2/
Ideally you want to make large numbers of users love you, but you can't expect to hit that right away.
Initially you have to choose between satisfying all the needs of a subset of potential users, or satisfying a subset of the needs of all potential users.
Take the first.
Ideally you want to make large numbers of users love you, but you can't expect to hit that right away.
Initially you have to choose between satisfying all the needs of a subset of potential users, or satisfying a subset of the needs of all potential users.
Take the first.
3/
Startups create new ways of doing things (and new ways of doing things are, in the broader sense of the word, new technology).
Startups create new ways of doing things (and new ways of doing things are, in the broader sense of the word, new technology).
4/
I like to find
(a) simple solution,
(b) to overlooked problems,
(c) that actually need to be solved, and
(d) deliver them as informally as possible,
(e) starting with a very crude version 1, then
(f) iterating rapidly.
I like to find
(a) simple solution,
(b) to overlooked problems,
(c) that actually need to be solved, and
(d) deliver them as informally as possible,
(e) starting with a very crude version 1, then
(f) iterating rapidly.
5/
Figure out what the real problem is, and make sure you solve that.
And launch as soon as you can, so you start learning from users what you should have been making.
Figure out what the real problem is, and make sure you solve that.
And launch as soon as you can, so you start learning from users what you should have been making.
6/
The reason to launch fast is not so much that it's critical to get your product to market early, but that you haven't really started working on it till you've launched.
Launching teaches you what you should have been building.
Till you know that you're wasting your time.
The reason to launch fast is not so much that it's critical to get your product to market early, but that you haven't really started working on it till you've launched.
Launching teaches you what you should have been building.
Till you know that you're wasting your time.
7/
One guaranteed way to turn your mind into the type that has good startup ideas is to get yourself to the leading edge of some technology - to cause yourself, as Paul Buchheit put it, to "live in the future"....
One guaranteed way to turn your mind into the type that has good startup ideas is to get yourself to the leading edge of some technology - to cause yourself, as Paul Buchheit put it, to "live in the future"....
...You may not realize they're startup ideas, but you'll know they're something that ought to exist.
8/
What drives people to start startups is (or should be) looking at existing technology and thinking,
don't these guys realize they should be doing x, y and z?
What drives people to start startups is (or should be) looking at existing technology and thinking,
don't these guys realize they should be doing x, y and z?
9/
Founders pick bad startup ideas. Good startup ideas pick founders.
Founders pick bad startup ideas. Good startup ideas pick founders.
10/
If you want to start a startup, you're probably going to have to think of something fairly novel.
A startup has to make something it can deliver to a large market, and ideas of that type are so valuable that all the obvious ones are already taken.
If you want to start a startup, you're probably going to have to think of something fairly novel.
A startup has to make something it can deliver to a large market, and ideas of that type are so valuable that all the obvious ones are already taken.
11/
That space of ideas has been so thoroughly picked over that a startup generally has to work on something everyone else has overlooked.
Good ideas that are obvious can be replicated easily by better resources incumbents. The best ideas sound like bad ideas.
That space of ideas has been so thoroughly picked over that a startup generally has to work on something everyone else has overlooked.
Good ideas that are obvious can be replicated easily by better resources incumbents. The best ideas sound like bad ideas.
12/
It's a particularly good combination both to be good at technology and to face problems that can be solved by it,
because technology changes so rapidly that formerly bad ideas often become good without anyone noticing.
It's a particularly good combination both to be good at technology and to face problems that can be solved by it,
because technology changes so rapidly that formerly bad ideas often become good without anyone noticing.
13/
The component of entrepreneurship that really matters is domain expertise. The way to become Larry Page was to become an expert on search. And the way to become an expert on search was to driven by genuine curiosity, not some ulterior motive...
The component of entrepreneurship that really matters is domain expertise. The way to become Larry Page was to become an expert on search. And the way to become an expert on search was to driven by genuine curiosity, not some ulterior motive...
...At its best, starting a startup is merely an ulterior motive for curiosity.
