To have a successful startup, you need: a great idea, a great market, a great team, a great product, and great execution.
Latest episodes
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Startup Playbook - Intro
We spend a lot of time advising startups. Though one-on-one advice will always be crucial, we thought it might help us scale Y Combinator if we could distill the most generalizable…
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6 min ↗
Startup Playbook - The Idea
One of the first things we ask YC companies is what they’re building and why.
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Startup Playbook - A Great Team
Mediocre teams do not build great companies. One of the things we look at the most is the strength of the founders. When I used to do later-stage investing, I looked equally hard a…
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4 min ↗
Startup Playbook - A Great Product
Here is the secret to success: have a great product. This is the only thing all great companies have in common.
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Startup Playbook - Great Execution
Although it’s necessary to build a great product, you’re not done after that. You still have to turn it into a great company, and you have to do it yourself—the f…
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Startup Playbook - Growth
Growth and momentum are the keys to great execution. Growth (as long as it is not “sell dollar bills for 90 cents” growth) solves all problems, and lack of growth is no…
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Startup Playbook - Focus & Intensity
If I had to distill my advice about how to operate down to only two words, I’d pick focus and intensity. These words seem to really apply to the best founders I know.
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6 min ↗
Startup Playbook - Jobs of the CEO
Earlier I mentioned that the only universal job description of the CEO is to make sure the company wins. Although that’s true, I wanted to talk a little more specifically abo…
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4 min ↗
Startup Playbook - Hiring & Managing
Hiring is one of your most important jobs and the key to building a great company (as opposed to a great product.)
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Startup Playbook - Competitors
A quick word about competitors: competitors are a startup ghost story. First-time founders think they are what kill 99% of startups. But 99% of startups die from suicide, not murde…
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Startup Playbook - Making Money
Oh yes, making money. You need to figure out how to do that.
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Startup Playbook - Fundraising
Most startups raise money at some point.
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43 sec ↗
Startup Playbook - Closing Thought
Remember that at least a thousand people have every great idea. One of them actually becomes successful. The difference comes down to execution. It’s a grind, and everyone wi…