In Defense of Starting a Bad Business

When we focus excessively on scaling, on profit margins, on hiring, we miss the point of founding—and life, really. Which is to find meaning in our daily tasks.

Founders, in my experience, tend to mistake “investing in” for “worth doing.”

Andreessen and Horowitz argued that,

“It is just as hard to start a small boutique thing that means nothing in the world and build it as it is to build a world dominating monster. It's no more work to do the latter, so we were never interested in anything but the latter.”

I’m not interested in empire or wealth, I’m interested in paying my bills and spending every minute of my time on labor that brings me delight. I may never change the world, but my company makes my world—and the world of my customers—that much richer and more beautiful.

When we focus excessively on scaling, on profit margins, on hiring, we miss the point of founding—and life, really. Which is to find meaning in our daily tasks.

Founders can create their own jobs and do these daily tasks themselves, which means they are even more blessed than the regular populace. You can create any company you want! Which is to say... See more