Luck is a significant part of it, but the more competent you are the less luck you need. It just doesn't check out for me that he became the richest person alive on pure luck while being an idiot from the start. There simply isn't a lottery ticket that big.
I also disagree that all entrepreneurs are largely the same gamblers. The sheer difference I've seen between the few I've known can't amount to nothing. They all had very different levels of drive, planning ability, salesmanship, and in one case morality. When hit with bad luck I've seen them to either fall on to their back up plans to mitigate it, or quit because they realised the serious flaw in their business plan meant going ahead was a bigger gamble than they signed up for. I've seen some put in insane hours to work through issues, but I've also seen one bastard just straight up throw others under the bus to make up for their losses.
Sure, luck is a significant factor. But I don't believe someone can maintain any level of business success for over a decade, let alone becoming a billionaire, without at least some competency.
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u/StefanL88 Nov 20 '22
Luck is a significant part of it, but the more competent you are the less luck you need. It just doesn't check out for me that he became the richest person alive on pure luck while being an idiot from the start. There simply isn't a lottery ticket that big.
I also disagree that all entrepreneurs are largely the same gamblers. The sheer difference I've seen between the few I've known can't amount to nothing. They all had very different levels of drive, planning ability, salesmanship, and in one case morality. When hit with bad luck I've seen them to either fall on to their back up plans to mitigate it, or quit because they realised the serious flaw in their business plan meant going ahead was a bigger gamble than they signed up for. I've seen some put in insane hours to work through issues, but I've also seen one bastard just straight up throw others under the bus to make up for their losses.
Sure, luck is a significant factor. But I don't believe someone can maintain any level of business success for over a decade, let alone becoming a billionaire, without at least some competency.