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Startup School 2018 – Curriculum

blog.ycombinator.com

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Re: Startup School 2018 – Curriculum

#21

Post by drjannakoretz »

davebryand wrote: post #3

When you're in YC they tell you that a huge part of being a successful founder is "managing your psychology." I wish they would elevate that to a first-class concept in their startup education.

Hi Guys,

Im a psychologist with a specialty in entrepreneurship mental health and co-founder conflict. I help people (sometimes individually sometimes as a co-founder pair) address difficulties such as impostor syndrome, communication skills, burnout, making decisions under stress, and effective leadership.

The co-founder relationship is extremely intimate and specific, and it is near impossible for two people to work so hard on a rigorous and trying endeavor and not run into issues. Part of what makes it hard is also the fact that outwardly, everything always has to look awesome. So there aren't any realistic comparison points.

A co-founder relationship is not unlike dating in that you have to figure out where your deal breakers are, what issues you can work through, and what issues you can let go. You also have to be open to accepting your own role in problems that arise, and commit to trying to work on those too. All of which is hard to do while also managing the stress of starting and running a company.

If anyone has questions I'm happy to answer them. You can look me up at azimuthpsych.com.

Also, if you're looking for a therapist for either yourself or you and your co-founder, heres an outline to help you out.

https://azimuthpsych.com/articles-and-ebooks/how-to-find-a-t...

Janna Koretz, Psy.D

Re: Startup School 2018 – Curriculum

#22

Post by wslh »

Startup School Help! I submitted the application with no content by mistake a few weeks ago. I sent an e-mail to startupschool@ycombinator.com requesting that it be reset but have not received any reply. When I try to apply again I receive the following message: "Thank you for applying to Startup School! We will let you know whether you’re accepted by August 20th, 2018." with no chance to edit the application form.

Re: Startup School 2018 – Curriculum

#23

Post by mns06 »

wslh wrote: post #22

Startup School Help! I submitted the application with no content by mistake a few weeks ago. I sent an e-mail to startupschool@ycombinator.com requesting that it be reset but have not received any reply. When I try to apply again I receive the following message: "Thank you for applying to Startup School! We will let you know whether you’re accepted by August 20th, 2018." with no chance to edit the application form.

Hey, check the settings link in the menu. The application is still editable. In addition, the entry fields seem to have increased in length recently, so perhaps a good idea to review your submission even if it was submitted properly last time.

Re: Startup School 2018 – Curriculum

#26

Post by arjunvpaul »

wslh wrote: post #22

Startup School Help! I submitted the application with no content by mistake a few weeks ago. I sent an e-mail to startupschool@ycombinator.com requesting that it be reset but have not received any reply. When I try to apply again I receive the following message: "Thank you for applying to Startup School! We will let you know whether you’re accepted by August 20th, 2018." with no chance to edit the application form.

No need to panic. You can still edit your application. Its not very intuitive. Here's how - http://bit.do/howtoeditstartupschoolapplication

Re: Startup School 2018 – Curriculum

#28

Post by vecter »

shawn wrote: post #9
geoff wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We did! The session taught by Daniel Gross: "Life as a Founder" will largely be focused on this.

Do cofounders often have a chaotic relationship secretly, or is it mostly positive? It’s always positive outwardly, of course, but I’m asking about the side that people rarely see. It’s hard to know what’s normal and what’s not. And that’s a problem when you’re trying to evaluate whether someone is a good fit as a cofounder. Consider Jamie and Adam from mythbusters. They can’t stand each other. But when they work tog…

There's no clean cut answer here. It's all over the spectrum. Some founders get along great and some don't get along well. Obviously the better you and your cofounders get along, the higher your probability of success. I've seen plenty of bad cofounder dynamics kill companies, irrespective of the business fundamentals.

Re: Startup School 2018 – Curriculum

#30

Post by richardhod »

davebryand wrote: post #3

When you're in YC they tell you that a huge part of being a successful founder is "managing your psychology." I wish they would elevate that to a first-class concept in their startup education.

Absolutely right that this is important. Working at a small AI-blockchain incubator over the winter, a large part of my initial brief was to encourage and help the participants learn to be their better selves and identify problematic behaviours, attitudes and assumptions in themselves, and identify and fix the resulting dynamics in their teams. Learning the soft skills necessary was meant to help them not have to deal with this further down the line, and obviate the problem of the asshole founder. That strategy didn't work out due to founder interference, which made me realise now much resistance there still is in some kinds of moneymen and engineers to acknowledging the important psychological and social factors in team success. I'm glad this is acknowledged to be needed in some of the existing better incubators!
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