I want to bring back this gem from the archive w/ @jaesonma and his crazy stories: kicking it with @JLin7, working for @MCHammer, and founding @88rising.
@garrytan's initial investment of $300K in @coinbase since 2012 is now worth over $2 billion.
But his journey to success has been no fairytale.
Here's what you need to know about masks, expectations, and mental health in your own journey to success:
Garry grew up with an alcoholic father, and suffered abuse and traumatic events that affected him throughout his life.
A fearful mindset of scarcity was seared into his mind at a young age.
Throughout Garry’s life, extrinsic markers such as good grades, financial success, and even his YouTube channel have created a performance of his identity.
This mask was a defense mechanism against the painful world around him.
Before applying to @ycombinator, read this thread.
Here's the story behind my shitty first company, Kiko, our *almost* trainwreck demo, and what I learned from going through the very first YC batch.
Kiko was founded with no skills and no money by three clueless college students: myself, Emmett (CEO of @Twitch) and Matt. At that point, I had never even worked at a full time job.
We were inspired by gmail, which had just come out at the time. We wanted to create a similar outlook-style calendar app to sync and share events.
- Hot takes on how the 1st remote YC batch went
- Jamie and Tikhon joined the dark side and raised a VC fund
- Donuts and the rise of vaccine passports
Let's play a game of who said what!
Which one of the OFs said this?
“3 days later, I’ve made it rain on Indian companies"
Which one of the OFs said this?
“Being a VC is possibly the easiest job on Earth. A lot of VCs will say that’s true, which is laughable to me”
As a founder, I'm always asked: "how do I get hired at a startup?"
Dont worry, I got you.
Here's how to land a job at your dream startup:
{thread time}
Demonstrate that you’re awesome at 1 thing:
Startups are looking for people who have exceptional but specific skills. In your resume, show them what they are looking for and hammer down that point.
Keep your resume concise: If its not related to or helping with Point #1, keep it off!
Having conversations with people like @sophiaamoruso (The Cinderella of Tech!) is why I love doing @thequest_pod.
Here's some of the key lessons and takeaways from our chat:
1. Resilience can be a superpower.
Forbes listed Sophia as one of America’s 'richest self-made women' in 2016.
In 3 months, her company filed for bankruptcy; her wealth, marriage, and life crumbled away. She didn't give up.
Take your learnings from failure and move on.
2. Have a plan.
When you become an entrepreneur, learn from others so you have a basic understanding of things like board advisors, profit-loss statements, and culture.
Here's a 2-step guide on how to pitch investors for beginners:
[A thread]
Step 1. Create a powerful narrative
Investors might not like your business. But everyone loves a good story.
Stories are powerful tools to get people to understand and care about your ideas. Being overly technical in your pitch can be off-putting and not very compelling.
A simple narrative strucutre:
1️⃣ The world is a certain way (your problem)
2️⃣ Something changes (your solution)
3️⃣ The world is changed for the better (justify your solution).