Lecture 3 - Before the Startup (Paul Graham)

Paul Graham delivers an informative (and highly amusing) talk, addressing counterintuitive parts of startups, in Lecture 3 of How to Start a Startup.

[Tom_Mos]

Counterintuitive points

1. 1:25 Startups are so weird, that if you follow your instincts, they will lead you astray (You can trust your instincts about people.)
2. 5:28 What you need to succeed in a startup, is not expertise in a startup. What you need is expertise in your own users. (Don't go through the motions of having a startup, focus only on making something people want)
3. 11:25 Starting a startup is where gaming the system stops working.
4. 14:30 Startups are all consuming. (Don't start a startup at college)
5. 21:50 Starting a startup is really hard, and you can't tell if you'll be any good at it! (It's unlikely you have any comparable experiences to indicate whether you'll be able to do it)
6. 24:35 The way to get startup ideas is not to try think of startup ideas. The way to come up with good startup ideas is to take a step back, turn your brain into the type of brain that has startup ideas unconsciously, so unconsciously that you don't even realize that they are startup ideas. How to turn your brain into the type that has startup ideas unconsciously; 1) learn a lot about things that matter 2) work on problems that interest you 3) with people you like and respect. The best way to prepare yourself for a startup is to gratify your interest in genuinely interesting problems. A good place to look for interesting problems is on the leading edge of technology.

If you want to start a startup; what should you be doing now in college. You only need two things, an idea and cofounders. And the way you do this, is to follow Counterintuitive point #6. The component of entrepreneurship that really matters is domain expertise, see Counterintuitive point #2. The ultimate advice to young would be startup founders is; JUST LEARN.

[dinner]

This video is gold. Those who are complaining about the speaker's attitude probably have no experience with a startup. He's the perfect speaker. No bullshit, no fluff. And the best part is that he keeps focused on what matters, rather than getting sidetracked by irrelevant theory. In the startup world, most people will WASTE YOUR TIME with abstract motivational fluff.

[hoodasaurabh]

there is a sense of purity (no showoff, no jargons, talk like average dude, be natural self) in Paul Graham!!

[nabinghimire]

Isn't it so fascinating to think. A boy living in mountains of Nepal can hear Paul Graham lectures. wow boom 💥💥 💥 💥

[JWu-jtfz]

I love how the first 2 episodes were information packed with knowledge to build a foundation. And now there is elaborate explanation on those points to further understand what they're trying to say.

[aryansolanki]

He is so good. I absolutely love his dialogue delivery.

[peterjones]

What a legend. Love his essays. Changed my life.

[laronburrows]

Anyone thinking of starting a startup should start with this video. They can save a lot of time.

[jnsantos]

What a privilege and learning to watch a masterclass from the person in the world that know more about starting a startup. Thanks Paul!

[OmerAbashar]

PG is just a funny guy, smart, knowledgable and humble,  I have enjoyed every minute of this lecture and all the other lectures, and I already watched them 6 times.

[suchoudh]

Note how he reiterates every question that is asked to him. Its a very good habit esp as the person asking question may NOT have a microphone and then the recording only contains an ANSWER where there is no clue as to what the question was.

[Zbigniew_Piatek]

He's really funny and talking important things in the same time!

[markaaronbarrett]

I'll never afford a place like Stanford, seriously- thank you so much for access to these lessons!

[arielf]

Wow. I'm gonna rewatch this slowly, pausing and taking notes. This is a great video!

[alwaysfallingshort]

I love this guy, I feel like we'd really get along.  I love when he was flustered with the kinds of questions being asked.

[itumelengmphoso]

I don’t enjoy most business lectures mostly because they don’t accommodate the audience in non-developed countries. But this was so fun to watch. My own version of standup mixed with incredible insights.

[christopherarmstrong]

5:57 What you need to succeed in a startup is not expertise in a startup, what you need is an expertise in your own users. Mark Zuckerberg succeeded despite being a complete noob at startups, because he understood his users very well (customers, fans).
7:30 The one thing that’s actually essential is to make something people want.
11:28 Starting a startup is where gaming the system stops working.
18:18 What you need to know are the needs of your own users, and you can’t learn those until you actually start the company.
30:50 At it’s best, starting a startup is merely an ultimatum for curiosity.
33:00 What business school was designed for is to teach people management. And management is only a problem if you’re sufficiently successful. *So really what you need to know early on is developing products. So you’re much better off going to design school. But honestly the best way to start a startup is to just go out and start it. You might not be successful, but you’ll learn faster if you just do it.* Business schools were designed to train the officer Corp of large companies.

[Nick_Tag]

What a hero. I feel a bit bad for the tech bubble guy that got an earful though - "DON'T ACT LIKE A REPORTER!!"

[inspiredink]

Some people aren't aware about this, this is one of the great course i found on YouTube ever 🔥

[ramgopal]

Straight to the Point. No filters. Brilliant. !!!