In this clip from REWORK: start a business, not a startup.

Alan reads DHH and Jason Fried on the tech-world “startup”: expenses are someone else’s problem, revenue is never an issue, and you spend other people’s money until you figure out how to make your own — a place where the laws of business physics don’t apply. Their line lands hard: a business without a path to profit isn’t a business; it’s a hobby. Actual businesses deal with bills and payroll. Alan adds his own tension — he grew up without speaking the language of money, ambition dulled, and he’s only now learning the value of a dollar. Whatever you build, get paid for the work.

Founder translation: don’t confuse fundraising theater with a company. If your plan only works while someone else covers the burn, you don’t have a business yet — you have a hobby with a pitch deck. Charge. Ship. Cover the bills. Control stays with the people who take revenue seriously.

Start a business. Not a startup that postpones reality.