It's no more dangerous to "do a startup" now than it's ever been, it only seems like it's harder because everybody is doing the same stupid fashion/flash sale/monthly curated box of shit startup ideas.
A successful business finds a need or desire in the market place, solves the need or fulfills the desire, and people pay for its products or services. The principles haven't changed, nor has the percentage of the population capable of creating sustainable businesses. I think the author is confusing causality. He is speaking as if the number of startups coming online somehow affects the viability of other startups. That isn't really so. If you can create something people will pay for and are able to scale it sustainably, you will succeed.
What has changed is people's expectations. Whereas it used to be that people understood that building a successful business was a process of years of hard work without a reliance on investment money, nowadays it is assumed that if you aren't a millionaire after six months you've failed. I think Jeff Bezos said that just by taking a long-term approach to your business you instantly make the vast majority of the competition irrelevant.
A successful business finds a need or desire in the market place, solves the need or fulfills the desire, and people pay for its products or services. The principles haven't changed, nor has the percentage of the population capable of creating sustainable businesses. I think the author is confusing causality. He is speaking as if the number of startups coming online somehow affects the viability of other startups. That isn't really so. If you can create something people will pay for and are able to scale it sustainably, you will succeed.
What has changed is people's expectations. Whereas it used to be that people understood that building a successful business was a process of years of hard work without a reliance on investment money, nowadays it is assumed that if you aren't a millionaire after six months you've failed. I think Jeff Bezos said that just by taking a long-term approach to your business you instantly make the vast majority of the competition irrelevant.