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Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs

shafyy.com

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Re: Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs

#51

Post by krm01 »

shafyy wrote: post #47
krm01 wrote: post #43

I think having lots of data points is the only way to give proper advice about Startups. YC has given outstanding startup advice from a specific SV perspective. I've been running a UI/UX design firm for the last 10 years, working with small unknown bootstrapping founders, up to well funded and awesome companies founded by super stars like Elon Musk and others. Though this was never my intent, over the years we've col…

While data points do help, impactful startups often change the paradigm and how things are done. So, again, I don't think relying too much on emperical data points is good for founders. If you do, you'll rarely do something interesting and new.

As I mentioned, data-points can help steer in the right direction. I'm definitely not talking about disruption or changing paradigms. The same way a YC can't guarantee each startup will disrupt an industry. All they can do is help make something good, go to great faster.

Re: Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs

#52

Post by shafyy »

vikramkr wrote: post #37
smallgovt wrote: post #31

>> Do you think Musk copied that strategy from the business school he never went to? Do you think Brian Chesky of Airbnb heard that strategy from a friend? Maybe not, but that doesn't mean talking to other successful founders isn't extremely helpful. The best founders have multiple great ideas and not enough time to execute on them. If you want to increase your success rate, you should use feedback from other success…

Also, musk could totally have learned that strategy when he was in bschool, and chesky could totally have gotten the idea from a friend. Those are hardly implausible situations.

I agree, I don't now that for a fact. It's more a form of rhetoric to trigger interesting discussions. Seems to work ;-)

Re: Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs

#53

Post by smallgovt »

not_a_cop75 wrote: post #14
tlb wrote: post #2

Not all ex-post theories are BS. For example, I slam my hand in the drawer and theorize, "Slamming hands in drawers hurts; one should not do it." That theory is pretty solid. It doesn't cover all the edge cases, but following it is better than not following it. There are lots of startup theories that are equally solid, despite being ex-post. I know a startup that didn't pay payroll tax for a couple years, and it ende…

Not taking sides, but your example is a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man fallacy.

It's not. He's directly refuting the claim made in the title of the blog post. That is: Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs.

In the title, the author is seemingly making the claim that all ex-post startup advice is BS. The commenter is debunking that claim by providing sound ex-post advice.

Re: Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs

#54

Post by std_throwaway »

bovermyer wrote: post #33

When I was in my twenties, I was part of the early "life coach blogger" culture. Now that I'm almost in my forties, I realize everything I wrote back then was bullshit. Earnest, but bullshit nonetheless. I'm much more cynical, but I'm also much more likely to just do what seems right and figure out the rest as I go. I don't read "best practices" or advice articles anymore. This is not to say that there is nothing to…

Mastery is when you not only know the rules but also know which rules you can ignore in your particular situation.

Re: Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs

#55

Post by softwareboyi »

krm01 wrote: post #43

I think having lots of data points is the only way to give proper advice about Startups. YC has given outstanding startup advice from a specific SV perspective. I've been running a UI/UX design firm for the last 10 years, working with small unknown bootstrapping founders, up to well funded and awesome companies founded by super stars like Elon Musk and others. Though this was never my intent, over the years we've col…

Just curious, what’s your website?

Re: Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs

#56

Post by shafyy »

downandout wrote: post #38
shafyy wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The idea of using free ways to get your startup initial momentum is absolutely not BS. Agree, and that's also not what I said :-)

That’s how I read it in the context of your premise. You seemed to be mocking the notion that Craigslist was a vital part of their success. I am not sure how else to interpret “....Hell, do you even think that freeriding off of Craigslist was their reason for success?”

I'm saying that they would have been successful with or without this marketing tactics. I am not saying that startups shoulnd't use free marketing opportunities.

Re: Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs

#57

Post by rockinghigh »

hinkley wrote: post #8

I have had a couple of managers over the years who had dreams of writing a book, and with the exception of one, they were all mostly wrong about the secrets of their success. They didn't have any awareness of how their team and especially their leads supported them. Responses varied from humor to hurt feelings. Ask the people who work for them why the team was successful. They'll probably have very different opinions…

Any examples where you think they were wrong?

Re: Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs

#58

Post by amoorthy »

shafyy wrote: post #49
amoorthy wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry shafyy. I don't understand why the addition of "ALSO" chnages the statement. Sorry for being dense.

My point is they're not saying "ONLY do things that don't scale". It's more like, "from time to time, ALSO do things that don't scale". Which, as I said, I think is good advice, but also pretty common sense.

Ah thanks for the clarification. My interpretation of the advice is to START with things that don't scale. Because it's about getting to Product-market-fit soonest. Then the advice is not common sense.

Re: Most startup theory is ex-post, therefore bs

#59

Post by krm01 »

softwareboyi wrote: post #55
krm01 wrote: post #43

I think having lots of data points is the only way to give proper advice about Startups. YC has given outstanding startup advice from a specific SV perspective. I've been running a UI/UX design firm for the last 10 years, working with small unknown bootstrapping founders, up to well funded and awesome companies founded by super stars like Elon Musk and others. Though this was never my intent, over the years we've col…

Just curious, what’s your website?

Here you go http://fairpixels.pro (there's no 'advice' on there if that's what you're looking for)
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