8 ms·

Lecture 8: How to Start a Startup

118 points by kqr2 12y ago

cjbarber 12y ago
I've been eagerly watching/reading all of these lectures. Top quality content. Many thanks to YC for doing this - I look forward to the beneficial impact that spreading this knowledge will have. My only complaint is that many of these things are easy to hear, and agree with - i.e. talk to users first, of course! Yet, it can be hard to bridge the gap between what we agree with, and the actions we take. Much easier to bridge the gap when this advice is given during YC session, where people can take it and immediately apply it. To remedy this for myself I'm making checklists for each of the classes, almost like a CS183B sanity check tool. As an example, here's my checklist for class #5 (on growth). https://chris.typeform.com/to/DxLnqP https://chris.typeform.com/to/DxLnqP (by the way, typeform is awesome and way better than google forms) Anyhow, awesome series and I look forward to watching this lecture. I'll reply and post my checklist for this class too!
- Widow 12y ago
  Wow, I had no idea about typeform before you comment. Awesome stuff there.
- cjbarber 12y ago
  Checklist for lecture #8 https://chris.typeform.com/to/Oto5xV https://chris.typeform.com/to/Oto5xV
subdane 12y ago
These things are coming too fast, I can't hardly keep up!
- petermackowiak 12y ago
  Timestamped notes for this lecture series: https://timelined.com/how-to-start-a-startup https://timelined.com/how-to-start-a-startup
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
tedsanders 12y ago
I don't understand why there's so much emphasis on doing things that don't scale. Here's why: In this lecture, we heard about DoorDash, a successful delivery business that is now expanding to multiple cities. DoorDash adds value by delivering more efficiently than small businesses can on their own. An example of a small business that benefits is a Palo Alto Macaroon store. Before DoorDash, the Macaroon store took orders by phone and recorded them by hand in a thick notebook. Then, when there was time, the owner of the Macaroon store would personally deliver orders out of their personal car. No additional cars were ever purchased and no drivers were ever hired. One key factor is causing DoorDash to succeed where others have failed: mobile phones. The ubiquity of smartphones has enabled DoorDash to hire and coordinate part-time contractors with personal cars. This new development makes the service cheaper than past competitors. Now, you may be wondering what my point is. Why am I summarizing the pitch we heard from DoorDash? Because it's all about SCALING! Let me explain. +DoorDash is startup. By definition, that means it wants to scale. +DoorDash is expanding to multiple cities. I.e., it is scaling. +The businesses it helps are those who otherwise deliver at low volume with a phone and notebook. I.e., in a way that doesn't scale. +DoorDash has no proprietary technology and is not a monopoly (Peter Thiel disapproves, by the way). DoorDash is competing on one main dimension: cost. And how do they achieve lower cost than a mom & pop macaroon shop? By scaling. Operating at scale is their main competitive advantage. +And why is DoorDash succeeding now, when past delivery start ups have failed? Because of mobile technology. And what is mobile technology letting them do? Manage a fleet of drivers at scale. +DoorDash is a software company and software companies are eating the world. Why are software companies eating the world? Because software scales! DoorDash's words say to "do things that don't scale." But DoorDash's actions say the opposite. Scaling is the key to their business. (Incidentally, DoorDash gave an example of something that they claim doesn't scale: writing personalized notes to customers after orders. But guess what? That totally scales!) Can someone explain why so much more emphasis is placed on doing things that don't scale? Doing things that scale seems to be more important to me. Edit: I don't mean to be harsh. I'm honestly curious and hoping to open up a discussion. The emphasis on not scaling seriously puzzles me. I'm sure you folks have great ideas that I'm missing.
- frankdenbow 12y ago
  > Can someone explain why so much more emphasis is placed on doing things that don't scale? Doing things that scale seems to be more important to me. By doing things that dont scale, you learn the problem deeply and then figure out the details needed to make it scale later on.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
alexvr 12y ago
The second I turned up my volume they turned up the volume. Kind of saw it coming but it was too late to turn it back down. Lol
alexvr 12y ago
Cool services. It helps to have some context like this.
rdlecler1 12y ago
Do things that don't scale is a great. An approach we took to heart. However, we're now ripping apart at the seams and this is negatively affecting our members. So now I need to go out and raise capital so that we have more bandwidth, but in doing so I exacerbate the problem because when I'm away lose 1/3rd of our team. I can't way I would have done anything differently, but if the capital is not there when you need it, then things start to break down with this approach.
- akbar501 12y ago
  > we're now ripping apart at the seams Congrats on the growth. It sounds like its time to start automating some of your processes / tasks.
- jlukanta 12y ago
  I'm not sure why you got downvoted because our experience matches yours. Just like everything, this mantra needs to be put in context. There are different stages in a startup life. It is possible that some strategies would cease to be valid once you go beyond certain stage.
itazula 12y ago
