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This doesn't quite qualify as ignoring, but I think it matches the spirit of the question: I wouldn't be running Tarsnap now if Paul Graham hadn't listed "Single Founder" as the #1 mistake that kills startups. Having read that, I decided I was going to prove him wrong, damnit.
I consider each day that I don't apply to YC an instance of ignoring pg.
Yes. I told him the following in person earlier tonight, at the last YCS10 dinner, and I think it's the consensus among the other founders I've talked to from our batch. For the first month of Y Combinator, Paul Graham will tear you and your startup apart on a weekly basis (when you meet with him during office hours). If you're doing your job as a founder, though, you are the world expert in your particular field. So…
"Argue like you're right; listen like you're wrong."
Hero worship aside Mr. Graham is good at what he does; distilling an idea until that potent cocktail is finally derived. This process in itself is something far more important than having an idea in the first place, and in order to truly work with someone like Mr. Graham you need to teach yourself to be ego-less.
It is my ego that says to me; 'no that can't be true at all. He's wrong!' without considering the facts. It's my ego that causes teenage defiance for the sake of defiance. It's quite true that he will be wrong some times, but what is undeniable is the fact that you gain more out of it by simply listening to him.
So, what if he is wrong and you know that you're right? Listen to what he has to say and try to understand why he raised that objection. Perhaps, there's a gem hidden beyond the surface. If something comes up then you've gained something out of it. Otherwise, you can always wait for your turn, reflect, and then grill him on things and try to make him understand your point of view.
This is something really hard to do, but if I was lucky enough to have pg as a mentor, then I think that it would be wiser to work with him. Rather than against him.
Note: I've noticed that this holds true for everybody in virtually any situation, be it Mr. Graham distilling your startup. Or a disagreement with your neighbor next door.
This doesn't quite qualify as ignoring, but I think it matches the spirit of the question: I wouldn't be running Tarsnap now if Paul Graham hadn't listed "Single Founder" as the #1 mistake that kills startups. Having read that, I decided I was going to prove him wrong, damnit.
Also, I wonder if its not more difficult to judge which single founders will be successful, and easier to judge when it is a small team.
So I think treat this rule as investment advice, but if you're confident of running your own startup, trust yourself rather than PG's advice.
I consider each day that I don't apply to YC an instance of ignoring pg.
If you don't want/need investment money, you're ignoring him in a passive way. It's a side effect of another decision/fact. Everyone can list examples of not caring about something pg wrote/said, because it doesn't apply to him. This post is asking for instances where people actively move counter to his advice.
By not applying to YC, you're saying that you can bootstrap yourself.
He mainly sees YC applicants and there may be a selection bias among them. Entirely possible that there is a really great trait among founders that makes them unlikely to apply to YC and likely to succeed without his advice.
That said, dude has been around.
"ignoring the advice of clever, successful people is either plain wrong... or the smartest thing you ever did"
What's the use? Seriously. Hero worship aside Mr. Graham is good at what he does; distilling an idea until that potent cocktail is finally derived. This process in itself is something far more important than having an idea in the first place, and in order to truly work with someone like Mr. Graham you need to teach yourself to be ego-less. It is my ego that says to me; 'no that can't be true at all. He's wrong!' with…
I agree with what you say but perhaps the OP was just trying to start an interesting discussion.
This doesn't quite qualify as ignoring, but I think it matches the spirit of the question: I wouldn't be running Tarsnap now if Paul Graham hadn't listed "Single Founder" as the #1 mistake that kills startups. Having read that, I decided I was going to prove him wrong, damnit.
Can I design tarsnap and provide you a CSS template.