6 ms·

YC is always doing a good job in educating people on startup things, and they truly inspire a whole generation of founders, including myself. But still, most a

by wenbin 6y ago

YC is always doing a good job in educating people on startup things, and they truly inspire a whole generation of founders, including myself. But still, most advices we could find online are too high level, too abstract, too philosophical. Yeah there’s a need for this type of things. But as a person who is thinking to quit his/her job to start a company, they may need more actionable advices and data points, e.g., how to buy healthy insurance, what corporate credit card to use, where to find design/engineering help, what specific tools to use for specific things & the cost... I wish there were such “trivia” advices when I started out 4 years ago. Of course, we can’t expect someone like pg or sam Altman to tell us what specific saas or api or health insurance to buy :) this kind of things can only come from people who fight in the frontline , while the memory / experience is still fresh. Maybe I should write an ebook for these unglamorous advices , especially for people who don’t want to go the venture scale route :) - [edit 1] I had an old blog post on the tools / tech I used for my company: https://www.listennotes.com/blog/the-boring-technology-behind-a-one-person-23/ https://www.listennotes.com/blog/the-boring-technology-behin... it’s of course not the most optimal set of tools & tech; but they get things done :) - [edit 2] when people make it and become successful entrepreneurs/VCs, they are teaching in startup graduate schools with their deep knowledge. But Where is the startup kindergarten/primary school to teach those things that college/graduate schools assume you already know?

chrisweekly 6y ago
I recommend a famous book about creating companies and running / growing successful businesses called "The Hard Thing About Hard Things". The gist of it is, there is no recipe for success, no roadmap or checklist to follow. Due diligence and research / prep are one thing, but anyone requiring a "color by numbers" or "connect the dots" guide is, by definition, ill-suited for entrepreneurship.
- jayjohn436 6y ago
  One of the best books I have ever read. It taught me what it meant to be a product manager and how to be a professional at the workplace no matter what. I now refer to it almost every day while running my own start up which is three months old.
  - NetOpWibby 6y ago
    Congrats!
hayksaakian 6y ago
Ultimately a lot of the trivia doesn't really matter for your success or failure. High level thinking combined with effort and luck are what helps you "make it" in my eyes. If your tech startup should succeeds or fails in spite of the particular corporate credit you choose. This is the same problem with youtubers who have 0 subscribers obsessing over what particular camera they need to buy, all while people are growing massive audiences with little more than a cell phone camera and a message that resonates.
- wenbin 6y ago
  Part of me agree the attitude of "you should be able to figure out things on your own". My point is that since some tools & trivia things really don't matter, we just need good defaults and move on to do things that matter. Where to find good defaults? You can ask around in your network, or figure out these things on your own. Or just pick whatever have good social proof.
- slimsag 6y ago
  Pretty sure GP is saying that making those decisions for which healthcare to get, which credit card to get, etc. take a lot of time away from high level thinking, and I’d have to agree. If I understand, your argument seems to be “just pick any and don’t worry” or “only care about success, not the risks of having bad/no healthcare, bad credit cards, etc when your startup fails” A youtuber debating what camera to get usually doesn’t impact their livelihood in the long run, healthcare, finances, and other aspects of running a business definitely can.
  - tjchear 6y ago
    Trivia decisions aside, there are also seemingly trivia things that you just didn't even know you had to know or make a decision on. You don't know what you don't know, so having someone who had done it to guide a future entrepreneur on things beyond just high level guidance would be immensely helpful.
- redis_mlc 6y ago