DoorDash should team up with Uber, Lyft et al. Or the other way around, Uber or Lyft could do what DoorDash does. On another note, home delivery has been in Japan for many years, but there, the density of population makes it feasible - someone at the restaurant just loads the trays of food onto a special spring-suspension tray holder on his bicycle and makes the delivery. After finishing the meal, the recipient leaves the trays, dishes, and bowls outside for pick up the next day. Usually, there is no extra charge, and tipping isn't common in Japan, so it's a good deal. See http://books.google.com/books?id=kJ3TAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT116&lpg=PT116&dq=demae+japan+delivery&source=bl&ots=J-juhd09bJ&sig=iSiBoKuqvCE5Gc_mRa3K0jWItNs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DpVAVJiwHqOLiwKAxIHICA&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=demae%20japan%20delivery&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=kJ3TAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT116&lpg=P... Also, for some history, http://books.google.com/books?id=OT8OSoiYyagC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=demae+japan+delivery&source=bl&ots=deH4_wtqVH&sig=GzUnPe3uSUqPZCsdOP0qY362Yuc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DpVAVJiwHqOLiwKAxIHICA&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage http://books.google.com/books?id=OT8OSoiYyagC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA... q=demae%20japan%20delivery&f=false I don't know if this is still possible, but apparently you can order take-out using a Wii catering channel: http://www.destructoid.com/japan-order-pizza-with-your-wii-in-the-catering-channel-133495.phtml http://www.destructoid.com/japan-order-pizza-with-your-wii-i... Here's an example of the take-out offerings from restaurants in a particular area (postal code): http://demae-can.com/search/delivery/today/13110013001/ http://demae-can.com/search/delivery/today/13110013001/ There are ratings listed. Heh, maybe there's another teaming possibility ... Yelp.
- vram22 12y ago
  Home delivery has been around in India for ages too. Not only for restaurants (for which it became common only some 10 or 15 years ago, IMO, though existed before too), but much more for small general stores - called kirana stores here - what are called mom-and-pop stores in the US. And the owners of those small stores, who often are from the Marwari community (at least in northern and central India) are very entrepreneurial.
skbohra123 12y ago
Sam, can you please add a <title/> tag to this page? That would really make it easy to find the tab.
jcavin 12y ago
A lot of great points shared. I like how door dash talks about hacking solutions together to make it work. To improve the efficiency the way a business is ran you have to understand all its components. In their case it was driving cars, charging transactions, etc. starting crappy is ok as long as you continuously improve.
lawsohard 12y ago
ooh full transcript is out: http://tech.genius.com/Walker-williams-lecture-8-doing-things-that-dont-scale-pr-and-how-to-get-started-annotated http://tech.genius.com/Walker-williams-lecture-8-doing-thing...
rajens 12y ago
29 Quotes from Walker Williams on Doing Things that Don't Scale: https://medium.com/how-to-start-a-startup/29-quotes-from-walker-williams-on-doing-things-that-dont-scale-c4912f50631d https://medium.com/how-to-start-a-startup/29-quotes-from-wal...
- rajens 12y ago
  it took me a little longer to post Justin's quotes, but here they are for anyone who's interested- 20 Quotes from Justin Kan on Getting Press for your Startup: https://medium.com/how-to-start-a-startup/20-quotes-from-justin-kan-on-getting-press-for-your-startup-8830cc24a88 https://medium.com/how-to-start-a-startup/20-quotes-from-jus...
calgaryeng 12y ago
Pedantic: why put "Confidential" on the bottom of a slide deck that you are giving in public, and fully expect to be released on YouTube?
- tarblog 12y ago
  Only because you've not changed the slides in a while.
spacefight 12y ago
"Are you doing whatever it takes to get initial customers?* Examples given: sending 100 emails a day. " Sounds like spam to me.
- mattmanser 12y ago
  Spam is 1,000,000 emails to some random list you bought for $25.
  - spacefight 12y ago
    Nope. Spam is unsolicited e-mail - there are laws in quite a lot of countries regulating exactly this.
    - mattmanser 12y ago
      They're generally only for individuals, not emailing companies. To be honest, if you think 100 emails a day is bad, I honestly would not consider entrepreneurship as a career. You will have to do far more grey area things than that to succeed.
      - spacefight 12y ago
        Nice attitude you have there. No, you don't have to do illegal or grey area things - and yes, I consider myself an entrepreneur.
wuliwong 12y ago
I really like the main message of this video. I think it makes loads of sense, I've employed it in my own projects at the beginning. One question is that it seems like the first speaker and some of the people asking questions are asking "why did nobody ever do this before?" That just isn't true. In Atlanta, for instance, we have had a company Zifty for years. Zifty has been here well before grubhub or the other sites. I guess Zifty hasn't expanded to San Francisco, yet. :) But anyway, my point is that I don't see how doordash is a new idea? Edit here's the question from the transcript: Q: When you started, it seemed so obvious to you, you were wondering why, what the reason was nobody had done this before. What's your answer now looking back?
morenoh149 12y ago
If any of you all are in San Francisco. There's a meetup I'm in that watches them as a group. http://www.meetup.com/Ycombinators-Stanford-lectures/ http://www.meetup.com/Ycombinators-Stanford-lectures/

