Should you work on that startup idea?

It's not enough to be pointed at a particular direction. You need to have a very clear reason why you will win. This is a list of questions you should ask yourself before picking a startup idea.

Weak answers to these questions might mean you need to change ideas... on the other hand, they focus you to figure out the things you need to solve so your startup becomes a winning one.

I’m Garry Tan, venture capitalist and cofounder at Initialized Capital. We were earliest investors in billion dollar startups like Coinbase and Instacart, and we’re spending time with some of our best founders to learn the secrets of their success and see the future they’re building. I’m doing my own run-and-gun one man YouTube channel with no staff or crew — we're going for raw and unfiltered, not perfect.

Please like this video and subscribe to my channel if you want to see more videos like this!

[jetsetjoel]

You can't just point at the moon, you gotta build the goddamn spaceship... Words to live by, Gary!

[NinjaNuggets]

Gavin Belson’s disappointed face gets me every time! 🤣

[mawortz]

1. observe
2. write your assumption
3. test your assumption
4. analyze the data
5a. if assumption was true continue
5b. if not pivot

[RemiOdufuye]

" It's not only about machine learning .... sometimes your good moat is a collection of IF Statements " ... Mic drop right there! love your content Garry, thanks for sharing with the world

[UnniSukumaran]

You are fueling the entrepreneur in me GT. Finally I have reached somewhere where I can find some quality content.
Thanks GT :)

[bls]

Clearer vision of the mentor that I've been looking for. Thank YOU!

[atindermultani]

Thank you Gary for sharing these timeless ideas!! Watching this a year after it was published and its still relevant.

[alexchieng]

I'd love to hear more about how/where you started!

[ednevsky]

I love both the advice and the way you present it (quotes and everything). Great job!

[arismu]

I have worked in startup environment for almost 4 and half years now but never seen those questions. It would be great if you can provide the sample of the answers. Really appreciate!

[Tangably]

Lovin all this wisdom you keep dropping on us. Keep it up!

[MikeWilliamsYoroomie]

Love this and incredible insights as always! The edits also add a great touch 👌

[Filaxsan]

Bath of humility needed to do great stuff. Loved it, thanks as usual!

[zizzyzozo]

Hi Garry, appreciate you sharing your knowledge around startups and the venture capital space.

[rayhon]

Great tips Garry! One more question to add, are you passionate about it? Many times what you think you are going to build is not what it ends up to be. As your competitors are not sitting still and you may need to pivot over the course. So, it is your passion to make you continue to work tirelessly to overcome the obstacles ahead.

[readmycomment]

This list of questions is so good, you can see why you're such a successful VC

[rj_olmedo]

So cool that you use HBO Silicon Valley clips ! Love it!

[djikan]

Man amazing videos! Thanks al lot for the content. It really helps me as I am starting a business right now!

[johnsmithgumbula]

Hi Gary, hope is well. Haven't heard from you for sometime. Blessings from Brisbane Queensland Australia 👍🏽 👌🏾

[iliiluminacion]

You just can't be totally right with this one: "Not enough people need it". Sometimes people don't know they need something till they get it. You just need to find a really clever way to make people want it...