14/
If you have a taste for genuinely interesting problems, indulging it energetically is the best way to prepare yourself for a startup.
And indeed, probably also the best way to live.
If you have a taste for genuinely interesting problems, indulging it energetically is the best way to prepare yourself for a startup.
And indeed, probably also the best way to live.
15/
Some founders listen more than others, and this tends to be a predictor of success.
One of the things I remember about the Airbnb during YC is how intently they listened.
Some founders listen more than others, and this tends to be a predictor of success.
One of the things I remember about the Airbnb during YC is how intently they listened.
16/
Be so interested in whatever you're building that you'd still do it even if there was only a small chance the result would be "important."
Work like a hobbyist.
Be so interested in whatever you're building that you'd still do it even if there was only a small chance the result would be "important."
Work like a hobbyist.
17/
Projects that yield great results often wouldn't seem promising to a rational person.
Fortunately some people have a compensating irrationality: they're so interested in the project that they'll work on it for its own sake. Y Combinator itself was an instance....
Projects that yield great results often wouldn't seem promising to a rational person.
Fortunately some people have a compensating irrationality: they're so interested in the project that they'll work on it for its own sake. Y Combinator itself was an instance....
...of this pattern. We had no idea if it would make money. But it seemed like a cool thing to try.
And being an instance of this pattern helped us to see it in startups that applied.
And being an instance of this pattern helped us to see it in startups that applied.
18/
If you hit the same idea from two very different directions, it's probably an important one.
If you hit the same idea from two very different directions, it's probably an important one.
19/
If you want to understand startups, understand growth.
Every successful startup is at least partly a product of the imagination of growth.
If you want to understand startups, understand growth.
Every successful startup is at least partly a product of the imagination of growth.
20/
Startups are so hard that you can't be pointed off to the side & hope to succeed. You have to know that growth is what you're after.
If you get growth, everything else tends to fall into place. You can use growth like a compass to make almost every decision you face.
Startups are so hard that you can't be pointed off to the side & hope to succeed. You have to know that growth is what you're after.
If you get growth, everything else tends to fall into place. You can use growth like a compass to make almost every decision you face.
21/
Growth is why startups usually work on technology — because ideas for fast growing companies are so rare that the best way to find new ones is to discover those recently made viable by change, and technology is the best source of rapid change.
Growth is why startups usually work on technology — because ideas for fast growing companies are so rare that the best way to find new ones is to discover those recently made viable by change, and technology is the best source of rapid change.
22/
Merely measuring something has an uncanny tendency to improve it. You'll be delighted when it goes up & disappointed when it goes down.
Pretty soon you'll start noticing what makes the number go up, & you'll start to do more of that. Corollary: be careful what you measure.
Merely measuring something has an uncanny tendency to improve it. You'll be delighted when it goes up & disappointed when it goes down.
Pretty soon you'll start noticing what makes the number go up, & you'll start to do more of that. Corollary: be careful what you measure.
23/
If there's one number every founder should always know, it's the company's growth rate.
That's the measure of a startup. If you don't know that number, you don't even know if you're doing well or badly.
If there's one number every founder should always know, it's the company's growth rate.
That's the measure of a startup. If you don't know that number, you don't even know if you're doing well or badly.
24/
The best thing to measure the growth rate of is revenue. The next best, for startups that aren't charging initially, is active users. That's a reasonable proxy for revenue growth because whenever the startup does start trying to make money, their...
The best thing to measure the growth rate of is revenue. The next best, for startups that aren't charging initially, is active users. That's a reasonable proxy for revenue growth because whenever the startup does start trying to make money, their...
...revenue will probably be a constant multiple of active users.
25/
A good growth rate during YC is 5-7% a week. If you can hit 10% a week you're doing exceptionally well.
If you can only manage 1%, it's a sign you haven't yet figured out what you're doing.
A good growth rate during YC is 5-7% a week. If you can hit 10% a week you're doing exceptionally well.
If you can only manage 1%, it's a sign you haven't yet figured out what you're doing.
