I interviewed 5 billionaires this week

I asked them to share their lessons learned on startups, life and entrepreneurship:

Here's what they told me:
A startup idea isn't "one" idea

It's a 10000 ideas, 100,000 decisions and 1,000,000 headaches
You will lose some friends. Kiss most of your high school friends goodbye

Certainties of life:

- Death
- Taxes
- Losing friends
A sign of wealth:

No longer needing an alarm clock to wake up
When in doubt, please don't send that angry email response

Wait 24h. Go for a walk

Angriness makes you drunk. Send emails sobers
Career advice:

Quit your job if it makes you exhausted (if you can)

Be grateful for your job if it fills you up with energy
Likable people win

People sense those good vibes. It does wonders for your startup, career or life
You will doubt yourself a million times

It's only natural
Constantly cut your losses

Harmful in the short term, lucrative in the long run
A sign of wealth: no envy, no fear
You can't build great products without being "at one" with the niche you're building it for

It's almost impossible

Deeply understand your niche or expect disappointments
Enjoy the process

Building a startup should never feel like a grind

Building a startup is a privilege
A satisfying life doesn't require much

Wonderful health, enjoyable work & a caring family & friends.
Success is inevitable.
Follow me on Twitter @gregisenberg to learn more about startups, internet communities or niches

It's free to follow 😝
I write a newsletter here latecheckout.Substack.com where I share free insights on startups and internet communities

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More from @gregisenberg

12 Jan
THREAD: Most advice is garbage

Here's some advice you shouldn’t listen to on startups, careers and life:
“90% of startups fail”

If you’re building a startup for the money, please quit

You’re probably better off working for FB or AMZN and rising the ranks

A successful startup isn't just about the valuation. It's about impact on your team, the world and yourself

The journey is 🔥
“You'll sleep when you’re dead”

If you don't sleep, you'll BE dead

Sleep is crucial to a happy mind and body

Without sleep, you become "foggy drunk", unable to take control of your life, startup or career

Beware of hustle culture and sleepless nights
Read 10 tweets
9 Jan
🚨 THREAD

M&A 101:

M&A is such a crucial part of startups, yet it is so taboo to talk bout the ins and outs of this process

Sharing some lessons I’ve learned here selling multiple companies

Let’s talk M&A!
1/ It’s never too early to start building relationships with people who might buy your company

The rule of 21:

Have a spreadsheet of the 7 companies that might buy your company and the 3 people who could make that decision

7 x 3 = get to know those 21 people
2/ Founders, we have the responsibility to our investors and employees to at least take the meeting if there is inbound interest in an acquisition

You never know what kind of offer you’ll get 🙃
Read 12 tweets
16 Jan 19
⚠️ THREAD ⚠️

1/ The little things matter more than ever in software

It’s easy to forget the little things, but the little things are what makes your product worth talking about

It’s the warm bread at the restaurant, it’s the orange wine, it’s the bathroom with funky wallpaper
2/ On @RobinhoodApp Crypto, they rolled out a Tron-like interface that separated itself from their original product

The neon colors and holographic cryptocurrency prices transport the user to the digital world of their childhood

It's nostalgia at its finest
3/ On @Twitter, when you like a tweet, the like-counter updates in real time

It's a small detail that makes Twitter feel so damn alive. It makes me feel like I'm apart of something bigger than myself

See, try liking this tweet and let's blow this tweet up ;)
Read 7 tweets
1 Jan 19
Some social apps predictions for 2019

⚠️ THREAD ⚠️

1/ The rush to win community begins...

Instagram, Facebook, Snap, Twitter will RUSH to inject community into their core apps as people shift away from broadcast. One app will win the lion's share of community mindshare
2/ Instagram will add events. It will be implemented elegantly and be WILDLY successful
3/ A find your friends app (I.e: Snap Map or something else) will hit scale. Location + messaging for gen z is not an if BUT when in ’19
Read 8 tweets

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