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Downtown Project Suicides Shock High Tech Community
HughPickens.com writes Nellie Bowles writes in Recode that three of the most prominent high tech entrepreneurs involved with Tony Hsieh's project to build a startup city in Downtown Las Vegas have recently committed suicide, sending the tight-knit community into a tailspin. In January 2013, Jody Sherman, the 48-year-old founder of Ecomom, one of the most prominent Vegas tech-funded startups, shot himself while in his car. His company had been going south. In January 2014, 24-year-old Ovik Banerjee, who was part of the first Venture for America group in Vegas and an integral member of the Downtown Project team, leapt from his Town Terrace apartment in downtown. In May 2014, Matt Berman, the 50-year-old founder of Bolt Barber, the flagship shop at the center of the Container Park, was found in his home in an apparent suicide by hanging. Whether or not the suicides are statistically significant, the deaths have clearly shaken the entrepreneurs.
According to Alyson Shontell, in a social media age where word of success and failure travels fast, entrepreneurs say it's harder than ever to run a company — and it's harder than ever to fail. "It was a hell of a lot of work for not a hell of a lot of return," says Dave McClure, an investor in Ecomom and the entrepreneur behind investment firm 500Startups. "And then there are days when you sit in a corner and cry. You can't really do anything else. You don't have a social life. You don't really want to interact with family and friends because there's just not much context for them. Your world revolves around your startup and it's all about trying to survive and not look like an idiot in front of employees." "In the past, failure was very contained," another entrepreneur says. "When you failed, you felt bad around your family, the people you raised money from, but it wasn't as public. Failure in an era of social media and social video and global events is a very public thing. Jody [Sherman] put himself out there this time and became very respected for what he was doing. That possibility of very public shame is something that didn't exist before." Brad Feld writes that if you are ever considering committing suicide, reach out to someone and ask for help. "It's ok to fail. It's ok to lose. It's ok to be depressed. If you are contemplating suicide, get help. If you have an entrepreneurial friend contemplating suicide, do your best to get them help."
According to Alyson Shontell, in a social media age where word of success and failure travels fast, entrepreneurs say it's harder than ever to run a company — and it's harder than ever to fail. "It was a hell of a lot of work for not a hell of a lot of return," says Dave McClure, an investor in Ecomom and the entrepreneur behind investment firm 500Startups. "And then there are days when you sit in a corner and cry. You can't really do anything else. You don't have a social life. You don't really want to interact with family and friends because there's just not much context for them. Your world revolves around your startup and it's all about trying to survive and not look like an idiot in front of employees." "In the past, failure was very contained," another entrepreneur says. "When you failed, you felt bad around your family, the people you raised money from, but it wasn't as public. Failure in an era of social media and social video and global events is a very public thing. Jody [Sherman] put himself out there this time and became very respected for what he was doing. That possibility of very public shame is something that didn't exist before." Brad Feld writes that if you are ever considering committing suicide, reach out to someone and ask for help. "It's ok to fail. It's ok to lose. It's ok to be depressed. If you are contemplating suicide, get help. If you have an entrepreneurial friend contemplating suicide, do your best to get them help."
Think of it as a stealth mode startup seeking to disrupt the living paradigm.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
You're talking about Vegas here. I seriously doubt that three guys all decided they couldn't handle the failure of a project like this.
All three methods of suicide are suspect as well.
I lived in Vegas for years and it's a really shitty town. I wouldn't be surprised at all to find some corruption behind it all that was coming to light.
Suicide? Meh...
How does "providing eco friendly and organic products to moms who desire an eco-conscious lifestyle for themselves and their children" amount to being a member of the "high tech community"? How does real estate development or running a barber shop make you a member of the high tech community? All these people are businessmen, and their troubles seem to be due to bad business decisions. No "high tech" involved, except perhaps that they were hoping that they could sell to "techies".
While the thought of loans from corrupt sources comes to mind as a catalyst, I believe there are other reasons. (this is Vegas, and while Corporations are now the Casino hoods instead of Cosa Nostra, hoods will still make you short-term, high interest loans featuring successful collection agents)
Business IS business.
These people were living their dream, too close to the bone.
1. Never Marry Your Business. That's like marrying your hammer or pocketknife, it is a tool. If it doesn't work , replace it. You are not there to serve it as a marriage partner. It will never fullfill this role and you will waste your life trying. If you spend your life trying and failing, you aren't interested in what you are doing. If you learn from your mistakes and others mistakes, you can't help but climb.Your business that you love is still a soul sucking vampire that will drain you and leave your husk to rot in a ditch. Avoid giving it priority above family, health and other dreams you have. Sacrifice is for chumps.
