9 docs tagged with "advice"

Startups are a unique beast, full of counterintuitive truths and unexpected challenges. Here are some of the key takeaways from this in-depth exploration of the startup world:

One of the most common types of advice we give at Y Combinator is to do things that don't scale. Many founders believe startups either take off or don't, but in reality, startups take off because the founders make them take off. Founders must recruit users manually at the start, as nearly all startups do. Stripe, a successful startup we funded, is a prime example of aggressive early user acquisition, a technique we refer to as "Collison installation."

In my observation of numerous founders, I've identified 13 key strategies for achieving exceptional success.

First, forget about the movies. Skylight entries, smoke bombs, and shootouts are cinematic but impractical. Violence and destruction minimize your odds of success. Art crime, according to Stéphane Breitwieser, is best done when no one knows it’s happening. Breitwieser, a 52-year-old Frenchman, stole over 300 works from museums and cathedrals across Europe, worth an estimated two billion dollars.

The most detrimental lesson you may have learned in school wasn't from a specific class, but rather the pursuit of good grades. This pursuit often overshadows genuine learning. Tests, in theory, should gauge what you've learned in a class. However, in practice, they often become the main focus of studying, with actual learning taking a backseat.

In the realm of science fiction, the concept of knowledge acquisition often transcends the traditional method of reading. Fantastical ideas of knowledge being loaded into the brain akin to a computer program are prevalent. However, this notion is far from becoming a reality, not merely due to the technical difficulty of creating such a mechanism, but also because of its inherent insufficiency.

The thoughts that occupy our minds in idle moments, like when showering, can be surprisingly significant. It's often during these times that we inadvertently focus on the problems that matter most to us. This form of "ambient thought" is not just beneficial but necessary for solving complex issues. However, we can only influence it indirectly.

Determination is the most crucial trait in startup founders, surpassing intelligence once you're above a certain threshold. It's about persisting through obstacles without getting demoralized. Bill Clerico and Rich Aberman of WePay exemplify this with their relentless pursuit in the face of bureaucratic resistance.

October 2015