Comments on: SGN Founder’s Rambling, Jetlagged, Semi-Lucid and Beautiful Email On Entrepreneurism

By: Fede Gascón » Shervin Pishevar

Fede Gascón » Shervin Pishevar — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 09:10:13 +0000

[...] como Crystian y Shervin, van a dar vuelta esa situación. Es interesante como Shervin pasó por Irán, USA, Europa y ahora está por Argentina y mirando el video me dá la sensación de que su gran talento es sacar [...]

By: Chris Albinson

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 04:22:38 +0000

shervin – I totally get it. Been in Eastern Europe a couple of times over the years – the place has strange way of driving you to reflection – never a bad thing. You rock for putting it out there!

By: tough luck

tough luck — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:19:28 +0000

Being delusional is NOT in the job description. Maybe all the investors who have wasted their money should double-check that.

By: Innovation Freak » Entrepreneurial Manifesto

Innovation Freak » Entrepreneurial Manifesto — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 04:58:26 +0000

[...] posted an article about an email sent by SGN founder Shervin Pishevar on the entrepreneurial [...]

By: Mona

Mona — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:22:15 +0000

Beautiful post… thanks for putting in print some of the feelings of an entrepreneur.

By: VC’s Gloom Means New Internet Entrepeneurs’ Boon » Dogster Inc. Company Blog

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:46:28 +0000

[...] as serial entrepreneur Shervin Pishevar so eloquently reminded us in his great entrepreneurial missive, the Horatio Alger spirit is no longer the American Way, it’s the Global Way. It’s not [...]

By: ellen

ellen — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:36:20 +0000

I read every response. Not that I have the time, but the combative posts beckon me to play… It’s intriguing, so many people cared who wrote this article and why. It’s not necessarily admirable to be naive about who’s trying to sell you what out there, and it’s almost fun to play cop—can’t get anything by me!—but on the other hand, a less burned approach to literature is relaxing. Ignorance can be bliss and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, am I right? I can’t enjoy villanizing others when I’m reading and relating to a personal essay, the cynical outlook just isn’t healthy considering the text alone is actually quite pleasant. And human. But because this author has incited such controversy among those familiar with him, let’s dissect… I get the idea his being a passionate person (positive or negative) is undebateable. All the more reason for the reader to believe he’s for real about the moment he’s in. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I doubt the article alone is going to convince masses of people to follow its author and his product and I also don’t think it’s going to score many brownie points; as all response posts have indicated, such efforts would be transparent. If this is true, the author’s said self-serving intent only does so much damage, agreed? However, flip side. The positive force this article awakens can stimulate readers’ emotions, imagination and intellect, regardless of author’s intent. Entrepreneurs and artists, perhaps all humans alike understand the rise of the feeling we call passion that comes from being handed opportunity, being permitted to do the work you love, feeling lucky for that, making sacrifices for that. It seems clear to me here that the author is in the midst of that euphoria. Whenever I have such an experience I think, ‘what would it be like if I could feel the value of all my work every day just like I do in this moment?’ Meaning, one doesn’t achieve an ‘invaluable world service’ high when doing 99% of daily labors, but every once in a long while—sometimes when we’re sleep deprived or successful—we encounter a perspective that lets us believe that what we have to offer might matter. I think it’s a wonderful gift for a person to bear witness to a sense of proof regarding the worth of their personal contributions or others’. That said, don’t get carried away. Work and passion can be like a drug, and create a false sense of pride and glamorize excessive self-sacrifice. Moderation tends to be difficult for passion-driven people and they’re proud of it. But the way I look at it, passion is just passion, art is just art, drugs are just chemicals and that can be what highs come down to (no pun intended). Borrowing the author’s passion-fed facebook praise to illustrate my point– Yes, facebook is a big deal and behind it is a big cause. But how big? As much as it materializes it’s worth. As much as any ‘friend’ sees in it and takes from it and believes in it. It is a successful tool connecting millions of people around the world and enabling these individuals’ personal efforts and causes to take flight (and I’m sure, other stuff I don’t even know). This is a monumental achievement and for reaching this new height, facebook has secured a place in history. Its story and evolution are without a doubt fascinating. Hey, I can be passionate about that, why not? My spirit is uplifted in believing in such an enterprise and at wondering what it ‘could mean’, how far its implications extend, where it’s going, what’s next?, etc. But even with all this building a pedestal, is the passion-backed product the be all end all? Is it ‘IT’? It’s not. Facebook won’t in and of itself complete a social life. At the end of the day it doesn’t hug you, tuck you in, make love to you. And there are many wise people not living life in the fast-paced work arena that are content without it too. It is everything that you choose to make it, yet it’s not practical for it to comprise one’s everything. I work in music and onstage and to me, performance art is transcendent. Sometimes it is healing, prompting discussion or entertaining. Maybe this comforts the soul, wonderful! But at its best, it is only what it is and I think adopting that kind of detachment is critical, especially when one embarks on a career dedicated to their passion. Because there is and will always be more to a person than their passion. Life is important. Sleep is important. Balance is important. Character is important. Yes, passion is special. But passion can be stupid. It can be cowardly and unwise, can be not edgy, not mature, not sexy, not meaningful, not constructive, not superior. And in this world, we should all keep ourselves in check. Realize we all contribute, not just a few. Every person makes a potentially huge impact, not just those graced with credit or the conviction passion ignites. We’re all making sacrifices and experiencing things, not just artists, extremists, workaholics and those with insomnia. Thanks for sharing posts everyone, very thought provoking.