  > If your tech startup should succeeds or fails in spite of the particular corporate credit you choose. I'd have to agree. Instead of "company", think "domain name." Instead of "health insurance", think "I'm in my 20's and don't need it." Instead of "company credit card", think "don't spend anything." Instead of "design/eng. help", think "no budget, DIY", "co-founder" or at most Craigslist gigs. Or just keep working the day job until the above is obvious.
hodgesrm 6y ago
Start-up advice in one line: don't quit your day job. Having a salary gives you the time to find customers, figure out market fit, and lay the foundation for a successful business. More than anything else it allows you to be patient, which is a virtue when starting a new business.
cannaceo 6y ago
I've thought about writing the same type of book with a broader scope. HR processes, what is a PEO, types of insurance and how to shop for them, accounting/bookkeeping practices, importance of contracts, how to collect AR, how construction contractors bill and how to ask them to quote, overview of electronic signatures, retaining communications from the start, what is a payroll audit, etc.) I'm sure there can be some other great advice in there about not spending too much on design upfront, using graphic design templates as much as possible, etc. The reality is a lot of the stuff that can really bite you in the ass (PAGA lawsuits in CA) you only learn about when you're about to get reamed.
manigandham 6y ago
Advice is on a spectrum from being so generic as to be common sense, all the way to understanding your precise situation and choices. Things like health insurance and credit cards are far too specific for YC to put out as a generic guide. The size of your team, budget, where you're located, etc. all make a big difference. Part of being an entrepreneur is figuring these things out, and I'll admit that choosing the "default" options was actually a negative for my last startup because it didn't provide what we needed. Doing the research is a good test for how well you'll be able to handle the rest of the details of running a business. If you don't know where to look for this info, I recommend reading how similar companies (same sector, size, region) started and using what they use. Plenty of startup profiles out there on HN, techcrunch, angelist, producthunt, indiehacker and more. That's usually a good compromise to provide choices without too much research.
Fission 6y ago
This is one of the problems we try to solve at Satchel (https://satchel.com/ https://satchel.com/). We write long-form guides to help startups figure out the best tool for them to use.
esc_colon_q 6y ago
If you fail based on any of the "would be nice to know" items, you were never going to succeed. Find another few founders, ask them what they use. Find another few who use the same, ask what they think. Repeat. If you can't figure out how to hire, you're not fit for this. There's really nothing to any of this that should be at all difficult relative to product/market fit, and the answers to all those other things change too often to be worth enshrining. "Ask other cofounders" is the trivial and 99% correct answer, so why complain that someone hasn't done that for you given that the data will be stale every 6 months?
- ketzo 6y ago
  What? That’s a weird, shitty thing to say. Why am I not allowed to ask someone how to get health insurance?
justiceforsaas 6y ago
The psychological term for this is the "curse of knowledge" [1]. This is why you can find the best information from "indie founders", people who are 5-6 steps (not 1000 like Altman) ahead of you and outline their experiences. I've been collecting/summarizing their experiences in a project I currently do on acquisition channels [2] and most of it is WAY more concrete than your-average-TechCrunch-article. For example, for a company that had success with Google Ads (and they started with it 10 years ago), the founder probably forgot how it's like to be a beginner. When interviewed, they're likely to say more abstract things like "Make sure you have a good user experience". It makes sense, because these things work OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. But your-average-founder simply wants to know what WORKS NOW, what keywords can he bid on, etc. This is where experiences from founders who got started months (rather than years) ago comes useful. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge [2] https://firstpayingusers.com https://firstpayingusers.com
the_resistence 6y ago
Always enjoy your perspective from the trenches!
hobby-coder-guy 6y ago
“Advice” not “advices”.

