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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

#21

Post by sp527 »

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…

These think pieces are meant to reinforce Altman's image as a tech industry theorist a la pg. It's really just advertising. But he's not nearly as good at it as pg was.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#22

Post by liquid153 »

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…

All his stuff are fluff pieces, it's like listening to a pitch coach. I have no idea why people see him as an authoritative figure in this space, when all he had was 1 failed start up.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#23

Post by kolbe »

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?

It probably gets favorable weighting, but I've learned tolerating Sam's writing and seeing a few too many plugs for YC alum companies is a very small price to pay for this place to exist.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#24

Post by kolbe »

liquid153 wrote: post #22
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…

All his stuff are fluff pieces, it's like listening to a pitch coach. I have no idea why people see him as an authoritative figure in this space, when all he had was 1 failed start up.

I know it's not his fault per se, but YC has had a horrible track record since he joined, too.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#25

Post by ministrator »

I keep seeing Sam Altman tied to clickbaity 'How-to' articles, but never managed to apply any of the lessons to start and grow a successful company himself. Obviously from his position now, he has a lot of insights into what other companies do, so It'd be great to see factual data from his insights, rather than top-down advice that he wasn't able to apply to his own career.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#26

Post by pen2l »

kolbe wrote: post #24
liquid153 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All his stuff are fluff pieces, it's like listening to a pitch coach. I have no idea why people see him as an authoritative figure in this space, when all he had was 1 failed start up.

I know it's not his fault per se, but YC has had a horrible track record since he joined, too.

Do you think it would have been any different if pg was in charge? I don't.

I think it's rather that the 'low hanging fruit' are all gone. The whole mood has changed. It's become harder. Notice for example that YC places a lot of importance on growth when evaluating applicants, I think in early stages you could've had practically zero users of your product and they would have considered you -- now, not so much.

Secondly, there hasn't been enough time to see what his track record really is, we'll need a few years to really see.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#27

Post by urda »

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…

The more and more I read on Altman, the more and more it feels like fluff and snake oil.

Stanford dropout, a major failed startup, pretty much kinda "failed" into the position he is in today.

He doesn't add value at all.

Edit: This was flagged as "a personal attack" apparently.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#28

Post by tlb »

modi15 wrote: post #14

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 th…

From an investor point of view, correlation can be good enough. If startups with property X are measurably more likely to succeed, it doesn't matter whether X causes success or if X is caused by some other property Y of the startup that causes success but isn't easy to determine in an interview.

In your example, X = "has multiple founders", Y = "first founder is not impossible to work with". Clearly Y causes success, but X is easier for investors to determine.

From a founder point of view, you want to focus mainly on the real causes of success rather than appearances, but give some thought to appearances. Customers are far more influenced by appearances than investors (because they have less time to dig in), so when you devote time to appearances you should think mainly about customers. Customers tend to be skeptical of one-man shows.

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#29

Post by bedros »

slightly offtopic, but startup related:

why Sam Altman would post on atrium.co website?

when checking their services, they provide incorporating and other legal services,

is it more custom legal service than clerky.com? any idea about pricing?

I'm looking to incorporate but slightly more complex than clerky standard templates

Re: How to Avoid Distractions and Start the Right Company

#30

Post by meesterdude »

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…

A lot of his talks and writing are like this. Fluffy, hand-wavy; but nothing you can actually do anything with. But that's not what he's good at - he's good at being an airbag. Which, while cynical is not an invaluable lesson what works.
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