IBM PC. Nobody knew my race or location - it was mail order. Want to network? Use the internet. The D development community is all over the world. On HN I regularly see extreme negativity and often outright hostility to all the opportunities all around us. What I enjoy about Musk is he likes to do things everyone else says can't be done.
  - gnaritas 7y ago
    > The freeways around here are gridlocked with cars costing more than $28,000. Yea, financed with debt over what is now typically 7-10 years. 28k of capital to invest is out of the reach of the majority of Americans. Please don't pretend that's a small amount of money anyone can come up with.
    - WalterBright 7y ago
      > anyone Somehow "most" morphed into "anyone". BTW, if you can finance $28,000 over 7-10 years, you can buy a perfectly fine $3,000 car, save up what your payment would have been, and have those funds to invest. My daily driver, for example, is 31 years old now, and is worth maybe $500. I invest the money I save (taxes, insurance, and repairs are pretty cheap for the thing, too). My not-so-humble opinion is that if you have to finance a car, you should buy a cheaper used one you can pay cash for. Financing an expensive car is a great way to never have any spare funds available.
      - gnaritas 7y ago
        Oh I agree with you on the car, but this assumes you know enough about them to get a decent one for 3k; people go for newer used ones because it's a black box to them and they want something they "feel" is reliable and they don't feel that about older cars. They're wrong, but that's the nature of not understanding a thing. 28k is still out of the reach of most.
  - jacobush 7y ago
    Can't help but think about the Yorkshiremen. :)
- danielg6 7y ago
  I can’t reply to WalterBright, but I’d say “ok boomer”.
  - WalterBright 7y ago
    Right now, there's someone in his garage starting a company that'll be worth a $billion 5 years from now.
    - danielg6 7y ago
      So you mean in the United States or some other developed country? Ok. I know you already understood what I was saying. I’m not going to argue.
      - SyneRyder 7y ago
        The guy who made Flappy Bird lived in Vietnam. Sure, he's not Elon Musk, but apparently a single day of Flappy Bird ad revenue was enough to earn that $28K. It's a shame he let everyone's negativity and tall poppy syndrome talk him into killing the app, instead of riding out the wave all the way. He made something that made a lot of people happy all over the world. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-flight-of-the-birdman-flappy-bird-creator-dong-nguyen-speaks-out-112457/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-flight...
        danielg6 7y ago
        Yeah, sure. We’re talking about Elon Musk though... And whether it’s fine to say “you go do what Elon did.” It’s more realistic to say “you go do what the flappy bird guy did”. You fanboys are hilarious.
    - labster 7y ago
      Ten years from now, someone will start a billion dollar company in their rover garage on Mars because of Elon Musk.
    - gnaritas 7y ago
sgc 7y ago
And even that investment has been disputed - by Elon himself - as per the zip2 wiki page.
- WalterBright 7y ago
  I got the figure from his biography. Regardless, given the shoestring conditions the company operated on, it could hardly have been a lot of money.
  - sgc 7y ago
    I am no expert, but the wiki mentions the biography and that he disputes the claim made there. You are right it is inconsequential either way.