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I once heard PG say something like "It's crazy, but the YC startups that succeeded are the ones who followed our advice. The ones who failed, didn't". He's nev
by tomhoward 8y ago
I once heard PG say something like "It's crazy, but the YC startups that succeeded are the ones who followed our advice. The ones who failed, didn't".
He's never claimed there's anything particularly brilliant about his advice. Indeed he's joked that his presence in office hours sessions could be replaced by a 3-line shell script. "Make something people want", "talk to your users", "spend less money than you make"... that's pretty much it.
I think most of the really good VCs would be similarly modest about the value of their advice.
The principles are really simple and easy to convey.
The hard part is actually doing it.
- maxerickson 8y agoThe interesting test is whether anyone can usefully predict "Make something people want". If no one is predicting that then the biggest thing YC is doing is making lots and lots of deals.
- tomhoward 8y agoWhat YC tries to predict is whether the founders are capable of making something people want, not whether the product they pitch in the application process is already something people want. They are just looking for founders who can follow the build+release+test+repeat cycle as quickly and effectively as possible, and their claim is that if founders can do that really well in a large, valuable market, they will find success.
- Mononokay 8y agoAt the same time, PG doesn't have this whole "I am righteous and the most intelligent guy around," sort of thing Naval has the impression he is.
- tomhoward 8y agoPeople have accused PG of that. I don't see it in Naval. He's neither excessively/falsely modest, nor an egomaniac blowhard like plenty of others in that sphere. He just shares the concepts he thinks have been beneficial to himself and others in achieving success. His success speaks for itself, so it can't be dismissed as shallow.