Lecture 1: How to Start a Startup by Sam Altman
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Transcript of Lecture 1: How to Start a Startup by Sam Altman
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How to Start a Startup
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What makes Silicon Valley special?• Relentless belief in the future • There are people who take wild ideas
seriously, instead of mocking you • No ‘Tall Poppy’ syndrome • High density of talented people working on
startups • A culture of paying it forward
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What makes founders special?• “I always figure it out” and “I never give up” • Focus, self-belief, personal connections • Clear vision, thought, and communication • Ability to attract people to work on the
company • Ability to get a huge amount of work done
themselves
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Idea• Idea first; startup second • Original thought • Notice problems in your own life • Great Wave • Easier to start a hard company than an easy
company
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Co-founders• Co-founders are really good, but a bad
cofounder is worse than no co-founder • Shared history • Select for determination • Values first, aptitude second, specific skills
third • Humble, not entitled
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Product• Small number of users that love you • Retention; frequency of use • Nothing but a great product will save you;
you can get everything else right and it still won’t work
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Getting your first 100 users• What does “talk to users” actually mean? • Expect to do this manually. Some ways:
- You email people you already know and ask them to be customers. Call in your favors and actually charge for your product.
- You research to find people you think might be customers and contact them via email, phone or in person. Conversion rates are low.
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Getting your first 100 users• Some more ways:
- Social media outreach, posting to HN, forums, PR, etc. Look for sustainability.
- Buy ads and point them at your website. This is the “laziest” technique and usually a bad idea.
- Get over your fear of asking people to buy your product—sales!
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Company• Get to know your users really well • Short cycle time • Make a long-term commitment • Stay lean until everything is working really
well • The team you build is the company you
build
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Company• Relentless execution • Startups are about not giving up; one of
the companies from the last YC batch got in on their 7th time applying
• Fiduciary duty to take care of yourself • Clear mission