Comments on: Redefining Risk

By: Dave Hanley

Dave Hanley — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:21:21 +0000

One key on the current venture is to find a team of people who are willing to take a risk with you. We only needed a small team, so we were very generous with equity, and the whole team chose equity over cash. So as everyone works on the project (some on the side, some full time), they have an enormous amount of skin in the game. And once it’s built, they will have a lot of motivation to make the marketing effort succeed.

It will be an interesting experiment.

By: 5 Startup Myths | nPost Blog

5 Startup Myths | nPost Blog — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:38:52 +0000

[...] a reason a lot of folks are just dreamers and not entrepreneurs, it’s just plain hard and risky. I think that’s what makes entrepreneurs special and why the journey is so fun. It’s a [...]

By: Tim Bosworth

Tim Bosworth — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:12:59 +0000

In these strained times, I think that in order to succeed risk needs to be assessed from the basic standpoint of “What’s in it for me” If you risk in any venture, you have to have an end objective, otherwise, all that is achieved is a waste of time and more often money.

By: SimpleLeap Software

SimpleLeap Software — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:17:48 +0000

I would agree with what you said, however I think most people don’t look at choosing one opportunity over another as a risk in most situations.

If you had to decide whether to play the lottery or play at the casinos in Vegas, they are both opportunities, and what comes to mind as far as risk, is how much you could lose playing either one.

I think when confronted with making a choice between two opportunities, people weigh which one has the most benefits as opposed to most risk(even though the inverse of less benefits could be more risk).

By: jim

jim — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 04:29:00 +0000

Hmmm I disagree, risk isn’t always just from failure, there’s also opportunity cost involved. By pursuing one project, you can’t pursue another and so the risk isn’t just that you fail to succeed in the first project, but you also fail in the next best project you opted not to do. Fear does play a role but to say risk is only a factor when fear exists is incomplete.

By: The Skeptical Optimist

The Skeptical Optimist — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 04:20:15 +0000

Risk is only a factor when fear exists. Fear is based upon either the unknown or concern of loss. When you have nothing, you have no fear so you can risk without concern. When you know the outcome, you do not fear as there is no risk.

Therefore…be bold. Be bold because you know that in the worst case….the only thing you can lose is money. Money can be regained but a life unchallenged will always be lost.

Davis Bae

By: Patrick is Very Evolved

Patrick is Very Evolved — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:30:29 +0000

Andy - really interesting peek into the mind of those who take risks.

I’m a neuroscientist and I’ve just written a rather long piece on my site about how the brain handles financial decisions. Turns out that entrepreneurs brains are tweaked to engage in greater risk-taking (or at least are less risk-averse).

This isn’t to be confused with being reckless - in the experiment the entrepreneurial group made sensible decisions and judged the odds of success just as well as others, they just put more money into the venture.

But of course Andy, this must be stating the obvious to someone like yourself!

Cheers
Patrick

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 07:11:23 +0000

I’m a real believer that the small entrepreneur has an advantage against the big players - they’re faster and more creative. Go for it.

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:43:48 +0000

Shannon - thanks for the comment. I’m very excited for you and Jon - it’ll be a great adventure!

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 06:42:41 +0000

Steve - love the quote.