Are We Risk Averse?

Michael Arrington’s blog is normally a News venue. It doesn’t carry a lot of thoughtful analysis.
However, he wrote an article recently called The Twice Shy Entrepreneur which is thought provoking.

His core question is, are the entrepreneurs who were around before the dotcom crash risk averse compared to those that came after the crash? In other words, is the new generation at an advantage for not having been burnt yet?

I would be interested in your thoughts, while I share some of mine.

In many ways, naivete can be an advantage. You don’t know what you don’t know. You have very little to lose, so what are you risking anyway? In all those ways, becoming an entrepreneur when you are very young and inexperienced is a HUGE advantage.

Later in life, especially if you have achieved a few things, you have a lot more to lose. If you have any reputation at all, then a failure would be a pretty visible one, and that often keeps people from taking risks.

Personally, I will say this, that I am far more comfortable today, knowing what I know, and making decisions based on that knowledge, than when I was naive and vulnerable. I remember times when I knew I was being screwed in negotiations, but I didn’t have the ammunition to fight back. I simply didn’t have the experience, and THAT WAS a humongous disadvantage.

There is, however, only one way to learn. That is, by doing it. And I would say, starting to do it early is a good idea, because you get many chances to hone your art.