Building 0-1
The downside of lead generation businesses is that they can be a race to the bottom if they're in a crowded and competitive market. The barriers to entry are essentially aggregating supply (i.e. buyers of leads or businesses willing to pay for new customers) so there is little in the way of defensibility. The other downside is that they are very... See more
Marketplaces, Lead Generation, and Brokerages
As you build newthing you will discover that building a newthing is a strange act where the harder you go about trying to do it, the harder it becomes. It will resist direct force and control. The more you relax and allow it to speak through you, however, the easier it will be.
Non consensus approaches to picking businesses
Non consensus and right
I think the mistake too many entrepreneurs make is they start companies assuming they have scale. We’ve seen no scale, we’ve seen hyperscale, and what we realized was what we have to do is we have to start with that utility and the best networks. I didn’t realize Chris wrote that post, but I should maybe in the back of my mind that’s what I was... See more
Ben Thompson • An Interview with Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger About Artifact
One of our theories is to seek out opportunities where there’s a major change. Major dislocation in the way things are. Wherever there’s turmoil, there's indecision. And wherever there’s indecision, there’s opportunity. So we look for the confusion when the big companies are confused. When the other venture groups are confused. That’s the time to... See more
Rex Woodbury • Seed Investing: The State of the Union

I don't have any 2024 startup predictions, but I do have a pocket guide for you ...
This was 100% inspired by YC's pocket guide.
H/T @mwseibel
The downside of lead generation businesses is that they can be a race to the bottom if they're in a crowded and competitive market. The barriers to entry are essentially aggregating supply (i.e. buyers of leads or businesses willing to pay for new customers) so there is little in the way of defensibility. The other downside is that they are very... See more
Marketplaces, Lead Generation, and Brokerages
This is the overall promise of your startup. Expert level performance through appropriate use of your software to speed up a defined part of a businesses’ key workflow.
Oji Udezue • Where to fish to land a Unicorn (in B2B SaaS)
The fact that there is a newthing has come to feel like a certainty, even as we cannot fully perceive it. This will spark a search for underlying structures, analogs, and ways of being that feel natural to this newthing.
Does the newthing exist in this context or some other one?
Is it a newthing that’s meant to run all the time or is it more seasonal... See more
Does the newthing exist in this context or some other one?
Is it a newthing that’s meant to run all the time or is it more seasonal... See more