{"id":735,"date":"2014-11-19T10:21:49","date_gmt":"2014-11-19T18:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.thinkapps.com\/?p=735"},"modified":"2016-03-31T17:20:30","modified_gmt":"2016-04-01T00:20:30","slug":"how-start-startup-advice-paul-graham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thinkapps.com\/blog\/entrepreneurship\/how-start-startup-advice-paul-graham\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Start a Startup: Advice from Paul Graham"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of the day, founding a startup primarily requires you to do one thing: learn.<\/em><\/p>\n

At least that\u2019s what Paul Graham<\/a>, cofounder of Y Combinator<\/a>, said in a lecture<\/a> at Stanford University as part of YC\u00a0President Sam Altman<\/a>\u2019s series on How to Start a Startup<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

(For more startup advice, check out\u00a0How to Start a Startup: The Book<\/a><\/em>. It’s\u00a0the ultimate reference guide to creating a successful tech startup.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Graham’s advice\u00a0sounds simple, and maybe it is. But he\u2019s simplified it because founding a startup is a lot more counterintuitive than it seems. You can\u2019t just trust your intuition.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s like skiing. Your instinct is to lean back, but if you do, you\u2019ll fly down the hill out of control. You have to suppress those instincts. You have to keep a list in your head of what to do and not to do (alternate feet, do not drag inside foot, etc.). <\/span><\/p>\n

Startups are as unnatural as learning how to ski, and there\u2019s a list of counterintuitive things you have to remember in order to keep your startup from flying down the hill.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Work with people who seem likeable<\/h2>\n

Graham explained that startups are so weird, if you follow your instincts, they\u2019ll lead you astray. You can, however, trust your instincts in terms of dealing with people. <\/span><\/p>\n

Startup founders often don\u2019t do this. People may seem<\/i> smart and impressive, but that shouldn\u2019t trump your instinct on whether or not you\u2019d be friends with that person. Graham’s advice:\u00a0work with people who seem likeable.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Understand your users<\/h2>\n

What you need to succeed is not expertise about\u00a0startups\u00a0but expertise about\u00a0your own users. <\/span><\/p>\n

Graham said that Mark Zuckerberg<\/a> did not succeed because he was an expert in startups\u00a0<\/span>\u2014\u00a0<\/span>after all, Facebook was originally incorporated in Florida as an LLC. Instead he succeeded in spite of that, because he understood his users.<\/p>\n

It may actually be dangerous to know too much about starting a startup. Graham explained that\u00a0too many people think it\u2019s as simple as: come up with a great idea, get some investors, hire your friends, and rent space in SOMA.<\/p>\n

But then they realize they may have created a product\u00a0that people don’t actually want. It\u2019s otherwise known as \u201cplaying house,” and Graham said it\u2019s what they have been trained to do until now.<\/p>\n

Young founders try to figure out what the new tricks are, what to do next. But the measure of success for startups is not fundraising. You need to start a startup that\u2019s actually doing well, and then<\/i> secure funding. And how do you start a startup that\u2019s doing well? Give users something they want!<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Don’t look for tricks<\/h2>\n

Starting a startup is where gaming the system stops working. There\u2019s no one to trick, only users. And all they care about is if your product does what they want. <\/span><\/p>\n

Graham did concede that faking can sometimes work with investors. But he explained that, even if you might be able to fool them for a few times, ultimately it\u2019s not in your best interest. So stop looking for \u201cthe trick.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

4. There’s no rush<\/h2>\n

Startups are all-consuming. It never actually gets easier; only the nature of the problems change. Graham compared the experience\u00a0to having kids: while it\u2019s the best thing in the world, there are a lot of things that are easier to do before you have kids than after. <\/span><\/p>\n

People seem to think they should start startups in college, but then, he said, you\u2019re not a student anymore! If the goal, ultimately, is to have a good life, there\u2019s no rush. <\/span><\/p>\n

There are things you can do in your twenties, for example, that you can\u2019t do later if you\u2019ve started a startup. Major success actually takes away some serendipity, which is something you can\u2019t create on your own, and something you can\u2019t get\u00a0back.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. You\u00a0can’t know the outcome in advance<\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re not up to the challenge, you can\u2019t tell in advance. And it will change your life. You can tell how smart a person is, but you can\u2019t tell how ambitious.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Turn your brain off<\/h2>\n

The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas. Instead of making a conscious effort to think of them, turn your brain off. <\/span><\/p>\n

Graham contended that the very best ideas have to start as side projects because they\u2019re always such outliers that your conscious mind would reject them as actual companies. So, how do you do this? <\/span><\/p>\n