startup "truth" i disagree with: don't pay high cash comp

we now pay 250k-350k base for designers and 300k-1m base for software engineers

thread on why everyone is wrong (except me and zuck): 1/ “it doesn’t scale! you can't pay 100 people 600k a year!”

u don't need 100 people anymore.

companies grow faster than ever with less people than ever

You can hit $10M ARR with <20 people in 1 year if you hire right and prioritize well

speed > scale today

so @cluely has hired over 700 clippers.

every single cluely-related piece of content gets crossposted across thousands of accounts, generating tens of millions of extra views.

here's everything you need to know about starting a massively viral clipping farm [THREAD] 1) finding clippers

as always, the answer is to scroll more.

scroll on instagram/tiktok. every single time you find a clip of ANYTHING, dm the account.

"paid clipping opportunity" gets responded to 9/10 times.

the people running these accounts are hungry slovakian teenagers

introducing @cluely.

today is the start of a world where you never have to think again.

we just killed 9 industries (thread): 1/9] cheat on meetings.

in a team meeting, cluely
> takes live notes for me
> comes up with questions to ask so I can seem engaged
> answers every question
> overlays on the meeting so my eyes don't wander

got 4 million views on instagram with @cluely in the first week on completely new accounts.

here's how to run an insanely viral ugc farm

[LONG THREAD]
1/10] the algorithm is not random; it's just not public.

the algorithm will tell you exactly how good your videos are (view count), and it will not lie.

if you understand nothing else, understand this:
> if u make 100 different videos. 1 of them will go viral.
> if 100 accounts recreate that video, 20-30 of them will go viral.

below is a more detailed guide on how to implement

I just got kicked out of Columbia for taking a stand against Leetcode interviews.

Here's the whole story (long thread):
1\ Fall ‘24, I transferred to Columbia as a CS major.
I came in knowing I wanted to start a company and found an amazing co-founder in @shanmugam_neel.

We hacked on a few things, but nothing stuck (note-taking app, AI sales agents for liquor distributors, etc)

I got rescinded from Harvard, went to community college, and am now at Columbia. Here's everything I learned (LONG THREAD)
1/12] In October 2021, I got accepted early to Harvard's class of 2026. Then in June 2022, they rescinded me for sneaking out on a field trip, getting caught by a cop, and trying to outrun her (dumb move). But I wouldn't have been reported to Harvard if I didn't make so many enemies out of being extremely blunt in my speech (something I still deal with).

LESSON: authenticity != asshole-ity. Know your audience.
LESSON: don't be a dumbass with the cops