Paul Graham's Letter to YC Companies

To those having fun saying "pop", contribute value not onomatopoeia.

The clearest message in PG's letter is simply "The startups that really get hosed are going to be the ones that have easy money ... So don't be that startup."

If you have a viable business then you can either a) proceed without venture capital or b) prove yourselves enough that you'll get the terms you need. Yes, (a) may make you move slower, and (b) means that potentially brilliant ideas that have a bright side just past the edge of horizon are more difficult to get off the ground, but this has always been the case.

One of my mentors always quotes "you don't know the value of your captain until you hit turbulent waters". These are our turbulent waters. For those of you ready for it, this is a time of opportunity.

Who is emilepetrone? Did pg really write this?

Also why did this disappear from the front page, and then reappear?

"The best solution is to not need money. The less you need investor money, the more investors like you". That's true if you are dropbox, airbnb and other startups that have a solid revenue avenues other than advertising. If twitter or facebook itself had been founded after that disastrous ipo (facebook ipo) they would be in a worse position than dropbox or airbnb in terms of funding and revenue. That said, i think facebook will get to its intended valuation within this year.

R.I.P. Good Time v1.0 ended up marking the trough (not the peak) of the last cycle.

That said, I have more faith in pg's market timing abilities than in Sequoia's.