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How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

atrium.co

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Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#11

Post by andyidsinga »

Something doesn't quite sit right with me about #5 "Think Bigger" and the example that a recruit might think "So what? Your company is just another enterprise software startup."

To me there are a lot of interesting opportunities in solving problems, that might initially seem mundane or tedious but could turn into successful, profitable businesses. #5 seems to sort of go against some of the sentiment in PG's article Shelp Blindness ( http://www.paulgraham.com/schlep.html ).

I suppose I might attempt to re-state #5 thusly: "The difficult and seemingly tedious work done in the early stages might show a path to providing solutions larger problems 1..n"

I'd like to be able to recruit people who are interested in a that journey more so than the end-state.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#12

Post by AJRF »

tristanho wrote: post #9
AJRF wrote: post #5

50 likes and 2 comments over an hour seems like too little engagement to be second on the list. Are posts about Sam effectively sticked on HN? Is there any more information on how the front page works?

I'm a simple man: I see something by Sam Altman, I upvote and read it. I suspect many folks on HN (you know, being on a YC site) are the same. This, and HN simply working based on an upvote algorithm, seems much more plausible than there being some kind of conspiracy to amplify Sam's posts.

I never for a second suggested it was a conspiracy, I'm not entirely sure where you got that idea from. I merely asked was there information about weighing his posts and posts about him higher.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#13

Post by fermienrico »

I honestly do not gain anything from articles like this. They are so abstract that when it comes down to an actual actionable information - it doesn't apply anymore. It is sort of like reading one of those fluffy "How to become a millionaire" advice books. Nothing of substance comes out of it and they do not work for me.

I recently watched Sam Altman's MIT lecture [1] on Youtube about startup advice for hard tech companies. It was such a waste of time.

Instead, I find it much more informative and educational to read and watch stories about how a specific company was formed. Each story is unique and the just goes to show that each startup has unique challenges. There is so much to learn from these stories and their mistakes. For example, watch the SolidWorks founder presenting at Harvard about their initial marketing/pricing phase [2]. It is absolutely fascinating.

Reading generalized abstract fluff bothers me.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7HyWFJMAxg [2] https://youtu.be/t-EaWM8miHw

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#14

Post by modi15 »

Broadly disagree with ALL the points, except for the first one.

IMO this happens with a LOT of standard advice regarding startups. The problem is that there are as many ways to do a startup as there are founders and its too tempting for VC's to infer 'wisdom' from their immediate samples.

I suspect that this happens because as an observer its extremely hard to distinguish causation from correlation. Also, it seems that VC's tend to view 'emergent' success in terms of their own work ethics.

Sam's not the only one though. Paul Graham did this too with his two founder rule for startups.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#15

Post by tristanho »

AJRF wrote: post #12
tristanho wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a simple man: I see something by Sam Altman, I upvote and read it. I suspect many folks on HN (you know, being on a YC site) are the same. This, and HN simply working based on an upvote algorithm, seems much more plausible than there being some kind of conspiracy to amplify Sam's posts.

I never for a second suggested it was a conspiracy, I'm not entirely sure where you got that idea from. I merely asked was there information about weighing his posts and posts about him higher.

Fair enough... sorry for taking your post uncharitably. To me that's a bit of a conspiracy, as it would be kind of dishonest to weigh his posts higher.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#17

Post by [deleted] »

fermienrico wrote: post #13

I honestly do not gain anything from articles like this. They are so abstract that when it comes down to an actual actionable information - it doesn't apply anymore. It is sort of like reading one of those fluffy "How to become a millionaire" advice books. Nothing of substance comes out of it and they do not work for me. I recently watched Sam Altman's MIT lecture [1] on Youtube about startup advice for hard tech com…

[deleted]

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#19

Post by tramGG »

AJRF wrote: post #5

50 likes and 2 comments over an hour seems like too little engagement to be second on the list. Are posts about Sam effectively sticked on HN? Is there any more information on how the front page works?

Links posted by YC alum/admins appear different in color for them, this makes it a voting ring feature built in because of this.

Most likely they also have a different weight mechanic.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#20

Post by birken »

paulgb wrote: post #7

The annoying pop-up over the content appeared just as I started reading "beware the distractions" so I closed the tab. Good advice.

Wait a second, you don't want more of this "high quality", "totally-not-retread", "seriously-not-trying-to-get-you-to-sign-up-for-our-lawfirm" content that Sam Altman assures us is as much of a must-read as Paul Graham's essays? What is wrong with you!?
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