> Giving up before you even start just because it’s harder for you than someone else, that part doesn’t help.

Doesn't help with what? In general, when you have your choice of direction, choosing a direction that plays to your strength instead of a direction where you are starting out handicapped compared to competitors can certainly help with your chance of success.

If we ignore the specifics about it being about the background you were born into, I think we'd all agree taht there are some people who exist who because of personal charecteristics or even personality are ill-suited to be startup founders, and have a poor chance of success, and maybe shoudln't do it, right?

It's just when we don't ignore that we are talking about social position specifically, in America we want to believe this can't be true because of your social position, we want to believe everyone has an equal chance regardless of social position. This is an ideology though, not based on observation. An ideology that says you have to pretend it doens't matter, not even identify the challenges to overcome.

So if you know you're going to have a harder time being successful than others, and that of course most startups fail anyway, and maybe you want to try it anyway after evaluating the risk and what will happen to you if you fail, but maybe you say actually, no, I don't want to do the thing that is already very risky and I have an additional handicap for... maybe instead of being a founder I'm going to look for someone else's startup to join, or maybe I'm going to try to work at a FAANG instead -- when you say it "doesn't help", what do you mean -- it doesn't help who do what? And who would it help to do what if you were to insist upon doing it even though it will be harder for you than someone else?

I think you’re conflating 2 different things.

You mention adjusting tactics and strategies, even goals, based on circumstances. This is what “playing the cards you have” is. You do what you can with what you’ve got.

Giving up before you start doesn’t help because it’s a shut down. You don’t even get to the part of assessing viability and weighing risk.

The point is that if you want a change on whatever dimension you choose to care about, you have to do something. What that something is depends on the cards you have. How far it can take you again depends on circumstances.

And it’s fine to not want to do things. Or see the costs and decide that kind of life is not for you. But at least you took the time to evaluate.

> Giving up before you start doesn’t help because it’s a shut down. You don’t even get to the part of assessing viability and weighing risk.

Now you're adding "before you start", who said that until you did? Ok, what if instead you've gotten to the part of assessing viability and weighing risk and then decided not to go down that path, of, say, founding a startup.

> What that something is depends on the cards you have. How far it can take you again depends on circumstances.

Right, perhaps depending on circumstances that something is not founding a startup.

I don't totally understand what we're disagreeing about. Or what you mean when you say "it doesn't help" -- help who do what?

I would say deciding your circumstances make it harder for you than others to found a startup, thus it would make more sense to join someone else's startup or look for a job at a FAANG or something instead -- could at least conceivably "help". Help you find a path that works better for you to find success. I'm not sure what you mean by your repetition that it "doesn't help", as, like, a logical a priori.

> Now you're adding "before you start", who said that until you did?

That was already in the comment your own (G)GP[1] was a reply to, so they're certainly not adding it "now."

> I don't totally understand what we're disagreeing about. Or what you mean when you say "it doesn't help" -- help who do what?

As I was going to reply to your (G)GP[1]: Help anyone with whatever it was they didn't even start on doing. Be it running a marathon or starting a company or... What does it matter? Isn't it obvious that if you never start training for a marathon, that won't help you run one? And that the same goes for starting a company -- if you never even start starting a company, then you'll never get to the point of having started a company? And the same for anything you might want to do?

What I don't understand is how anyone can honestly claim not to understand that.

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[1]: Grandparent of your comment that I'm replying to; great-grandparent of this my reply.