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Startup advice, briefly

blog.samaltman.com

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Re: Startup advice, briefly

#61

Post by pan69 »

tomasien wrote: post #32
pan69 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is probably the biggest piece of non-advice in the entire article. Feeling is bullshit. If I had followed this advice throughout my career... I've been introduced to people who I'd instantly hated but a weeks later had become my best mates and I've been introduced to people who I'd loved at first sight (oh, so social, funny and well spoken..) and they turned out to be completely useless. It often takes time to g…

It's not about first impressions - it's about people you have a bad feeling about but work with anyway because you assume it's going to be worth it. Don't do that. That's not what you're describing.

It's exactly what I'm describing, I've worked with people in the past who I'd initially greatly disliked (i.e. had bad feelings about) who then turned out to become great friends.

Re: Startup advice, briefly

#62

Post by rcorin »

sama wrote: post #6
kirinan wrote: post #2

Maybe Ive read too many blogs. Maybe its because I watched the class but Im starting to feel like this is the "generic" advice for startups. It doesn't make it any less true or valuable, but everytime I read it I feel somewhat empty; as if there is something critical missing that everyone but me knows but doesn't write down because it feels like common sense. I'm not sure other people feel this way or how to not feel…

that really is all there is to it. if you've read enough that all of this strikes you as obvious, then you don't need to read anymore--get to work! :) i wrote this because i think it's useful for people thinking about startups for the first time to have an outline of the advice all in one place--the startup class i did last fall is good but long.

My problem with this isn't that the advice is obvious, but rather obvious _only in hindsight_: "The best startup ideas are the ones that seem like bad ideas but are good ideas.", "the fast-growing market is going to be important but others dismiss it as unimportant"

these aren't obvious at all before they happen, not just for first-time startup people but everyone.

Re: Startup advice, briefly

#63

Post by hugs »

sama wrote: post #36
ryanSrich wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the risk of sounding ignorant I'm going to go out on a limb and say one of the biggest missing pieces for most people is financial security - or at least the availability of a safety net. Based on my experience there are four scenarios where someone could start a company: - You have financial support from someone (whether you're in college or have a spouse that makes a good income - probably the most common) - Y…

i'd thought about adding something about this but decided it's worth a full post. i don't think you need very much of a cushion--i.e., 6 months of living expenses saved up is more than most founders have. but saving up a bit of money before starting a startup is definitely a great thing to do, and if you're an engineer willing to live cheaply, shouldn't take very long. that said, startups are not the way to optimize…

Please write a post about financial security as a pre-req to doing a startup. I advise having at least a year's worth of living expenses saved. Because you don't want to be worried at all in the beginning about how you're going to pay your bills. You're going to start worrying when that money is half gone, and it sometimes takes more than 3 months to get traction.

I think many founders pursue funding too soon (and thus give up too much equity to VCs much too soon) because they didn't have enough savings at the start. I would expect VCs to disagree with me about that because it's in their interest to do so. :)

Re: Startup advice, briefly

#64

Post by [deleted] »

d0m wrote: post #29
kirinan wrote: post #2

Maybe Ive read too many blogs. Maybe its because I watched the class but Im starting to feel like this is the "generic" advice for startups. It doesn't make it any less true or valuable, but everytime I read it I feel somewhat empty; as if there is something critical missing that everyone but me knows but doesn't write down because it feels like common sense. I'm not sure other people feel this way or how to not feel…

The thing about startup advices is that even if you read it a hundred of time, it seems like you need to fuck it up at least once to really understand it.

[deleted]

Re: Startup advice, briefly

#65

Post by mrkurt »

jacquesm wrote: post #56
derefr wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love a list of tried-and-tested-to-the-point-of-being-cloying bootstrapping advice.

- control your costs - spread your risk (no single customer > 20% of your business) - save for the next crisis when the money is good - focus - cashflow beats cash - find your peers and establish relationships - know your strengths, more importantly, know where you're weak - working overtime is no substitute for bad planning - every deal should make money - better 10 small deals in the pocket than one huge one that y…

Those are pretty reasonable rules for "startups" too.

Re: Startup advice, briefly

#66

Post by pcrh »

derefr wrote: post #51
pcrh wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with this. Unfortunately it is against the common notions that ideas don't matter, and execution is all. My own take is that truly great ideas are as rare as hen's teeth, i.e.those that fulfill your description.

I don't think the secret is usually the idea . The secret is usually a method of execution that lets you get to the finish line, where everyone else was too slow and ran out of runway. Which is to say, if you're the right person at the right time, you don't know the secret; you are the secret. Your skillset (or your team's skillset) is the secret. The tech that just became possible to leverage that nobody else has no…

As you say, the secret likely is not often the idea per se, as truly original ideas (i.e. potential Nobel prize-worthy ideas) are truly rare, and often difficult to recognize as such. They are much more rare than successful startups.

So, banking on an idea alone as the route to money is not usually as smart move, unless... the idea is really innovative.

Re: Startup advice, briefly

#68

Post by orky56 »

sama wrote: post #6
kirinan wrote: post #2

Maybe Ive read too many blogs. Maybe its because I watched the class but Im starting to feel like this is the "generic" advice for startups. It doesn't make it any less true or valuable, but everytime I read it I feel somewhat empty; as if there is something critical missing that everyone but me knows but doesn't write down because it feels like common sense. I'm not sure other people feel this way or how to not feel…

that really is all there is to it. if you've read enough that all of this strikes you as obvious, then you don't need to read anymore--get to work! :) i wrote this because i think it's useful for people thinking about startups for the first time to have an outline of the advice all in one place--the startup class i did last fall is good but long.

Thanks for such a concise summary. I've also read this stuff enough times that it's nothing new but having it in one place gives a founder peace of mind. I think we're all resourceful enough to have heard each piece separately & can recognize the applications and misapplications in past startups. What this accomplishes is keeping everything top of mind before making these same mistakes too many times.

P.S. One thing people should note is the gold here regarding the non-technical side of building a product/starting a business.

Re: Startup advice, briefly

#69

Post by hayksaakian »

DenisM wrote: post #60
DenisM wrote: post #55

One suggestion I would give Sam is to provide for each of the "bullet points" a couple of relevant stories about YC companies. Most public advice is devoid of context where it originated and unless stated very precisely is wide open to misinterpretation, forming a cargo-cult, or being ignored as too generic. Only a few people in the world can be that precise (I know just two), but adding a relevant story is available…

And to put my money where my mouth is, consider this example: Advice: In B2B be on the lookout for people, organizations, or events which can force the hand of your prospect customers. Story: There was a company that made e-commerce vulnerability detection/prevention software, but when they tried selling it, they found that IT departments stonewalled the adoption because they didn't want to admit there was a security…

the advice is look for X who can do Y, but provides little means of identifying if any given X can do Y

the story is better in this case because i can draw my own maxims from it which directly apply to my business.

the downside is the story doesn't fit in a tweet.

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