A large list of valuable tips President Y Combinator

Good day, dear habravchane! One of the most influential accelerators in the world, Y Combinator has released some amazing stuff The Startup Playbook . TechCrunch has published 62 slides with quotes from YC President Sam Altman. I, in turn, translated them into Russians. In fact, without repetition, it turned out 59 sayings. I confess that I personally treat such large lists with a certain degree of skepticism. But I assure you that this is not just another business quote. I am convinced that everyone will find something valuable and useful for them.

If you decide to start a startup, let me warn you: you will not be well.

Most large companies started with something completely new (the best definition of a new one is 10 times better).
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Modern successful companies started with a product that users liked so much that they themselves advertised it to other people. If your product is wrong, you will not succeed.

Although it is important that the idea delights people at the very first acquaintance, in most cases you will hear that your idea is a complete mess.

The sooner you have formed your own faith in the product and immunity to the ambiguous skepticism, the stronger you will be. No matter how successful you are, haters will always be there.

The idea should be easy to understand. A complex idea is a sign of confused thinking or contrived problems.

The best case is when you yourself are the target audience of your product. The second best case is when you understand your potential user thoroughly.

New and difficult to do easier than secondary and primitive. In the first case, they will want to help and begin to cooperate, in the second case - no.

Where better to start with a product from which at least a few users will be delighted than with a product that many simply approve.

The best ideas at first glance are perceived poorly, but in fact they are good. Do not wrap your ideas in secret. Do not be afraid to talk about your project, most likely it does not sound like something that needs to be stolen.

Ideological at least a thousand times more than those who are really willing to do such work, so that the idea turned into a great company.

What if you have no idea, but you want a startup? - Probably not worth it. The idea should be at the beginning, and the startup should be the route of this idea to the world.

What determines a good founder? The most important is persistence, determination, resourcefulness and impressiveness.

At best, you must have a good co-founder, otherwise you must be alone.

Founders must be strict and flexible. They must firmly believe in the fundamental principles of the company and its mission, but be prepared to learn something new that applies to almost everything else.

First of all, the founders must build a product and communicate with users. Nothing but food, sleep, learning and loved ones.

If you were familiar with your co-founders before the start of the project, you don’t want to let each other down and can grow. Disruption of relations between co-founders is one of the main causes of early deaths of startups.

You have to start with something very simple. With as little as possible. And run it earlier than you thought.

You must create a mechanism to improve the quality of your company's product. Talk with users, observe how they use your solution, determine what can be improved. Repeat it again and again.

Despite the fact that to make a great product is necessary, it is too early for you to relax. You have to independently turn it into a big company. Hire an "experienced manager" - the path to the cemetery of startups.

You should not allow anyone between the founders and users as long as possible. Founders need to make sales, make those. support and so on.

Growth (until it sells $ 1 for 90 cents for growth) solves all problems, lack of growth does not solve anything except growth.

Do not think globally ( Do things that do not scale ). Create a small user base and do what they ask. Many startups do not like this part and are only concerned about the announcement in the press. But it almost never works.

Don't let yourself be fooled by conceited metrics. A regular mistake is to focus on registrations and ignoring retention. But retention rates are just as important for growth as it is to attract new users.

Maximum internal transparency about metrics and finances is right. Founders are often wary of this. But if you hide the indicators, it will be difficult for your employees to make the right focus.

If I needed to describe how to work in two words - it would be clarity and intensity.

Famous executives do things very quickly. They are decisive. They listen to all the advice and quickly make their own decisions.

Do not allow your company to embark on new directions until you dominate the previous ones. There are no great companies that started several businesses at the same time.

It is important not to get caught up in the initial success. Not a conference led you to a promising start.

Look for an opportunity to get 90% of the result from 10% of efforts. The market does not matter how much you work.

Avoid thinking about problems in the distant future. Solve them as they are received. Far more startups die in disputes about issues than those that do not think about it enough.

In the end, the press will determine the winner. If you are really successful, you will get more attention than you would like.

Duties of the CEO:
1) Setting a vision and strategy;
2) Evangelism;
3) Hiring and managing teams, especially where there are gaps;
4) Budget control;
5) Setting the bar quality work;

Being a CEO is loneliness. It is important to have relationships with other managers who can call during difficult times.

CEO should not make excuses. A lot of bad and unfair will be in any case.

Beginners never imagine what they are doing. If you are a startup for the first time, do not hesitate to ask for help. You need a mentor.

Achieve a “ pre-broad profitability” ( Start-up on Doshirak ) - learn how to make so much money so that all founders can live at least on Doshirak. And you will begin to control your fate.

Creating a company is indirectly similar to religion. If people do not associate their daily activities with a great goal, they will not do a great job.

You must work in a place where you will be completely passionate about work. Nothing else can support you for years.

Distort reality for others, but not for yourself. Convince other people that your company is the best startup of the decade, but you should be concerned about everything that might not go according to plan.

A successful startup takes a lot of time - much more time than it seems at first glance. You can not work on it for wear. Work should not interfere with good nutrition, good sleep, exercise and relationships with family and friends.

It will always seem to you that everything happens by chance. The variety and extent of natural disasters will amaze you. Your job is to fix everything with a smile on your face and assure the team that everything is in order.

The first hiring advice is do not. The most successful companies are waiting for the moment to accept new people to work. Employees are expensive, they complicate organizational processes and communication.

Do not hire chronically negative people. The rest of the world will predict the end of your endeavors. The company needs a single inner faith in success.

Do not turn on superhero mode. Managers without experience often try to take control of everything and become inaccessible to employees. The inability to delegate tasks is a crisis for the company.

Great people have a wide range of opportunities and these people need your company. Generously share shares in shares, trust and responsibility.

Do not yield to the quality requirements of employees. Everyone will regret it, and it will destroy the company. Both bad and good examples are infectious.

When you hire, you should spend about 25% of the time on it. For most managers, this is the number one activity in time.

Try to make everyone close in the same office building. Almost all the most successful startups started together.

Competitors are a scary start-up story. The founders think that it is competitors who kill 99% of companies. But in 99% of cases, a startup dies because of suicide, not murderers.

99% of the time you must ignore competitors. Especially ignore them when they raise an investment round or around them a lot of information noise in the press.

You need to raise money when you need it or when it is available under good conditions. Lack of money is detrimental, but too much money is always destructive.

Look at raising funds as a necessary evil, at what needs to be done as quickly as possible. It is better that only the founder is engaged in such a fundraising so that the company does not have to stand idle.

The key to a good presentation is the clarity of your story: mission, problem, product / service, business model, teams, market and trends, finance.

Do not become demoralized in the fight for investment. Many famous companies have come across this because at the very beginning they seem worthless.

Keep talking about investments in parallel. Do not consistently move down the list of favorite investors. The reason for the investor's actions is the fear that another investor will steal his opportunities.

The first check is the hardest to get, so direct your strength to the one for whom your project looks the most attractive.

Looking for money when your company is not fully formed is a bad idea. You will quickly destroy your reputation and lose money.

Remember that there are thousands of people with good ideas and only some of them become successful. The difference comes down to execution.

Thank you very much for your attention.