Statements like that will get you fired at Peloton.
Well.. it would get you to fire yourself, I guess
I have never read a business plan or balance sheet
41–50 of 346 posts
Re: I have never read a business plan or balance sheet
#42He says he interrupts the founders during live presentations instead of reading balance sheets. Founder: So we’re doing this rad new architecture- Paulg: In Lisp. It’s in Lisp, right? Founder: Huh, fuck no, it’s 2022, dude- Paulg: (frowning) Out. Thumbs down.
Sadly, a predictable story Arc.
Re: I have never read a business plan or balance sheet
#43Re: I have never read a business plan or balance sheet
#44The ignorance-arrogance combine. Like bragging about failing math classes in middle school.
I failed math (and calculus etc) throughout till graduation. I am proud and brag about it as that didn’t matter in the grand scheme.
Re: I have never read a business plan or balance sheet
#45He says he interrupts the founders during live presentations instead of reading balance sheets. Founder: So we’re doing this rad new architecture- Paulg: In Lisp. It’s in Lisp, right? Founder: Huh, fuck no, it’s 2022, dude- Paulg: (frowning) Out. Thumbs down.
We interviewed in late 2008. Then as now, it’s a conversation not a presentation. We were using PHP/Symfony then (changed to Python/Django later) but he didn’t ask anything about what language or platform we were using.
He did care a lot about the fact that we had users who were excited and unique insights into what was overlooked in the market.
Re: I have never read a business plan or balance sheet
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ummm...in order to know what the company looks like after the investment, you need to know what the company looks like before the investment.
I've looked at several startup business plans and financial models. Not one has turned out to be even close to reality a few years later. At the early stages, the numbers are pure fantasy.
But a balance sheet is not a financial model. It shows how much money is in the bank, how much people owe the company - and how much the founders have loaned the company.
PG might not personally read balance sheets but if nobody checks them at all, it would be pretty weird.
Re: I have never read a business plan or balance sheet
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
https://apply.ycombinator.com/ is basically a business plan, isn't? Is it distinct enough to not be framed as such?
> is basically a business plan, isn't? Is it distinct enough to not be framed as such? I don't think a "business plan" is literally just any words, written down, that are related to "business". It is likely a specific and defined thing.
A business plan is a plan on what a business is going to do in the future.
>What is your company going to make?
This question is asking what your business is planning on making.
Edit: This comment includes more relevant questions https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30319753
Re: I have never read a business plan or balance sheet
#48Seems related to Systems vs. Goals. [1] Biz plans and Balance Sheets are more associated with a goal-oriented mindset. PG's decision making obviously aligns more with a systems thinking. Founders are a major piece of a winning system to him, thus why he puts so much value in a 5-minute talk with them. [1] https://medium.com/@flaviorump/systems-vs-goals-a67fcd937370
Balance sheets have nothing to do with goals. They show the financial state of the company. Including liabilities.
Business plans are vague, balance sheets are very concrete.
Re: I have never read a business plan or balance sheet
#49I understand business plans, but balance sheets? It seems like you'd want to know the financial picture of a company. What else to you look at to, even at the most basic level, determine if the startup is going to be able to pay it's AWS bill and payroll that month?
We used to send lengthy, wordy updates to our investors, including YC/PG.
Then one time he replied, frustratedly, imploring us to just tell him how much money we were making, how much money we were spending, and how much we had in the bank.
He later put that concept into this essay http://www.paulgraham.com/aord.html
Re: I have never read a business plan or balance sheet
#50He says he interrupts the founders during live presentations instead of reading balance sheets. Founder: So we’re doing this rad new architecture- Paulg: In Lisp. It’s in Lisp, right? Founder: Huh, fuck no, it’s 2022, dude- Paulg: (frowning) Out. Thumbs down.
If Kim Kardashian started an ice creme company, she'd have a very good chance of succeeding.
Let's say she starts a few more businesses and they are successful. Is Kim someone we should take business advice from? She is one of the richest self-made women ever.
Kim would likely never have to make any ice creme either.
Here's a pg speech. Make your own conclusions: