Introduction
If you're thinking of creating a startup, you're probably going to look for promising external factors like astrological signs to determine whether a gamble into entrepreneurialism is worth the trouble. And right now, the signs look good. VCs are startup friendly, hardware costs are low, and Google is buying companies for 1.65 billion dollars. The problem, however, is that first time entrepreneurs don't necessarily succeed or fail because of outside socio-economic forces.
If you're a first time business owner, a paper by the Social Science Research Network on skill vs. luck in entrepreneurship says you, my friend, are more likely to stumble than succeed:
“Our empirical model indicates that entrepreneurs who succeeded in a prior venture （i.e., started a company that went public） have a 30% chance of succeeding in their next venture. By contrast, first-time entrepreneurs have only an 18% chance of succeeding and entrepreneurs who previously failed have a 20% chance of succeeding.”
Now, don't become too disheartened. Even though the odds say you'll mess up on your first go （and even your second）, just like walking, talking, or even snowboarding, business success comes through persistence and basically knowing more than you know now. This is why failures do better than newbies and also the reason why you （especially if you're young and without attachments） need to get your feet wet as soon as you can. To help convince you of the values of getting one under your belt, we've gathered the following five reasons why your first startup, regardless of whether it's a success or not, is more valuable than you think because of the lessons you'll learn.
引言
如果正考慮開(kāi)始創(chuàng)業(yè)，你很可能會(huì)查天時(shí)觀地利，以此判斷會(huì)否得不償失。（這么想的話）現(xiàn)在看來(lái)時(shí)機(jī)不錯(cuò)：VC們青睞創(chuàng)業(yè)公司，硬件成本越來(lái)越低，Google還剛花16.5億美金買了家公司（htmlor注：Youtube）…… 不過(guò)，首次創(chuàng)業(yè)的成功或失敗，并不一定取決于這些外界的社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)因素。
假如你是初次創(chuàng)業(yè)，SSRN的一篇文章《創(chuàng)業(yè)的技巧和運(yùn)氣》（Skill vs. Luck in Entrepreneurship）會(huì)告訴你，朋友，你跌倒的可能性很高：
“我們的經(jīng)驗(yàn)?zāi)Ｐ捅砻?，前一次取得成功（即開(kāi)創(chuàng)公司并上市）的創(chuàng)業(yè)者有30%的機(jī)會(huì)再次創(chuàng)業(yè)成功。相形之下，初次創(chuàng)業(yè)者的成功機(jī)會(huì)只有18%，而前一次失敗的創(chuàng)業(yè)者，成功機(jī)會(huì)是20%.”
即使真如這些數(shù)字所說(shuō)，你的第一次創(chuàng)業(yè)就會(huì)陷入困境（甚至第二次也會(huì)），也不要太灰心。就像走路、說(shuō)話甚至滑雪一樣，商業(yè)成功往往來(lái)自于執(zhí)著和不斷的學(xué)習(xí)、進(jìn)步——這也是敗將比新兵更容易成功的原因——因此，你應(yīng)當(dāng)盡可能的先實(shí)踐起來(lái)（尤其是年輕且無(wú)負(fù)擔(dān)時(shí)）。我們列舉以下五個(gè)理由，只為說(shuō)明一個(gè)道理：第一次創(chuàng)業(yè)不論成功與否，都比你想象的有價(jià)值的多——因?yàn)槟銓@得寶貴的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。
If you're thinking of creating a startup, you're probably going to look for promising external factors like astrological signs to determine whether a gamble into entrepreneurialism is worth the trouble. And right now, the signs look good. VCs are startup friendly, hardware costs are low, and Google is buying companies for 1.65 billion dollars. The problem, however, is that first time entrepreneurs don't necessarily succeed or fail because of outside socio-economic forces.
If you're a first time business owner, a paper by the Social Science Research Network on skill vs. luck in entrepreneurship says you, my friend, are more likely to stumble than succeed:
“Our empirical model indicates that entrepreneurs who succeeded in a prior venture （i.e., started a company that went public） have a 30% chance of succeeding in their next venture. By contrast, first-time entrepreneurs have only an 18% chance of succeeding and entrepreneurs who previously failed have a 20% chance of succeeding.”
Now, don't become too disheartened. Even though the odds say you'll mess up on your first go （and even your second）, just like walking, talking, or even snowboarding, business success comes through persistence and basically knowing more than you know now. This is why failures do better than newbies and also the reason why you （especially if you're young and without attachments） need to get your feet wet as soon as you can. To help convince you of the values of getting one under your belt, we've gathered the following five reasons why your first startup, regardless of whether it's a success or not, is more valuable than you think because of the lessons you'll learn.
引言
如果正考慮開(kāi)始創(chuàng)業(yè)，你很可能會(huì)查天時(shí)觀地利，以此判斷會(huì)否得不償失。（這么想的話）現(xiàn)在看來(lái)時(shí)機(jī)不錯(cuò)：VC們青睞創(chuàng)業(yè)公司，硬件成本越來(lái)越低，Google還剛花16.5億美金買了家公司（htmlor注：Youtube）…… 不過(guò)，首次創(chuàng)業(yè)的成功或失敗，并不一定取決于這些外界的社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)因素。
假如你是初次創(chuàng)業(yè)，SSRN的一篇文章《創(chuàng)業(yè)的技巧和運(yùn)氣》（Skill vs. Luck in Entrepreneurship）會(huì)告訴你，朋友，你跌倒的可能性很高：
“我們的經(jīng)驗(yàn)?zāi)Ｐ捅砻?，前一次取得成功（即開(kāi)創(chuàng)公司并上市）的創(chuàng)業(yè)者有30%的機(jī)會(huì)再次創(chuàng)業(yè)成功。相形之下，初次創(chuàng)業(yè)者的成功機(jī)會(huì)只有18%，而前一次失敗的創(chuàng)業(yè)者，成功機(jī)會(huì)是20%.”
即使真如這些數(shù)字所說(shuō)，你的第一次創(chuàng)業(yè)就會(huì)陷入困境（甚至第二次也會(huì)），也不要太灰心。就像走路、說(shuō)話甚至滑雪一樣，商業(yè)成功往往來(lái)自于執(zhí)著和不斷的學(xué)習(xí)、進(jìn)步——這也是敗將比新兵更容易成功的原因——因此，你應(yīng)當(dāng)盡可能的先實(shí)踐起來(lái)（尤其是年輕且無(wú)負(fù)擔(dān)時(shí)）。我們列舉以下五個(gè)理由，只為說(shuō)明一個(gè)道理：第一次創(chuàng)業(yè)不論成功與否，都比你想象的有價(jià)值的多——因?yàn)槟銓@得寶貴的經(jīng)驗(yàn)。