26/
Focusing on hitting a growth rate reduces the otherwise bewilderingly multifarious problem of starting a startup to a single problem.
You can use that target growth rate to make all your decisions for you.
Focusing on hitting a growth rate reduces the otherwise bewilderingly multifarious problem of starting a startup to a single problem.
You can use that target growth rate to make all your decisions for you.
27/
Having to hit a growth number every week forces founders to act, and acting versus not acting is the high bit of succeeding.
Having to hit a growth number every week forces founders to act, and acting versus not acting is the high bit of succeeding.
28/
The fascinating thing about optimising for growth is that it can actually discover startup ideas.
You can use the need for growth as a form of evolutionary pressure.
The fascinating thing about optimising for growth is that it can actually discover startup ideas.
You can use the need for growth as a form of evolutionary pressure.
29/
You'll generally do best to follow that constraint wherever it leads rather than being influenced by some initial vision,
just as a scientist is better off following the truth wherever it leads rather than being influenced by what he wishes were the case.
You'll generally do best to follow that constraint wherever it leads rather than being influenced by some initial vision,
just as a scientist is better off following the truth wherever it leads rather than being influenced by what he wishes were the case.
30/
It's hard to find something that grows consistently at several percent a week, but if you do you may have found something surprisingly valuable.
It's hard to find something that grows consistently at several percent a week, but if you do you may have found something surprisingly valuable.
31/
Starting a startup is very much like deciding to be a research scientist:
you're not committing to solve any specific problem; you don't know for sure which problems are soluble; but you're committing to try to discover something no one knew before.
Starting a startup is very much like deciding to be a research scientist:
you're not committing to solve any specific problem; you don't know for sure which problems are soluble; but you're committing to try to discover something no one knew before.
32/
Work on making users love you, not investors. (And then investors will)
Work on making users love you, not investors. (And then investors will)
33/
To make something users love, you have to understand them. The bigger you are, the harder that is. So I say "get big slow". The slower you burn through your funding, the more time you have to learn. Another reason to spend money slowly is to encourage a culture of cheapness.
To make something users love, you have to understand them. The bigger you are, the harder that is. So I say "get big slow". The slower you burn through your funding, the more time you have to learn. Another reason to spend money slowly is to encourage a culture of cheapness.
34/
I can't emphasize enough how important it is for a startup to be cheap. Most startups fail before they make something people want, and the most common form of failure is running out of money. So being cheap is (almost) interchangeable with iterating rapidly...
I can't emphasize enough how important it is for a startup to be cheap. Most startups fail before they make something people want, and the most common form of failure is running out of money. So being cheap is (almost) interchangeable with iterating rapidly...
...But it's more than that. A culture of cheapness keeps companies young in something like the way exercise keeps people young.
35/
The most important way to not spend money is by not hiring people.
I may be an extremist, but I think hiring people is the worst thing a company can do. The fewer people you can hire, the better.
The most important way to not spend money is by not hiring people.
I may be an extremist, but I think hiring people is the worst thing a company can do. The fewer people you can hire, the better.
36/
Don't hire people to fill the gap in some a priority org chart.
The only reason to hire someone is to do something you'd like to do but can't.
Don't hire people to fill the gap in some a priority org chart.
The only reason to hire someone is to do something you'd like to do but can't.
37/
For a company to grow really big, it must
(a) make something lots of people want, and
(b) reach and serve all those people.
Most businesses are tightly constrained in (a) or (b). The distinctive feature of successful startups is that they're not.
For a company to grow really big, it must
(a) make something lots of people want, and
(b) reach and serve all those people.
Most businesses are tightly constrained in (a) or (b). The distinctive feature of successful startups is that they're not.
38/
Very successful startups often turn out in retrospect to have beaten the system in some sense. But that was not the path that led to them.
Their founders weren't asking "How can I beat the system?" but rather "What would be cool to build?"
Very successful startups often turn out in retrospect to have beaten the system in some sense. But that was not the path that led to them.
Their founders weren't asking "How can I beat the system?" but rather "What would be cool to build?"