By: r

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:55:04 +0000

i dunno… i worked for shervin for a brief time and noticed he has a knack for finding clever or heavy-handed ways of making news, is obviously good at extracting money from VCs and knows how to stir things up and get people talking … about, well, his companies. i wonder: isn’t that sort of in the job description?

By: anon

anon — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:06:53 +0000

sad but true – were he only the kind of leader at his past companies that this mail implies those companies and employees would be so much better for it.

By: Multi-Player Games With Only Actionscript - Down the Foxhole

Multi-Player Games With Only Actionscript - Down the Foxhole — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:42:34 +0000

[...] you believe multi-player games will usher in a new world order like SGN’s founder Shervin Pishevar, there is no doubt games have the power to shape our culture as did the first Nintendo. Godspeed [...]

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:59:04 +0000

Isn’t that even more remarkable? That Zuckerberg took widely used technology, and applied it to imitate websites that were already out there, and still was able to capture such market share?

By: potatp

potatp — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:48:55 +0000

startups and entrepreneurship american inventions?
zuckerberg a genius?
the world looking up to america?

wat? wat?

appreciate the sentiment behind this letter… kinda…. but its an over emotional late night rant written in a hotel room while alone.

sweeping statements and traces of delusion of grandeur identified….

i think he means well, but really slow news days are plaguing TC or what.

if human struggle, triumph, cunning, love, hope and innovation inspires you, all you have to do is open your eyes and you will see it everyday, in every corner of the earth. i thought it was a bit arrogant to assume that the world is picking up ideas from the american dream etc. its all very presumptive and reeks a little bit of late night sentimentality.

looks like this guy had a slither of a spiritual moment. but as far as those go, this is pretty tame. if the carousel scene from Mad Men exemplifies the message of this cloying missive, i don’t see how anyone would find anything new or revelatory in this.

as someone earlier succintly said – “DUH”.

By: D Lucian

D Lucian — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:59:33 +0000

Don’t dilute the brand ?! Why don’t we just get in line like a bunch of lemmings and follow our fearless leader who had the only good ideas the world is capable of having.

I agree with the others who are giving you possibly more credit than you deserve by saying you are self-delusional and/or trying to get us to believe that you’d buy the swill that you’re selling.

By: wtf

wtf — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:02:00 +0000

I’ve heard many of the same things, all from his own employees… the guy seems like a real ass.

Mike, you go talk to some of the people this guy was worked with… esp. the scores of people that have left him.

By: Anon

Anon — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:09:10 +0000

All this over a trip to a third world country to find outsourced staff that’s cheaper to run and easier to control than in-house staff? This is the worst crap ever posted on TechCrunch (and I remember the early days). I guess I can understand the need, though… Shervin already lost half his company when they got fed up with his delusions or were fired for not sharing them.

By: tryboy

tryboy — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:45:26 +0000

in light of the wall street meltdown this is the best piece of entertainment yet – by the way the youtube post was the best part – how about that for making the world a better place?

By: JR

JR — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:02:28 +0000

“Facebook, the Palo Alto-based social networking giant, has hired high-profile Washington lawyer Ted Ullyot as its vice president and general counsel, the Los Angeles Times reported. Ullyt, a former White House lawyer in the Bush administration who helped coordinate the response to the investigation into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity, will join Facebook next month. He also has served as the chief of staff to former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.” Can’t help but wonder whether this an example of a Facebook staff member who will be “driven by a higher mission and cause”?

By: whatanidiot

whatanidiot — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:39:41 +0000

What an idiot. If you company is not going anywhere (like his previous ones) suck up. All talk no game. what a fool

By: Andy Pettitte

Andy Pettitte — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:10:06 +0000

Loved the article uo until he sucked up to the facebook crew. SGN builds Facebook applications. Facebook is now making it very hard for app developers to make money. Maybe his ass kissing will get him some help in this area or he aspires to have Facebook buy his simple games.

I do respect his passion though.

By: oh no you didn't

oh no you didn't — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:08:04 +0000

if you want a comment call his current pr – they probably had no clue he was going to eff this up.

By: mark sendo

mark sendo — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:23:07 +0000

i think the post represents the cultural shift and feeling today, our own self-importance as bloated from within. FB is awesome but seems self serving to be pointing out specific people. I couldn’t finish the read as i was getting nauseous. Maybe i was a little jealous my name wasn’t mentioned which circle’s back to my opening line, “our own self-importance”:)

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:49:26 +0000

Roi – a much more heart warming account – congratulations

By: Brainstorming Inspiration » Entrepreneurial Manifesto

Brainstorming Inspiration » Entrepreneurial Manifesto — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:25:21 +0000

[...] posted an article about an email sent by SGN founder Shervin Pishevar on the entrepreneurial [...]

By: Worst guy

Worst guy — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:56:01 +0000

Oh come on. Shervin stop commenting on your own posts.

By: Prash

Prash — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:54:35 +0000

Roi! your story is more touching & authentic.