Start a successful startup by learning powerful things, developing domain expertise, and collaborating with people you respect.

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  00:00

  Trust your instincts when picking people to work with and don't be fooled by those who seem impressive but have misgivings about.

  • I wrote out my talk and will turn it into an essay to put online, so just listen.
  • Get advice on startups from someone who would tell their own kids.
  • Startups are counterintuitive and require a list of rules to prevent existing instincts from leading you astray.
  • YC's function is to tell founders counterintuitive ideas they would ignore, which they often regret later.
  • Trust your instincts when picking people to work with and don't be fooled by those who seem impressive but have misgivings about.
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  05:22

  Focus on creating something users love and telling them about it to succeed in a startup.

  • To succeed in a startup, expertise in users is more important than expertise in startups.
  • Young founders often go through the motions of starting a startup, imitating all the outward forms, but neglecting to make something people want.
  • To get good grades, figure out what the exam questions will be and work out the answers in advance.
  • Founders are looking for tricks to grow their startups fast, but the best way to do this is to make something users love and tell them about it.
  • In a startup, there is no one to trick, so users care only about whether the software does what they want.
  • You can't trick people into wanting something; you must provide something of value to prosper.
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  12:51

  Starting a successful startup is a huge commitment and should not be taken lightly - do your research and be prepared before taking the plunge.

  • Faking knowledge can work to get investors for one or two rounds of funding, but it's not in your interest as it will waste your time and the startup is doomed.
  • Starting a successful startup will take over your life for several years.
  • Y Combinator has funded several successful companies, but the difficulty of being a successful startup founder is concealed from almost everyone.
  • Starting a successful startup is like having kids, and it's best to delay pushing the button until you're ready.
  • Universities can teach you the basics of starting a startup, but the real learning comes from actually doing it.
  • Do not start a startup in college as it will take over your life and prevent you from exploring other opportunities.
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  20:01

  Starting a startup isn't a trade-off for young people, and success doesn't always come from attitude.

  • Success has taken away the serendipity of Mark Zuckerberg's life, preventing him from backpacking around Thailand like others can.
  • Starting a startup is hard, but there are advantages to waiting and it's not a trade-off if you forego starting one at 20.
  • It's easy to tell how smart people are in ten minutes.
  • There is no correlation between a startup's attitude and success, similar to the military where swaggering recruits are no more likely to be tough than the quiet ones.
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  24:02

  Take a step back, learn, work on interesting problems, and collaborate with people you respect to come up with good startup ideas.

  • To come up with good startup ideas, take a step back and let your brain unconsciously generate them.
  • To have startup ideas, learn about things that matter, work on interesting problems, and collaborate with people you like and respect.
  • Young people should work on problems that stretch them, even if their parents don't think they are important.
  • I have an internal compass that helps me recognize genuinely interesting ideas, but I don't know what you have in your head.
  • Living on the leading edge of technology is the best way to prepare for a start-up and to find interesting problems.
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  29:26

  Start a successful startup by learning powerful things, developing domain expertise, and just trying it out without needing to hire until successful.

  • A grad student wrote voice over IP software to talk to his girlfriend in Taiwan for free, but never did anything with it.
  • To be a successful startup founder, focus on learning powerful things and developing domain expertise through genuine intellectual curiosity.
  • For a non-technical founder to effectively contribute to a startup, they should become an expert in the domain the startup is working in.
  • The best way to learn how to start a startup is to just try and do it, rather than going to business school.
  • Ideally, startups don't need to hire until they are successful, and the first hire is almost like a founder.
  • Founders should be self-motivated and not require much management.
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  36:25

  Valuations are high, but success is key to securing funding for female founders to stand out and attract VCs.

  • Valuations are high, but this does not necessarily mean a bubble is forming.
  • People are starting labs to spin-off startups, which could potentially be successful if done correctly.
  • Female founders often have a harder time raising money, so success is key to securing funding.
  • Make your startup stand out by having impressive growth graphs to attract VCs.
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  40:35

  Considering a career change? Ask yourself if you can tolerate boring tasks to determine if you have a taste for interesting problems.

  • I'm considering studying physics as I was excited about computers and writing code as a kid and I look longingly at physics.
  • Having kids can help increase efficiency by forcing you to focus, but it's not recommended to have kids just for that purpose.
  • When your side project starts taking over your life, it may be time to turn it into a real startup.
  • Startups should not go through YC if they are likely to fail or if the founders are intolerable, as most problems startups face are not domain-specific.
  • To determine if you have a taste for genuinely interesting problems, ask yourself if you find working on boring things intolerable.
  • Hiring people you know and like is beneficial for startups, despite the potential for monoculture and blind spots.