39/
What you should fear, as a startup, is not the established players, but other startups you don't know exist yet.
They're way more dangerous than Google because, like you, they're cornered animals.
What you should fear, as a startup, is not the established players, but other startups you don't know exist yet.
They're way more dangerous than Google because, like you, they're cornered animals.
40/
Google understands a few other things most web companies still don't. The most important is that you should put users before advertisers, even though the advertisers are paying and users aren't. "Get all the users, and the advertisers will follow."...
Google understands a few other things most web companies still don't. The most important is that you should put users before advertisers, even though the advertisers are paying and users aren't. "Get all the users, and the advertisers will follow."...
...If you don't put users first, you leave a gap for competitors who do.
41/
Empirically, it seems the way to "avoid" work is to do kinds of work that don't feel like work to you.
The prevalence of this strategy, from Bradman to Ramanujan, is evidence that you can't change the number of hours you need to put in, only what you call them.
Empirically, it seems the way to "avoid" work is to do kinds of work that don't feel like work to you.
The prevalence of this strategy, from Bradman to Ramanujan, is evidence that you can't change the number of hours you need to put in, only what you call them.
42/
Mainly what a startup buys you is time.
If you're the sort of person who would like to solve the money problem once and for all instead of working for a salary for 40 years, then a startup makes sense.
Mainly what a startup buys you is time.
If you're the sort of person who would like to solve the money problem once and for all instead of working for a salary for 40 years, then a startup makes sense.
43/
A startup that helps people make money will make money itself. It's not the only recipe for a startup, but it's a good one.
Can you think of anything you could build that other people could use to make money? If so, you may have a startup idea.
A startup that helps people make money will make money itself. It's not the only recipe for a startup, but it's a good one.
Can you think of anything you could build that other people could use to make money? If so, you may have a startup idea.
44/
One of the best ways to help people make money is to unlock something valuable they already have.
A really big startup I've been waiting for for over a decade is the one that gives moms at home with kids a way to make money. There is massive untapped talent there.
One of the best ways to help people make money is to unlock something valuable they already have.
A really big startup I've been waiting for for over a decade is the one that gives moms at home with kids a way to make money. There is massive untapped talent there.
45/
If you start a startup that can only reach users by doing deals with big companies, the default outcome will be that you run out of money and die while waiting for them to make up their minds.
If you start a startup that can only reach users by doing deals with big companies, the default outcome will be that you run out of money and die while waiting for them to make up their minds.
46/
A founder who knows nothing about fundraising but has made something users love will have an easier time raising money than one who knows every trick in the book but has a flat usage graph...
A founder who knows nothing about fundraising but has made something users love will have an easier time raising money than one who knows every trick in the book but has a flat usage graph...
...And more importantly, the founder who has made something users love is the one who will go on to succeed after raising the money.
47/
When you work on making technology easier to use, you're riding that curve up instead of down.
A 10% improvement in ease of use doesn't just increase your sales 10%. It's more likely to double your sale.
When you work on making technology easier to use, you're riding that curve up instead of down.
A 10% improvement in ease of use doesn't just increase your sales 10%. It's more likely to double your sale.
48/
A customer pitch and an investor pitch are two very different things. Sometimes almost opposite.
E.g. to customers you'd want to emphasize how low your prices are, whereas to investors you'd want to emphasize how big your margins are.
A customer pitch and an investor pitch are two very different things. Sometimes almost opposite.
E.g. to customers you'd want to emphasize how low your prices are, whereas to investors you'd want to emphasize how big your margins are.
49/
If having most employees working from home makes it harder to have meetings, companies may actually be more productive.
If having most employees working from home makes it harder to have meetings, companies may actually be more productive.
50/
My advice to startups, usually, is not to write any code unless the lack of that code is the main thing holding you back.
This is an instance of the more general rule not to do anything unless it addresses the main thing holding you back.
My advice to startups, usually, is not to write any code unless the lack of that code is the main thing holding you back.
This is an instance of the more general rule not to do anything unless it addresses the main thing holding you back.
