Ummm. This seems like a huge overreaction. Do you think the founder of Figma -- which is still worth $B's, making him obscenely wealthy 'on paper' (but 'on paper' in a way that most wealth is counted) -- plus, he likely sold enough via secondaries during the later rounds to be set for life -- is bemoaning his career path?
Furthermore, there's something like 20k M&A deals / yr completed in North America alone, the majority that are still life-changing wealth creation events for the founders.
So don't despair - 1 problematic anti-competitive M&A deal blocked by the government does not signal the end of entrepreneurship in the US.
What I find most sad about entrepreneurship is that almost all the successful founders appear to have been 'chosen' by a famous VC or investor. It's almost like what you do doesn't really matter. I've seen some 'chosen entrepreneurs' keep failing and they keep getting second, third, fourth chances and eventually succeed. Being chosen seems to be the most important element for success. But how to become chosen? It seems so random, in a world of 8 billion people, you need to be hand-picked by one of maybe 100 people... And the criteria is weird; basically they need to like you and for that to happen, you basically need to remind them of a young version of themselves... Which is not something you can control.
If you're very different, none of the famous investors will like you (that's assuming they even learn about your existence) and your chances in this industry will be very bad.
Hey friend - you're wrong on this, although I understand how it might be comforting to think this is all some vast elite conspiracy.
The reality is that you "become chosen" by building a company that is growing very quickly in a big market. That's it.
Most successful startups didn't wait around for some name-brand VC to pick them (that's the most anti-entrepreneur mindset I can think of). The big funding happens much later than the initial traction and momentum.
Yes, you have to be personable enough to be able to talk to clients, investors, recruit top talent, etc -- but that's not the VC arbitrarily choosing whether they like you or not -- that's a cold reality of being a great founder.
I don't believe that for a second given how tightly controlled all the social media and search engines algorithms are. I've never met anyone ever who built a successful software company who wasn't well connected to some elite.
How is that a comforting thought? It's difficult to imagine anything more disturbing. At least if I admitted I was just a failure by my own hand, it would be much easier as I could try to improve myself. It would look like there is a small chance. That would be far more comforting.
Furthermore, there's something like 20k M&A deals / yr completed in North America alone, the majority that are still life-changing wealth creation events for the founders.
So don't despair - 1 problematic anti-competitive M&A deal blocked by the government does not signal the end of entrepreneurship in the US.