Big List of Valuable Tips from President Y Combinator

Good day, dear Khabravites! One of the most influential accelerators in the world, Y Combinator has released the awesome The Startup Playbook . TechCrunch has published 62 slides with quotes from YC President Sam Altman. I, in turn, translated them into Russian. In fact, without repetition, 59 sayings came out. I admit, I personally treat such large lists with a certain amount of skepticism. But I assure you that this is not another business quote book. I am convinced that everyone will find something valuable and useful for himself.

If you decide to start a startup, let me warn you: it’s not good for you.

Most large companies started with something completely new (the best definition of a new one is 10 times better).

Successful modern companies started with a product that users liked so much that they themselves advertised it to other people. If your product is wrong, you will not succeed.

Although it is important that the idea fascinates people the first time you read it, in most cases you will hear that your idea sucks.

The faster you build your own faith in the product and your immunity to guarding skepticism, the stronger you will be. No matter how successful you are, haters will always be there.

The idea should be easy to understand. A complex idea is a sign of confused thinking or a far-fetched problem.

The best case is when you yourself are the target audience of your product. The second best case is when you understand your potential user thoroughly.

New and complex is easier to do than secondary and primitive. In the first case, they will want to help and begin to cooperate, in the second case, no.

Where it is better to start with a product from which at least a few users will be delighted than with a product that many simply approve of.

The best ideas are not perceived at first glance, but in fact they are good. Do not wrap your ideas in secret. Do not be afraid to talk about your project, most likely it does not sound like something that needs to be stolen.

There are at least a thousand times more ideological ones than those who are really ready to do such work so that the idea turns into a great company.

What if you have no idea, but want a startup? - Probably not worth it. The idea should be at the beginning, and the startup should be the route of this idea to the world.

What defines a good founder? The most important is perseverance, decisiveness, resourcefulness and impressiveness.

In the best case, you should have a good co-founder, otherwise you should be alone.

Founders must be rigorous and flexible. They must sacredly believe in the fundamental principles of the company and its mission, but be prepared to learn something new that applies to almost everything else.

First of all, the founders should build a product and communicate with users. Nothing else but food, sleep, learning and loved ones.

If you were familiar with your co-founders before the start of the project, you will not want to let each other down and you will be able to develop. Breaking the relationship between co-founders is one of the main causes of startups early death.

You should start with something very simple. With as little as possible. And run it sooner than you thought.

You must create a mechanism to improve the quality of your company's product. Talk with users, watch how they use your solution, determine what can be improved. Repeat this over and over.

Although you need to make a great product, it’s too early to relax. You must turn it into a big company yourself. Hiring an “experienced manager” is the way to start-up cemetery.

You should not allow anyone between the founders and users for as long as possible. Founders need to make sales, carry out those. I will support and so on.

Growth (until it is selling $ 1 at 90 cents for the sake of growth) solves all problems, the lack of growth does not solve anything but growth.

Do not think globally ( Do things that don't scale ). Build a small user base and do what they ask. Many startupers do not like this part and are only concerned about the announcement in the press. But it almost never works.

Do not let yourself be fooled by conceited metrics. A regular mistake is focusing on registrations and ignoring retention. But retention rates are just as important for growth as it is to attract new users.

Maximum internal transparency about metrics and finances is right. Founders often beware of this. But if you hide indicators, then it will be difficult for your employees to do the right focus.

If I needed to describe how to work in two words, it would be clarity and intensity.

Famous executives do things very quickly. They are decisive. They listen to all the advice and quickly make their own decisions.

Do not let your company embark on new directions until you dominate the previous ones. There are no great companies that have started several things at once.

It’s important not to get caught up in the initial success. Not conferences have led you to a promising start.

Look for the opportunity to get 90% of the result from 10% of the effort. The market doesn't care how much you work.

Avoid thoughts of problems in the distant future. Solve them as they become available. Many more startups die in disputes over issues than those who think about it not enough.

In the end, the press will determine the winner. If you are really successful, you will get more attention than you would like

CEO Responsibilities:
1) Setting the vision and strategy;
2) evangelism;
3) Hiring and team management, especially where there are gaps;
4) Budget control;
5) Setting the quality of work;

Being a CEO is loneliness. It is important to have relationships with other leaders who can be called during difficult times.

CEO should not make excuses. There will be a lot of bad and unfair in any case.

Beginners never imagine what they are doing. If this is your first time starting a startup, feel free to ask for help. You need a mentor.

Achieve “doshirak profitability” ( Start-up on doshirak ) - learn to earn so much money that all founders can live at least doshirak. And you will begin to control your fate.

Creating a company is indirectly like religion. If people do not associate their daily activities with a great goal, they will not do a great job.

You must work in a place where you are completely passionate about work. Nothing else can support you for years.

Distort reality for others, but not for yourself. Convince other people that your company is the best startup of the decade, but you should be worried about everything that might go wrong.

A successful startup takes a lot of time - much more time than it seems at first glance. You can’t work on it for wear. Work should not interfere with good nutrition, good sleep, exercise and relationships with family and friends.

You will always think that everything happens by chance. The variety and magnitude of natural disasters around will surprise you. Your job is to correct everything with a smile on your face and assure the team that everything is in order.

The first advice on hiring employees - do not do this. The most successful companies are waiting for the moment to recruit new people to work. Employees are expensive, they complicate organizational processes and communication.

Do not hire chronically negative people. The rest of the world will predict the end of your endeavors. The company needs a single internal belief in success.

Do not turn on superhero mode. Managers without experience often try to take control of everything and become inaccessible to employees. Inability to delegate tasks is a crisis for the company.

Great people have a wide range of opportunities and these people are needed by your company. Generously share shares in stocks, trust and responsibility.

Do not give in to the quality requirements of employees. Everyone will regret it, and this will ruin the company. Both bad and good examples are contagious.

When you are hiring, you should spend about 25% of the time on this. For most managers, this is the number one activity in time.

Try to make sure everyone is in the same office building. Almost all of the most successful startups started together.

Competitors are a frightening story of startups. Founders think that it is competitors who kill 99% of companies. But in 99% of cases, a startup dies due to suicide, not killers.

99% of the time you should ignore competitors. Especially ignore them when they raise the investment round or around them there is a lot of informational noise in the press.

You must raise money when you need it or when they are available on good terms. Lack of money is harmful, but too much money is always harmful.

Look at raising funds as a necessary evil, on what needs to be done as quickly as possible. It is better that only the founder is engaged in such fundraising, so that the company does not have to stand idle.

The key to a good presentation is the clarity of your story: mission, problem, product / service, business model, teams, market and trends, finances.

Do not become demoralized in the struggle for investment. Many famous companies have come across this because at the very beginning they seem worthless.

Talk about investments in parallel. You should not consistently move down the list of favorite investors. The reason for the investor's actions is the fear that another investor will steal his opportunities.

The first check is the hardest to get, so direct your efforts to the one for whom your project looks the most attractive.

Finding money when your company is not fully formed is a bad idea. You will quickly destroy your reputation and lose money.

Remember that there are thousands of people with good ideas and only a few of them become successful. The difference comes down to execution.

Thank you very much for your attention.