by wenbin 6y ago

chrisweekly 6y ago

I recommend a famous book about creating companies and running / growing successful businesses called "The Hard Thing About Hard Things". The gist of it is, there is no recipe for success, no roadmap or checklist to follow. Due diligence and research / prep are one thing, but anyone requiring a "color by numbers" or "connect the dots" guide is, by definition, ill-suited for entrepreneurship.

jayjohn436 6y ago
One of the best books I have ever read. It taught me what it meant to be a product manager and how to be a professional at the workplace no matter what. I now refer to it almost every day while running my own start up which is three months old.
- NetOpWibby 6y ago
  Congrats!

hayksaakian 6y ago

Ultimately a lot of the trivia doesn't really matter for your success or failure. High level thinking combined with effort and luck are what helps you "make it" in my eyes. If your tech startup should succeeds or fails in spite of the particular corporate credit you choose. This is the same problem with youtubers who have 0 subscribers obsessing over what particular camera they need to buy, all while people are growing massive audiences with little more than a cell phone camera and a message that resonates.

wenbin 6y ago
Part of me agree the attitude of "you should be able to figure out things on your own". My point is that since some tools & trivia things really don't matter, we just need good defaults and move on to do things that matter. Where to find good defaults? You can ask around in your network, or figure out these things on your own. Or just pick whatever have good social proof.
slimsag 6y ago
Pretty sure GP is saying that making those decisions for which healthcare to get, which credit card to get, etc. take a lot of time away from high level thinking, and I’d have to agree. If I understand, your argument seems to be “just pick any and don’t worry” or “only care about success, not the risks of having bad/no healthcare, bad credit cards, etc when your startup fails” A youtuber debating what camera to get usually doesn’t impact their livelihood in the long run, healthcare, finances, and other aspects of running a business definitely can.
- tjchear 6y ago
  Trivia decisions aside, there are also seemingly trivia things that you just didn't even know you had to know or make a decision on. You don't know what you don't know, so having someone who had done it to guide a future entrepreneur on things beyond just high level guidance would be immensely helpful.
redis_mlc 6y ago
> If your tech startup should succeeds or fails in spite of the particular corporate credit you choose. I'd have to agree. Instead of "company", think "domain name." Instead of "health insurance", think "I'm in my 20's and don't need it." Instead of "company credit card", think "don't spend anything." Instead of "design/eng. help", think "no budget, DIY", "co-founder" or at most Craigslist gigs. Or just keep working the day job until the above is obvious.

hodgesrm 6y ago

Start-up advice in one line: don't quit your day job. Having a salary gives you the time to find customers, figure out market fit, and lay the foundation for a successful business. More than anything else it allows you to be patient, which is a virtue when starting a new business.

cannaceo 6y ago

I've thought about writing the same type of book with a broader scope. HR processes, what is a PEO, types of insurance and how to shop for them, accounting/bookkeeping practices, importance of contracts, how to collect AR, how construction contractors bill and how to ask them to quote, overview of electronic signatures, retaining communications from the start, what is a payroll audit, etc.) I'm sure there can be some other great advice in there about not spending too much on design upfront, using graphic design templates as much as possible, etc. The reality is a lot of the stuff that can really bite you in the ass (PAGA lawsuits in CA) you only learn about when you're about to get reamed.

manigandham 6y ago

Advice is on a spectrum from being so generic as to be common sense, all the way to understanding your precise situation and choices. Things like health insurance and credit cards are far too specific for YC to put out as a generic guide. The size of your team, budget, where you're located, etc. all make a big difference. Part of being an entrepreneur is figuring these things out, and I'll admit that choosing the "default" options was actually a negative for my last startup because it didn't provide what we needed. Doing the research is a good test for how well you'll be able to handle the rest of the details of running a business. If you don't know where to look for this info, I recommend reading how similar companies (same sector, size, region) started and using what they use. Plenty of startup profiles out there on HN, techcrunch, angelist, producthunt, indiehacker and more. That's usually a good compromise to provide choices without too much research.

Fission 6y ago

This is one of the problems we try to solve at Satchel (https://satchel.com/ https://satchel.com/). We write long-form guides to help startups figure out the best tool for them to use.

esc_colon_q 6y ago

If you fail based on any of the "would be nice to know" items, you were never going to succeed. Find another few founders, ask them what they use. Find another few who use the same, ask what they think. Repeat. If you can't figure out how to hire, you're not fit for this. There's really nothing to any of this that should be at all difficult relative to product/market fit, and the answers to all those other things change too often to be worth enshrining. "Ask other cofounders" is the trivial and 99% correct answer, so why complain that someone hasn't done that for you given that the data will be stale every 6 months?

ketzo 6y ago
What? That’s a weird, shitty thing to say. Why am I not allowed to ask someone how to get health insurance?

justiceforsaas 6y ago

The psychological term for this is the "curse of knowledge" [1]. This is why you can find the best information from "indie founders", people who are 5-6 steps (not 1000 like Altman) ahead of you and outline their experiences. I've been collecting/summarizing their experiences in a project I currently do on acquisition channels [2] and most of it is WAY more concrete than your-average-TechCrunch-article. For example, for a company that had success with Google Ads (and they started with it 10 years ago), the founder probably forgot how it's like to be a beginner. When interviewed, they're likely to say more abstract things like "Make sure you have a good user experience". It makes sense, because these things work OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. But your-average-founder simply wants to know what WORKS NOW, what keywords can he bid on, etc. This is where experiences from founders who got started months (rather than years) ago comes useful. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_knowledge [2] https://firstpayingusers.com https://firstpayingusers.com

the_resistence 6y ago

Always enjoy your perspective from the trenches!

hobby-coder-guy 6y ago

“Advice” not “advices”.