Thank you for sharing your analysis of what I also see as a major challenge for us to overcome (the challenge of EA entrepreneurship becoming more costly). I agree with many things in your answer, but strongly disagree with the conclusion or ‘bottom line’. It seems very bleak, like giving up. Instead I think we should be creating better systems for mentorship and vetting. There are some initiatives trying to do things in this space, such as Charity Entrepreneurship and the longtermist incubator project. I am also excited about the new management and reform of EA Funds (see for example, this post on the ways in which EA Funds is more flexible than you might think). To me, these are all positive signs that the ecosystem of mentorship and vetting is maturing a bit too. However, I think there is still a lot more work to be done in this area, and would like to see more initiatives (or better understand what those initiatives are bottlenecked on).
Also on your ‘bottom line’ - one does not need to choose necessarily between having a safe career and doing EA entrepreneurship. I’m doing both, and I think as long as you make bets that are proportional to feedback and have good contingencies, it can be done. Sometimes you do want to go ‘all out’ on an entrepreneurial venture, but you want to probably build up a track record and start with cheaper ventures first.
Thank you for sharing your analysis of what I also see as a major challenge for us to overcome (the challenge of EA entrepreneurship becoming more costly). I agree with many things in your answer, but strongly disagree with the conclusion or ‘bottom line’. It seems very bleak, like giving up. Instead I think we should be creating better systems for mentorship and vetting. There are some initiatives trying to do things in this space, such as Charity Entrepreneurship and the longtermist incubator project. I am also excited about the new management and reform of EA Funds (see for example, this post on the ways in which EA Funds is more flexible than you might think). To me, these are all positive signs that the ecosystem of mentorship and vetting is maturing a bit too. However, I think there is still a lot more work to be done in this area, and would like to see more initiatives (or better understand what those initiatives are bottlenecked on).
Also on your ‘bottom line’ - one does not need to choose necessarily between having a safe career and doing EA entrepreneurship. I’m doing both, and I think as long as you make bets that are proportional to feedback and have good contingencies, it can be done. Sometimes you do want to go ‘all out’ on an entrepreneurial venture, but you want to probably build up a track record and start with cheaper ventures first.