4 ms·

Sure, but it's nothing that we haven't heard before. Every startup faces moments of uncertainty and the feeling of impending doom, and founders that know each o

Sure, but it's nothing that we haven't heard before. Every startup faces moments of uncertainty and the feeling of impending doom, and founders that know each other are more likely to stick through hard times due to the pair bond. See, if the only thing holding two people together is the potential success of the startup, they're more likely to jump ship when the going gets tough. If the founders are friends, they'll weather the storm out of sake of the friendship, and have greater chance of getting lucky. So... PM me if you are interested in working on a side project together and nurturing a friendship based on shared values.

akkartik 16y ago
Yeah, we've heard this from day 1. What was interesting to me was to hear PG say that even they underestimated how important the people are compared to the initial idea. Compared to the first batches he said the application form now has a lot more questions about the people, and a lot fewer about what they plan to do.
- matwood 16y ago
  I think anyone who is in the HN environment has already realized that the people and, likely more importantly, the ability to execute* is the #1 secret in a successful startup. People outside the HN circle don't understand this though. I have friends who are still looking for that perfect idea and then they'll start working on something on the side. I just don't see it working that way, instead you keep working on the side until you morph whatever you have into that perfect idea. *Execution really is king, but is greatly helped by being smart and fast. Basically if you have all three you can take a whim idea do it quickly and see 'what if.' The faster that someone can iterate through that process the more chances they can give themselves at finding a good business.

4 ms·

Sure, but it's nothing that we haven't heard before. Every startup faces moments of uncertainty and the feeling of impending doom, and founders that know each o

by zackattack 16y ago

akkartik 16y ago
Yeah, we've heard this from day 1. What was interesting to me was to hear PG say that even they underestimated how important the people are compared to the initial idea. Compared to the first batches he said the application form now has a lot more questions about the people, and a lot fewer about what they plan to do.
- matwood 16y ago
  I think anyone who is in the HN environment has already realized that the people and, likely more importantly, the ability to execute* is the #1 secret in a successful startup. People outside the HN circle don't understand this though. I have friends who are still looking for that perfect idea and then they'll start working on something on the side. I just don't see it working that way, instead you keep working on the side until you morph whatever you have into that perfect idea. *Execution really is king, but is greatly helped by being smart and fast. Basically if you have all three you can take a whim idea do it quickly and see 'what if.' The faster that someone can iterate through that process the more chances they can give themselves at finding a good business.