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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] th

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 worked and what didn't for that __particular__ startup. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17309725 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17309725

deleted 8y ago
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mikekij 8y ago
I tend to agree. The more experience I gain in running startup companies the more I believe the recipe for success is 1) show up 2) work hard 3) get lucky. And #3 is super important.
kn0thing 8y ago
I want more stories from Loopt. It was ahead of its time and I know he learned a lot from his time as a startup CEO (before joining YC) that we rarely hear about.
rexreed 8y ago
Amen. This barely (if at all) applies to enterprise startups ("make something people want to tell their friends about" doesn't run up against internal decision-making and budgets very well... and "something that's easy to explain" is something that's only relevant in the right industry) and doesn't apply at all to startups in particular industry sectors, government-oriented, or even many hardware oriented ones. This applies to a subset of Silicon Valley-style, hyper consumer oriented, VC-backable startups that at the end of the day, are fairly interchangeable.
lihaciudaniel 8y ago
There's a book "founders at work" by Jessica Livingston. The technology is old but some stories are amazing like Steve Wozniak one. I like to listen to one story to my way to school/gym. If there isnt audible one (I don't use) avoid cognitive ease and use a text to speech.(1). (1) apps like eReader on Android have function for TTS. Cognitive ease is a bias and can be avoided changing to make a little difficult. Like harder font to read etc.
projectramo 8y ago
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 don't think that "focusing on bringing stories of various startups to light" is all that different from what he is doing. The same criticism applies: it is their story not yours. And the same caveat applies: it is a sample of the kind of advice you will get.
- fermienrico 8y ago
  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 disagreeing with both what he is trying to appoint as a question, i.e. "How to success with a startup?" and his generic answers to his generic questions. It helps nobody. Stop asking these questions.
  - tim333 8y ago
    >It helps nobody I think you may be just looking from your own point of view that you find things obvious but that doesn't mean general advice won't help others.
  - projectramo 8y ago
    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.
drum 8y ago
The upcoming videos in this series are mostly presented by startup founders, employees, and investors speaking from their personal experience. To your point about generic advice not working for startups, his advice seems distilled down to the most general advice that does work for startups. Given the number YC has incubated he probably has a good grasp on that. To me these videos are like candy, intuitive but great reminders nonetheless.
enraged_camel 8y ago
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.
anonymous5133 8y ago
I agree that it is a high-level type of advice but it is actually spot on. Everything can't just be handed to you. The hard part about his advice is actually executing on it. Even creating a product that people want and will pay for is extremely difficult.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

mikekij 8y ago

I tend to agree. The more experience I gain in running startup companies the more I believe the recipe for success is 1) show up 2) work hard 3) get lucky. And #3 is super important.

kn0thing 8y ago

I want more stories from Loopt. It was ahead of its time and I know he learned a lot from his time as a startup CEO (before joining YC) that we rarely hear about.

rexreed 8y ago

Amen. This barely (if at all) applies to enterprise startups ("make something people want to tell their friends about" doesn't run up against internal decision-making and budgets very well... and "something that's easy to explain" is something that's only relevant in the right industry) and doesn't apply at all to startups in particular industry sectors, government-oriented, or even many hardware oriented ones. This applies to a subset of Silicon Valley-style, hyper consumer oriented, VC-backable startups that at the end of the day, are fairly interchangeable.

lihaciudaniel 8y ago

There's a book "founders at work" by Jessica Livingston. The technology is old but some stories are amazing like Steve Wozniak one. I like to listen to one story to my way to school/gym. If there isnt audible one (I don't use) avoid cognitive ease and use a text to speech.(1). (1) apps like eReader on Android have function for TTS. Cognitive ease is a bias and can be avoided changing to make a little difficult. Like harder font to read etc.

projectramo 8y ago

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 don't think that "focusing on bringing stories of various startups to light" is all that different from what he is doing. The same criticism applies: it is their story not yours. And the same caveat applies: it is a sample of the kind of advice you will get.

fermienrico 8y ago
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 disagreeing with both what he is trying to appoint as a question, i.e. "How to success with a startup?" and his generic answers to his generic questions. It helps nobody. Stop asking these questions.
- tim333 8y ago
  >It helps nobody I think you may be just looking from your own point of view that you find things obvious but that doesn't mean general advice won't help others.
- projectramo 8y ago
  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.

drum 8y ago

The upcoming videos in this series are mostly presented by startup founders, employees, and investors speaking from their personal experience. To your point about generic advice not working for startups, his advice seems distilled down to the most general advice that does work for startups. Given the number YC has incubated he probably has a good grasp on that. To me these videos are like candy, intuitive but great reminders nonetheless.

enraged_camel 8y ago

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.

anonymous5133 8y ago

I agree that it is a high-level type of advice but it is actually spot on. Everything can't just be handed to you. The hard part about his advice is actually executing on it. Even creating a product that people want and will pay for is extremely difficult.