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Somehow, it seems like making money and making meaning are two sides of a Mobius strip. They are really the same thing, although they appear to be different. Fooling oneself into thinking they really are separate things is harmful to the wealth of an entrepreneur.


I agree with that. I think they are closely related.

However, my experience is that as entrepreneurs we can lure ourselves into thinking that bringing good to the world and building a great company is the end and not the means. And if we do that, then money will follow. This is the primary message from Guy Kawasaki whom I have tremendous respect for.

However, my own experience is that this is true is if the stars and moons are aligned. So I am offering an alternative which is to focus on making money first.

This is in contraction to what a VC would want to hear. But I am of the opinion that taking VC money is not the prerequisite of building startup.

At the same time, I am not trying to demonize VC's. They have a place in our world and when appropriate, it can be very important to us.

In summary, I just want to provide some food for thoughts.

Thanks for your comment.

--Denny--


I think the ontology goes more like this.

Meaning is the metadata people derive from experience. It's always there, but it's representation becomes significant when people communicate.

Money is an efficient representation of a promise, which is a special kind of communication between people.

Money is the embodiment of a specific kind of meaning.


I don't know, what about criminals? They make money, too, but do they make meaning?


It depends entirely on the criminal ... ;-)




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