118 points by kqr2 12y ago

I've been eagerly watching/reading all of these lectures. Top quality content. Many thanks to YC for doing this - I look forward to the beneficial impact that spreading this knowledge will have. My only complaint is that many of these things are easy to hear, and agree with - i.e. talk to users first, of course! Yet, it can be hard to bridge the gap between what we agree with, and the actions we take. Much easier to bridge the gap when this advice is given during YC session, where people can take it and immediately apply it. To remedy this for myself I'm making checklists for each of the classes, almost like a CS183B sanity check tool. As an example, here's my checklist for class #5 (on growth). https://chris.typeform.com/to/DxLnqP https://chris.typeform.com/to/DxLnqP (by the way, typeform is awesome and way better than google forms) Anyhow, awesome series and I look forward to watching this lecture. I'll reply and post my checklist for this class too!

Widow 12y ago
Wow, I had no idea about typeform before you comment. Awesome stuff there.
cjbarber 12y ago
Checklist for lecture #8 https://chris.typeform.com/to/Oto5xV https://chris.typeform.com/to/Oto5xV

subdane 12y ago

These things are coming too fast, I can't hardly keep up!

petermackowiak 12y ago
Timestamped notes for this lecture series: https://timelined.com/how-to-start-a-startup https://timelined.com/how-to-start-a-startup

