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How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

blog.ycombinator.com

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Re: How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

#41

Post by gautamb0 »

madeuptempacct wrote: post #3
jarsin wrote: post #2

So has Ycombinator abandoned any hope for VR since he calls it a fake trend in the first five minutes? Just curious because I swear saw a blog where they want VR startups to apply awhile ago but can't find it now.

He is dead wrong if he thinks VR isn't huge in the long-term.

VR ironically might fit the exact definition that he's going for with the iPhone as being a "real trend."

His friends, and many others, definitely have let their headsets catch dust. But there is a core that does use them every day, and probably won't stop any time soon, and it's certainly being put to work in non-gaming use cases.

I think he's being properly cautious, though, using the date as qualifier.

Windows Mobile phones were out for years well before the iPhone was, and were pretty similar in terms of capability and even hardware, but never reached its type of traction.

When it comes down to it, there were only a few key features and a lot of polish (many still argue over how much more polished it really was) which differentiated the iPhone to go on to sell billions, versus competing products from Palm and Microsoft partners to sell a hundredth of that.

Even in retrospect, it's not straightforward to pin the how and why. Back in 2007, it would have been very hard to guess correctly. It's hard to fault people who dismissed the iPhone as being yet another failed mobile project, and also hard to fault people who thought that PocketPC's would revolutionize computing.

Re: How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

#42

Post by suyash »

rexreed wrote: post #27

I'll counter with some more basic and more broadly applicable advice. 1) Build a product people actually want and need and will pay money for 2) Promote yourself incessantly because others will be promoting themselves even more incessantly. 3) Spend your money wisely - focus on people, product, and marketing. Don't waste your money on office trappings and stuff that makes you feel good. Save your lunch money. 4) Igno…

No offense, but before I take counter advise from a stranger, care about to share your credibility?

Re: How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

#43

Post by projectramo »

fermienrico wrote: post #35
projectramo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I sort of disagree in one important sense: all generic advice is pretty useless. How to succeed in sports? practice, focus, take care of your diet and health How to succeed in a large company? keep your boss happy, work hard, focus etc This is not Altman's fault. I don't think the videos can -- or are supposed to -- replace actual detailed daily advice on struggles which, presumably, you get if you join Ycombinator.…

I think you're right - all generic advice, __by definition__ is not going to be specific and its utility is questionable. The problem doesn't just lie in the answer, but the question itself. When you ask a question such as "How can I do well in life?", that lends itself to generic bullshit advice. My problem with Sam Altman is that he keeps perpetuating these kinds of questions as if he is going to help people. I am…

Do you read any kinds of books on how to get better?

I am addicted to them. As a kid I used to read books on judo, karate, the guitar, programming, and how to be a spy.

I now read books on startups, investing, programming and writing.

The actual improvement comes from the practice, but I still feel the books and advice play a critical role. They can do the following:

1. They pump me up to go and practice.

2. They actually demonstrate particular exercises or thought experiments.

3. They just get me thinking about the particular item

4. They make me fell less alone because others are thinking about it

5. They make the activity seem important in the life affirming sense of it is worth my time

I think all we can ask of "startup advice" is that it fill a similar niche.

Re: How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

#44

Post by enos_feedler »

rexreed wrote: post #27

I'll counter with some more basic and more broadly applicable advice. 1) Build a product people actually want and need and will pay money for 2) Promote yourself incessantly because others will be promoting themselves even more incessantly. 3) Spend your money wisely - focus on people, product, and marketing. Don't waste your money on office trappings and stuff that makes you feel good. Save your lunch money. 4) Igno…

How is 1) more broadly applicable? Nobody wants to pay money for anything. Perhaps you could say _would_ pay money for if they had to. Even still, the world of internet users has been trained to get a lot of great valuable things for free (Google, facebook and virtually every other consumer service) so their willingness to pay is skewed heavily towards free

Re: How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

#45

Post by enraged_camel »

fermienrico wrote: post #16

I find Sam Altman's advice on startup completely and utterly useless. They're akin to the "How to become a millionaire" books. I've said this in the past [1] that providing generic advice doesn't work for startups. Every company is unique and they have unique challenges. Instead, Sam should be focusing on bringing stories of various startups in light, interview their founders and have a focused discourse on what work…

Yes, this is why Founders at Work is such a great book: it's full of interviews and case studies, and the reader is free to interpret the stories and learn their own lessons.

