You're not replying to what he said, you're replying to what you think he said. He didn't say that founders "risk their lives in the same way soldiers in a war do"; he said, "A start-up changes a person in the same way a war does."

Sure, war can change a person in ways that a start-up never will -- if a soldier loses a limb for example. But do you really, honestly think that andrew was trying to imply that start-up founders might lose limbs? Or do you think he could have been just speaking to the point that the constant stress and frequent highs and lows of running a business can have a powerful effect on someone's personality?

There have been a lot of threads recently on how to improve HN. Here's a good one: let's try reading other people's comments as charitably as possible, and respond to that, instead of imagining a point that they weren't making and then arguing with that.

It's obviously metaphorical/hyperbole.

Over 2M US soldiers were deployed in Iraq, with ~4.5K deaths and ~21K wounded, a rate of 0.002% for death and 0.01% for wounding. Significantly higher than the rate in start-ups (I presume), but lower than climbing Mount Everest.

Yeah, but it's so much more romantic to think of start-ups as literally comparable to being a foot soldier on the front lines.

It's not as extreme as something life-threatening like war or cancer, but it's a lot of stress to endure for an extended period.

And the stakes are pretty high: lose lots of money and possibly your spouse divorces you.

I know at least one person who died in 2009 due to stress caused by business problems. This happened after two years of intense pressure and suffering. Depression, not eating well, not sleeping enough and other factors converged. One morning a stroke followed by a series of heart attacks ended his life.

I have personally ended-up in the hospital with intense palpitations due to a combination of stress, lack of sleep and dehydration all as a result of business issues. There's nothing wrong with me or my heart, today I regularly swim 1500m and participate in Master's competitions and training. Over time I learned to deal with business stress in various ways (swimming is part of it).

So, yes, it isn't military service but don't make the mistake of thinking that stress-related disorders --and even death-- are monopolized by soldiers.