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

tedsanders 12y ago

I don't understand why there's so much emphasis on doing things that don't scale. Here's why: In this lecture, we heard about DoorDash, a successful delivery business that is now expanding to multiple cities. DoorDash adds value by delivering more efficiently than small businesses can on their own. An example of a small business that benefits is a Palo Alto Macaroon store. Before DoorDash, the Macaroon store took orders by phone and recorded them by hand in a thick notebook. Then, when there was time, the owner of the Macaroon store would personally deliver orders out of their personal car. No additional cars were ever purchased and no drivers were ever hired. One key factor is causing DoorDash to succeed where others have failed: mobile phones. The ubiquity of smartphones has enabled DoorDash to hire and coordinate part-time contractors with personal cars. This new development makes the service cheaper than past competitors. Now, you may be wondering what my point is. Why am I summarizing the pitch we heard from DoorDash? Because it's all about SCALING! Let me explain. +DoorDash is startup. By definition, that means it wants to scale. +DoorDash is expanding to multiple cities. I.e., it is scaling. +The businesses it helps are those who otherwise deliver at low volume with a phone and notebook. I.e., in a way that doesn't scale. +DoorDash has no proprietary technology and is not a monopoly (Peter Thiel disapproves, by the way). DoorDash is competing on one main dimension: cost. And how do they achieve lower cost than a mom & pop macaroon shop? By scaling. Operating at scale is their main competitive advantage. +And why is DoorDash succeeding now, when past delivery start ups have failed? Because of mobile technology. And what is mobile technology letting them do? Manage a fleet of drivers at scale. +DoorDash is a software company and software companies are eating the world. Why are software companies eating the world? Because software scales! DoorDash's words say to "do things that don't scale." But DoorDash's actions say the opposite. Scaling is the key to their business. (Incidentally, DoorDash gave an example of something that they claim doesn't scale: writing personalized notes to customers after orders. But guess what? That totally scales!) Can someone explain why so much more emphasis is placed on doing things that don't scale? Doing things that scale seems to be more important to me. Edit: I don't mean to be harsh. I'm honestly curious and hoping to open up a discussion. The emphasis on not scaling seriously puzzles me. I'm sure you folks have great ideas that I'm missing.

frankdenbow 12y ago
> Can someone explain why so much more emphasis is placed on doing things that don't scale? Doing things that scale seems to be more important to me. By doing things that dont scale, you learn the problem deeply and then figure out the details needed to make it scale later on.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

alexvr 12y ago

The second I turned up my volume they turned up the volume. Kind of saw it coming but it was too late to turn it back down. Lol

alexvr 12y ago

Cool services. It helps to have some context like this.

rdlecler1 12y ago

Do things that don't scale is a great. An approach we took to heart. However, we're now ripping apart at the seams and this is negatively affecting our members. So now I need to go out and raise capital so that we have more bandwidth, but in doing so I exacerbate the problem because when I'm away lose 1/3rd of our team. I can't way I would have done anything differently, but if the capital is not there when you need it, then things start to break down with this approach.

akbar501 12y ago
> we're now ripping apart at the seams Congrats on the growth. It sounds like its time to start automating some of your processes / tasks.
jlukanta 12y ago
I'm not sure why you got downvoted because our experience matches yours. Just like everything, this mantra needs to be put in context. There are different stages in a startup life. It is possible that some strategies would cease to be valid once you go beyond certain stage.

itazula 12y ago

DoorDash should team up with Uber, Lyft et al. Or the other way around, Uber or Lyft could do what DoorDash does. On another note, home delivery has been in Japan for many years, but there, the density of population makes it feasible - someone at the restaurant just loads the trays of food onto a special spring-suspension tray holder on his bicycle and makes the delivery. After finishing the meal, the recipient leaves the trays, dishes, and bowls outside for pick up the next day. Usually, there is no extra charge, and tipping isn't common in Japan, so it's a good deal. See http://books.google.com/books?id=kJ3TAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT116&lpg=PT116&dq=demae+japan+delivery&source=bl&ots=J-juhd09bJ&sig=iSiBoKuqvCE5Gc_mRa3K0jWItNs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DpVAVJiwHqOLiwKAxIHICA&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=demae%20japan%20delivery&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=kJ3TAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT116&lpg=P... Also, for some history, http://books.google.com/books?id=OT8OSoiYyagC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=demae+japan+delivery&source=bl&ots=deH4_wtqVH&sig=GzUnPe3uSUqPZCsdOP0qY362Yuc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DpVAVJiwHqOLiwKAxIHICA&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage http://books.google.com/books?id=OT8OSoiYyagC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA... q=demae%20japan%20delivery&f=false I don't know if this is still possible, but apparently you can order take-out using a Wii catering channel: http://www.destructoid.com/japan-order-pizza-with-your-wii-in-the-catering-channel-133495.phtml http://www.destructoid.com/japan-order-pizza-with-your-wii-i... Here's an example of the take-out offerings from restaurants in a particular area (postal code): http://demae-can.com/search/delivery/today/13110013001/ http://demae-can.com/search/delivery/today/13110013001/ There are ratings listed. Heh, maybe there's another teaming possibility ... Yelp.

