Michael Houck Profile picture
Jun 8, 2023 20 tweets 5 min read Read on X
16 movies every startup founder should watch:

1. The Founder

"The only thing that matters is getting it done." Image
2. Whiplash

"There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job.'" Image
3. Moneyball

"When your enemy’s making mistakes, don’t interrupt him." Image
4. The Social Network

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." Image
5. The Wolf of Wall Street

"The only thing standing between you and your dream is the will to try and the belief that it is actually possible." Image
6. Scarface

"The world is yours." Image
7. The Aviator

"Genius is the ability to recognize patterns that everyone else misses." Image
8. Steve Jobs

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower." Image
9. A Beautiful Mind

"Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter." Image
10. Flash of Genius

"If you have a good idea, don't give up on it." Image
11. Any Given Sunday

"It's not about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!" Image
12. The Godfather

"Never make an enemy of someone you don't have to." Image
13. The Martian

"I'm not gonna die here. I'm gonna live." Image
14. The Pursuit of Happyness

"Don't ever let somebody tell you that you can't do something, not even me. All right? You got to dream big and never give up on them." Image
15. Jerry Maguire

"The only thing that matters is winning." Image
16. Two for the Money

"You can't have a rainbow without a little rain." Image
Retweet the first tweet to share these books with other founders
16 movies for startup founders (part 1):

1. Whiplash
2. The Founder
3. Moneyball
4. The Social Network
5. The Wolf of Wall Street
6. Scarface
7. The Aviator
8. Steve Jobs
16 movies for startup founders (part 2):

9. A Beautiful Mind
10. Flash of Genius
11. Any Given Sunday
12. The Godfather
13. The Martian
14. The Pursuit of Happyness
15. Jerry Maguire
16. Two for the Money
PS. Each week I write a deep dive to help over 30,000+ founders accelerate their startup.

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More from @callmehouck

Apr 16
This is Travis Kalanick.

He founded Uber and grew it to be worth billions.

But he was forced to resign as CEO by investors days after his mother died.

Here's how he got revenge and built a second $10+ billion startup: Image
In 2009 Kalanick was running an informal founder gathering space out of his apartment.

He called it the JamPad (@JamPadHQ).

He had sold his last startup, Red Swoosh, 2 years earlier for $19 million.

Here's a talk where he shares lessons from those days:
A frequent guest at the JamPad was Garrett Camp.

Camp had sold his last startup too — StumbleUpon.

He mentioned an idea to make high-quality cabs available to anyone, anywhere, at any time.

Kalanick loved the idea.
Read 20 tweets
Apr 12
This is Marc Andreessen.

He created the first popular internet browser.

Now he invests billions in startups at his VC firm, a16z.

Here's his 9-step guide on how to build a startup: Image
Why to Not Build a Startup:

Being a founder is not for everyone.

You trade stability for freedom, autonomy, and impact.

But you hear "no" 99% of the time.

Marc says the emotional rollercoaster can leave you feeling "completely ruined."

Be sure you can handle the idea maze.
How Much Money to Raise:

Marc says to said enough to get to product-market fit.

After that, raise "enough to fully exploit that opportunity."

He hates when founders don't raise as much as they can.

This limits dilution but there's no promise funding will be available later.
Read 10 tweets
Apr 10
This is Palmer Luckey.

At 21 he sold Oculus to Facebook for $2 billion.

But 2 years later he was fired for supporting Donald Trump.

Here's how he got redemption and built a second unicorn startup: Image
Palmer founded Oculus when he was only 16.

He built more than 50 prototypes in his parents' garage from 2009 - 2010.

To afford the parts he earned $36,000 by repairing iPhones and working as a groundskeeper. Image
The prototypes caught the interest of giants in the gaming industry like John Carmack.

Hype grew after Carmack demoed the Oculus Rift on stage at E3.

Palmer went on to raise $2.4 million through a Kickstarter campaign (over 974% of his goal).

Here's the Kickstarter video:
Read 14 tweets
Apr 8
This is Peter Thiel.

He's worth $7.1 billion after founding and investing in numerous unicorn startups.

I read his book Zero to One to learn what he looks for in founders.

Here are the 7 questions he asks anyone he's considering investing in: Image
The Monopoly Question:

"Will you be able to capture a large share of a small market?"

Thiel says competition is for losers.

Don't spend your limited resources battling competitors.

A minnow in a vast ocean will be eaten. Dominate a small pond first.
The Distribution Question:

"How will you deliver your product to customers?"

"If you build it, they will come" is a lie the best founders understand.

1. Identify your ICP
2. Learn where they spend time
3. Use whatever means necessary to get their attention there
Read 11 tweets
Sep 4, 2023
The Thiel Fellowship has created 10 startups worth over $1 billion.

The program pays you $100,000 to drop out of college.

It's acceptance rate is 0.1% (40x more exclusive than Harvard).

Here are the 10 members who've built unicorns: Image
Vitalik Buterin (Class of 2014):

Founded Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency with an all-time high market cap over $571 billion.

The network has become so widely used that when its merge took Image
Austin Russell (Class of 2013):

The world's youngest self-made billionaire.

Co-founded Luminar Technologies which builds both hardware and software to make self-driving cars possible.

They've IPO'd and their market cap is $2.29 billion. Image
Read 16 tweets
Aug 20, 2023
Jeff Bezos built Amazon into a $1.7 Trillion company.

He said this was the smartest thing he ever did.

How to run memo-based meetings (that help you make better decisions): Image
"Many years ago, we outlawed PowerPoint at Amazon."

Bezos found a better way to run meetings with the goals of:

→ Increasing clarity around objectives
→ Diving deeper into projects that move the needle
→ Maintaining a high standard of communication
And it spread to other companies.

Jack Dorsey uses a version of this where everyone reads from the same Google Doc

Doing this means everyone knows the source material and isn't expected to read ahead of time.

Here's how these meetings work 👇
Read 12 tweets

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