jordan willms on business, entrepreneurship, technology and the web

Today I attended YCombinator’s Startup School event at Stanford University. YCombinator, an innovative (and controversial) Venture Capital firm, works with carefully selected entrepreneurial startups over a summer session in Boston, and injects a small amount of money into these startups in exchange for 5% ownership of the company.

Speaker: Paul Graham, Partner, Y Combinator; Founder, Viaweb
Title: Why to not not start a startup?

Paul gave an excellent presentation regarding the excuses that people tell themselves (whether valid or invalid) to not try a startup (or join one).

At YCombinator, Paul claims to have a 50% succeed rate with an expected 25% long term success rate. He also states that 100% of YCombinator graduates would not trade their experience for a desk job in a cubicle.

So why don’t people quit their jobs and get going with a startup?

1. I’m too young
   - You are ready to start something up when you are an ‘adult’.
   - This can be any age really.
2. I’m too inexperienced
   - If you are too inexperienced to start a startup, then you should start a startup to get more experience :)

3. Not determined enough
   - Determination is the biggest predictor of success with a startup. If you are not determined, then you probably shouldn’t do it.
4. Not smart enough
   - If you are smart enough to worry that you are not smart enough, you are probably smart enough.
5. I don’t understand business
   - Hard part is building a product that is actually good.
   - You can figure out the business part later
   - Companies buy startups for strategic value, not revenue
6. I have no co-founder
   - This is an actual problem.
   - Investors prefer co-founders
   - Get one: the co-founder is more important than what your idea is
   - Get one you know and trust
7. I have no idea
   - Look at what is missing in your own life, and fill the gap. This is the best approach.
   
   - YCombinator says you can apply to their program with ‘no idea’.
8. There is no room for more startups
   - This is a fallacy. There is always room.
9. I have a family to support
   - This is a real problem: He would not advise you to start a startup if you have a family to support.
10. I am independently wealthy
    - For every serial entrepreneur, there are 20 that would say “Why the $#% would I ever to that again?”
11. I don’t want to be fenced in
    - Fine. Don’t start a startup.
12. I have a need for structure
    - Go to communist Russia. Don’t start a startup. Don’t even go work for one.
    - In a startup everyone does the right thing regardless of title. There is no official structure.
13. I have a fear of uncertainty
    - He can fix that: He says you should expect the worst and hope for the best.
14. I don’t realize what I am avoiding
    - 23+ year old entrepreneurs realize how much there job sucks, where as younger entrepreneurs haven’t worked in an office so don’t know any better.
    - Social pressures will cause you to sit at your desk and work even though you are doing nothing when you have a non-startup job.
15. My parents want me to be a doctor.
    - Treat this as a feature request and nothing more.
16. A job is the default
    - "If I need money, I should get a job."
    - This wasn’t the norm 200 years ago. The norm was working for yourself farming.

Some good words of advice from Paul.