vram22 12y ago
Home delivery has been around in India for ages too. Not only for restaurants (for which it became common only some 10 or 15 years ago, IMO, though existed before too), but much more for small general stores - called kirana stores here - what are called mom-and-pop stores in the US. And the owners of those small stores, who often are from the Marwari community (at least in northern and central India) are very entrepreneurial.

skbohra123 12y ago

Sam, can you please add a <title/> tag to this page? That would really make it easy to find the tab.

jcavin 12y ago

A lot of great points shared. I like how door dash talks about hacking solutions together to make it work. To improve the efficiency the way a business is ran you have to understand all its components. In their case it was driving cars, charging transactions, etc. starting crappy is ok as long as you continuously improve.

lawsohard 12y ago

ooh full transcript is out: http://tech.genius.com/Walker-williams-lecture-8-doing-things-that-dont-scale-pr-and-how-to-get-started-annotated http://tech.genius.com/Walker-williams-lecture-8-doing-thing...

rajens 12y ago

29 Quotes from Walker Williams on Doing Things that Don't Scale: https://medium.com/how-to-start-a-startup/29-quotes-from-walker-williams-on-doing-things-that-dont-scale-c4912f50631d https://medium.com/how-to-start-a-startup/29-quotes-from-wal...

rajens 12y ago
it took me a little longer to post Justin's quotes, but here they are for anyone who's interested- 20 Quotes from Justin Kan on Getting Press for your Startup: https://medium.com/how-to-start-a-startup/20-quotes-from-justin-kan-on-getting-press-for-your-startup-8830cc24a88 https://medium.com/how-to-start-a-startup/20-quotes-from-jus...

calgaryeng 12y ago

Pedantic: why put "Confidential" on the bottom of a slide deck that you are giving in public, and fully expect to be released on YouTube?

tarblog 12y ago
Only because you've not changed the slides in a while.

spacefight 12y ago

"Are you doing whatever it takes to get initial customers?* Examples given: sending 100 emails a day. " Sounds like spam to me.

mattmanser 12y ago
Spam is 1,000,000 emails to some random list you bought for $25.
- spacefight 12y ago
  Nope. Spam is unsolicited e-mail - there are laws in quite a lot of countries regulating exactly this.
  - mattmanser 12y ago
    They're generally only for individuals, not emailing companies. To be honest, if you think 100 emails a day is bad, I honestly would not consider entrepreneurship as a career. You will have to do far more grey area things than that to succeed.
    - spacefight 12y ago
      Nice attitude you have there. No, you don't have to do illegal or grey area things - and yes, I consider myself an entrepreneur.

wuliwong 12y ago

I really like the main message of this video. I think it makes loads of sense, I've employed it in my own projects at the beginning. One question is that it seems like the first speaker and some of the people asking questions are asking "why did nobody ever do this before?" That just isn't true. In Atlanta, for instance, we have had a company Zifty for years. Zifty has been here well before grubhub or the other sites. I guess Zifty hasn't expanded to San Francisco, yet. :) But anyway, my point is that I don't see how doordash is a new idea? Edit here's the question from the transcript: Q: When you started, it seemed so obvious to you, you were wondering why, what the reason was nobody had done this before. What's your answer now looking back?

morenoh149 12y ago

If any of you all are in San Francisco. There's a meetup I'm in that watches them as a group. http://www.meetup.com/Ycombinators-Stanford-lectures/ http://www.meetup.com/Ycombinators-Stanford-lectures/