There are thousands of smart people who could start companies and don't, and with a relatively small amount of force applied at just the right place, we can spring on the world a stream of new startups that might otherwise not have existed
There is no ideal pitch deck. The narrative depends on what you’re building—but I really like this one: 1. Vision for the world in 5 years 2. The novel wedge that will get you there 3. How you plan to distribute it 4. What could go wrong 5. What you’ll prove by the time you need…
With an intake process that emphasizes past accomplishments and interviews rather than bureaucratic credentials, and with an ethos of taking chances on those who show promise rather than weeding out those who might fail, YC has been able to select charismatic and energetic candidates for its program. The three-month program serves as the foundation... See more
You and your ragtag team of engineers likely won’t be able to create something that is competitive with any big incumbent product.
However, you can build features, seed content, and brand it in a way that is so obnoxiously relevant for a particular group of people that their only possible reaction is “Well, fuck. You... See more
I think there are a few entrepreneurs that come out that have had protected their generative drive, protected their curiosity, their creativity as they manifest their aggressive drive, and they didn't let their pleasures and their enjoyment of success corrupt them in a way that took their eye off the ball.
But I think those three different drives... See more
In many cases, the reader might be able to provide valuable insight that was inaccessible to the author, simply because they have had a different set of experiences. They may be able to unlock something important by applying their own knowledge in the context of the paper. Despite being highly valuable, this kind of insight isn't recorded anywhere,... See more
Since the scientific interface is not capable of serving the general population, people have to blind trust the institutions who communicate science publicly. When that trust evaporates, people begin to reject the information itself.