2. Build your BIG business from smaller businesses and investments. This gives you throwaways to practice your chops with and if they fail, you have learned with one of many baskets of eggs, not the whole hen house. Keep yourself the main investor in the Big One, sell off other ventures as your time and profits demand.
3. Avoid investors in the BIG one, unless you want to retire. Even then, keep a vast majority of it unless the rat race appeals to you less than that island you've been eyeing.
4. Short of transgressing ethics, take every positive break you can, incorporate with the government as little as possible and be honest in your dealings. You are only as good as your word. Even accomplishment is second to this.
5.Go with your intuition every chance you get.
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
I just don't understand this idea.
Why would you have only one chance? Why would your life from that point forward just suck forever? I left college before I got a degree the first time and started doing database development. The company never did well but also was not horrible and managed to survive overall. However I got bored of it and decided to go back to school.
I just graduated with a degree in chemical and biological engineering, solving a problem for a major biotech company, I am now in Germany about to starts a Master's degree and PhD and some of the experts I know expect I will start at the mid to high six figure range when I get out. That is also if I don't choose to go the startup way where I could make massively more than that.
This was after just doing database development for about 10 years and deciding to go back to school. Sure I was the older person in the class but nobody cared and nobody seems to care now and my experience has been very helpful.
This idea that you only have one chance should be taken out back and shot the way it deserves. You have as many chances as you want and you can always try again.
Computer modeling for biotech drug manufacturing is HARD!
I just don't understand this idea.
Why would you have only one chance? Why would your life from that point forward just suck forever?
A couple things here.
You are 100 percent correct, We will all fail at something. It's what we do afterwards that counts.
People have checked out early forever, who knows the guys rationale or lack of it
But here's what I think is a looming problem. Young people, at least in the US, have come through the batshit insane High self esteem/zero tolerance schooling system. They've had it drilled into their heads the not quite contradictory, but close to it concepts of "You are the most special person in the world", and "If you are caught smoking the the bathroom, it will go on your permanent record, and you'll end up living under a bridge", and They'll be expelled and their life completely ruined if you accidentally bring a spork to school.
So these poor kids get out of school not only thinking that they are the most special thing on earth (while not having earned that self esteem yet) and thinking that there is no tolerance for error. Failure is forever. So many crash and burn, and that self esteem takes a big hit.
Time will tell how the kids will react. Fortunately we have pharmaceutical companies selling maintenance "leveling" drugs, I guess. Still, that has to be a nasty hit to the ego. I failed at a few things in life, but I already knew I was a dumshit, and not to be all that surprised or dismayed.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
People who haven't been suicidal just don't tend to understand it very well. Those who contemplate suicide are well beyond the point where they can rationally see a future without intolerable pain whether that's physical or psychological. They typically just want to end that pain and cease to be. They don't feel like they deserve the respect you're talking about - they believe their loved ones are better off without them. And in any case they are often beyond caring about what others are going to think of them (those are the ones who won't leave a note - they figure what's the point).
Chronic stress causes overt brain damage which reduces the cerebral cortex's ability to regulate the lymbic system. When you are too stressed for too long, you literally lose emotional control. This is a fact of neurology, and has nothing to do with your mindset or strength of will.
Once this has happened, something like depression is deadly. It isn't just feeling sad; it warps your perception of reality to the point where suicide actually seems to make sense. Simple clear rational thinking stops being possible because your brain is too damaged for it, at that point. The painful muscle cramps, panic attacks, and insomnia that go along with depression only make matters worse.
Running a business, especially in this cartel-dominated economy where it is nearly impossible to get your foot in the market's door, creates precisely the sort of endless stress that will cause this.
The only good news is that the brain damage is reversible; the brain will heal itself if given enough time (measured in months) without high stress levels. But an entrepreneur scrambling to keep his (or her) company afloat will not have such an opportunity.
It hasn't much to do with rational thinking. Mental health is not something that we are conditionned to think about. Among other things, it relies heavily on a fine balance of chemicals in the brain. You have been able to think of your circumcstances rationally, and your are better for it. However, stress can easily lead to despair for various poeople, even if their circumstances are not as dire as those of others. Just as some people may be consumed by rage for no good reason.
Mental health is tricky, and I am certainly not an expert on the subject or on how to maintain it. Hopefully as a society we can move on from it being a taboo subject to people being able to routinely seeking help or just evaluation. How many tragedies could be avoided then?
I like my dinosaurs feathery, and my pterosaurs hairy (or is it pycnofibery?)