Last fall Esther Dyson wrote that we as entrepreneurs should be careful not to define ourselves in terms of each other, and that countries should be careful not to be envious of Silicon Valley, but rather encourage their own styles of entrepreneurship.

Esther wrote, the hero-entrepreneur myth is dangerous because it can be counter-productive.

I've been thinking in the context of 106 Miles whether too many startups hurt themselves by comparing themselves to other startups.

In response to Esther, Bryce Roberts asked us to consider what success means.

He wrote in all sincerity, dog poop bags can be a successful business.

I will summarize that as:

Every business has to find its own way not by comparing itself to others but by being the best it can be.

...which means that it is up to the founders of a business to define what success means for that business, not in comparison to others.