Re: How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

#46

Post by fosco »

paul7986 wrote: post #40
ameister14 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stanford is not Ivy League.

Umm in 2015/2016 Stanford's tuition was $46k while Harvard was $45k. If it's not Ivy League why am I paying more to go there then the hallmark ivy league school?

Ivy League is a specific name for north eastern universities in a 'sports league'

I would consider stanford a top tier school... but ivy league appears to have a specific definition.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League#Members

Re: How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

#47

Post by rexreed »

enos_feedler wrote: post #44
rexreed wrote: post #27

I'll counter with some more basic and more broadly applicable advice. 1) Build a product people actually want and need and will pay money for 2) Promote yourself incessantly because others will be promoting themselves even more incessantly. 3) Spend your money wisely - focus on people, product, and marketing. Don't waste your money on office trappings and stuff that makes you feel good. Save your lunch money. 4) Igno…

How is 1) more broadly applicable? Nobody wants to pay money for anything. Perhaps you could say _would_ pay money for if they had to. Even still, the world of internet users has been trained to get a lot of great valuable things for free (Google, facebook and virtually every other consumer service) so their willingness to pay is skewed heavily towards free

In those cases, the user is not the customer. The old saying goes, if you're not the customer, you're the product. Google, FB and the like monetize users through advertising. The product is not Gmail or Facebook. It's advertising to their audience. You are the audience. Advertising is the product. And so the broadly applicable advice is still relevant. But you know this. In that light, ask the question - who is the customer and what do they want from the product? The customer is the advertiser, and they need to want what FB and Google and Twitter have to sell. You're confusing the value that the users get (which is how they build and maintain the audience) with the value that the customers get (advertising to that audience).

And besides, how many startup founders are REALLY building the next Google or Facebook right now? Most are building something much more modest, in which case, in those cases the user is most likely the customer and so building something they want to buy is important.

Re: How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

#48

Post by john_moscow »

rmason wrote: post #37
rexreed wrote: post #27

I'll counter with some more basic and more broadly applicable advice. 1) Build a product people actually want and need and will pay money for 2) Promote yourself incessantly because others will be promoting themselves even more incessantly. 3) Spend your money wisely - focus on people, product, and marketing. Don't waste your money on office trappings and stuff that makes you feel good. Save your lunch money. 4) Igno…

Number 4 is exceedingly important and it's counter to popular thought. Bootstrapping is painful but if you start growing fast you won't have to seek them out the VC's will find you.

It just depends on the game you are playing. Currently you can make more money selling the emotion of owning a piece of something great to investors, than selling the actual product to customers.

Re: How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

#49

Post by [deleted] »

john_moscow wrote: post #48
rmason wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Number 4 is exceedingly important and it's counter to popular thought. Bootstrapping is painful but if you start growing fast you won't have to seek them out the VC's will find you.

It just depends on the game you are playing. Currently you can make more money selling the emotion of owning a piece of something great to investors, than selling the actual product to customers.

[deleted]

Re: How to Succeed with a Startup [video]

#50

Post by johnyzee »

travbrack wrote: post #11
rpedela wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People have been saying that for decades. After spending 10 years in the 3D graphics and VR industries, I just don't see it happening any time soon. The technology, including Oculus, is certainly getting better but it still sucks. It still makes too many people sick. At this point, I am in the "I'll believe it when I see it" crowd.

For me, the motion sickness problem only happens in games where you're moving around freely on the ground like an FPS. If a teleporter is used to move, I'm fine, and for some reason flight sims don't bother me either. It seems like an inherent problem with the tech due to the disagreement between your inner ear and visual cues. Anyone have insight?

I always thought driving sims would be ideal for VR, since you are sitting still in the simulation as well as the real world, with only the world outside the car moving, you can look around, etc.

Nope, got aggressively nauseous about two minutes in and had to bail in a hurry, or I would have spilled my lunch all over the very nice simulation rig. The lack of inertial forces to match the simulated movement really wreaked havoc on my inner ear.

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