The real secret about start ups

The real secret about start ups
The real secret about start-ups What I wish someone had told me about entrepreneurship, Silicon Valley, and successful careers
In the past, most people would tell you to:
Get a job at a big, established company
Achieve job securityClimb the corporate ladder
Achieve job security
Sounds great, but…
Mmm, yeah, I’m going to have to go ahead and ask you to come in on Sunday…
Nowadays, it’s all about startups:
Sounds great, but…
So what do you do?
1. Startup myths 2. Startup truths 3. Startup careers 4. Getting started Outline
Myth #1: I’ll be an overnight success!
Reality:
“Acquired companies were an average of seven years old…
…while IPO companies went public around 8.25 years, on average.”
Note: “exits” for the investors. Founders stay on longer.
So if you remember nothing else from this talk, remember this:
Building a successful startup takes about a decade.
Are you willing to give 10 years of your life to this idea?
Myth #2: I’m going to get rich!
Reality:
Most startups pay lower salaries and offer few benefits
The stock is often worthless
And most startups fail
Myth #3: I’ll get to party all day!
Reality:
This is startup life.
It’s not sexy or glamorous. It’s mostly a lot of hard work.
Myth #4: I’ll get to write code all day!
Some programmers might be thinking, “this looks great!”
Reality:
Building a successful startup takes more than just code
Sure, you’ll write plenty of code
But you’ll also have to do everything else, including:
operating agreements, articles of incorporation, employment contracts, licenses, permits, insurance, NDAs, term sheets, financial modeling, P&L, balance sheet, fundraising, budgeting, cap table, stock certificates, taxes, 81b, 1040, 1099, 1120, W2, pitch decks, customer acquisition, sales calls, CRM, LTV, churn recurring revenue, billing, invoicing, refunds, receipts, interviewing, hiring, firing, promoting, training, motivating, organizing, leading, payroll, HR, mission, vision, culture, renting office space, building a website, setting up email/phone/fax, buying furniture, ordering toilet paper, …
Myth #5: All I need is a brilliant idea!
Reality:
“What surprised me most was how unsure the founders seemed to be that they were actually onto something big. Some of these companies got started almost by accident.”
It’s not about coming up with a single brilliant idea
It’s about navigating an idea maze
Most paths lead to failure. A small few lead to success.
And even the best ideas don’t matter without great execution
You’ve now seen some common startup myths
It’s not that they never happen, but they are bad reasons to join or start a startup.
So what are the good reasons to join or start a startup?
1. Mastery 2. Autonomy 3. Purpose
Mastery: The urge to get better at something.
“I've come to believe that learning is the essential unit of progress for startups.” – Eric Ries
Learning how to build a product users want
Learning how to market and sell a product
Learning how to build and motivate a team
Learning how to…
operating agreements, articles of incorporation, employment contracts, licenses, permits, insurance, NDAs, term sheets, financial modeling, P&L, balance sheet, fundraising, budgeting, cap table, stock certificates, taxes, 81b, 1040, 1099, 1120, W2, pitch decks, customer acquisition, sales calls, CRM, LTV, churn recurring revenue, billing, invoicing, refunds, receipts, interviewing, hiring, firing, promoting, training, motivating, organizing, leading, payroll, HR, mission, vision, culture, renting office space, building a website, setting up email/phone/fax, buying furniture, ordering toilet paper, …
Join a startup if you want to grow as a person
“A startup is a company designed to grow fast. Being newly founded does not in itself make a company a startup. Nor is it necessary for a startup to work on technology, or take venture funding, or have some sort of "exit." The only essential thing is growth. ” – Paul Graham
Working for a growing company is an amazing experience
Autonomy: The urge to control your life.
At a startup, you choose what to work on
At a startup, you choose who to work with
At a startup, you choose how to work
At a startup, you choose where to work
Purpose: The urge to do something meaningful.
This is what gets me up in the morning.
As a startup, we are searching for the right what and how.
“[Established] Companies execute business models where customers, their problems, and necessary product features are all “knowns.” In sharp contrast, startups operate in “search” mode, seeking a repeatable and profitable business model.” – Steve Blank
It turns out that search mode is more fun
It’s hard to feel passionate about increasing profit margin by 0.3%
It’s hard not to feel passionate about fighting for survival
When you’re one of 5,000 employees, you rarely feel like you’re making a difference
When the company is 5 people, everything you do matters
You’ve now seen reasons you should or shouldn’t join a startup
So where do startups fit in your career?
1. Join an established company 2. Join a small startup 3. Start your own company
At least once in your career, join a big, established company
Try to join one of the leaders in your industry
A “Google” on your resume will benefit you your entire career
You will work with amazing people
You will make a good salary (pay off your loans!)
You will learn how a successful company operates
You’ll also learn how not to do things
At least once in your career, join a small startup
Now is the golden age of the startup.
Average tenure for a firm in the S&P 500: 1958: 61 years 1980: 25 years 2012: 18 years
“On average, an S&P 500 company is now being replaced about once every two weeks […] At current churn rate, 75% of the S&P 500 will be replaced by 2027.”
Open source 19+ million repositories on GitHub. Services AWS, Twilio, Stripe, MailChimp, Slack, DesignCrowd, RocketLawyer, … Distribution Mobile, email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, Meetup.com, YouTube, AdWords, … Information Books, classes, blogs, accelerators, incubators, conferences, … Money Venture capital, angels, crowdfunding, government grants, self-funding, …
So why join a startup instead of starting your own?
If you start a startup, you are stuck with it for up to a decade.
In that same time period, you can join 3-4 startups.
Earning experience, connections, and stock at each one.
“The 100th engineer at Facebook made far more money than 99% of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.” – Dustin Moskovitz
Some people chase ambulances
Some people chase IPOs
How do you find a good startup to join?
1. Look to your network. 2. Look at the products you use. 3. Look at elite VC portfolios.
You’ll probably have more fun and make more money joining someone else’s company.
As a founder, you will make roughly 10x the sacrifice.
10x more stress 10x more risk 10x more time
So is it ever a good idea to start a company?
Yes: When you can’t not do it.
You have an idea or passion that you simply must do.
You’ve worked on it for years, even while at other jobs.
You just have to bring your dream into the world.
Just remember: a startup is one way to accomplish your dream.
1. Do a side project. 2. Go into politics. 3. Do volunteer activities. 4. Build a community. 5. Join someone else’s company. 6. Invest in someone else’s company. 7. Start a non-profit. 8. Start a lifestyle business. 9. Start a startup. 10. Do academic research. 11. Publish articles, papers, and books. 12. Give talks. 13. Create an open source project. 14. Become an advisor or mentor. 15. Become a teacher.
1. Do a side project. 2. Go into politics. 3. Do volunteer activities. 4. Build a community. 5. Join someone else’s company. 6. Invest in someone else’s company. 7. Start a non-profit. 8. Start a lifestyle business. 9. Start a startup. 10. Do academic research. 11. Publish articles, papers, and books. 12. Give talks. 13. Create an open source project. 14. Become an advisor or mentor. 15. Become a teacher. A startup is merely one means to an end.
So how do you start? How do you build a good career?
“You need to be good at something before you can expect a good job.” – Cal Newport
“The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas […] The way to have good startup ideas is to become the sort of person who has them.” – Paul Graham
The way to have a great career is not to search for a great career but to make yourself great.
How to become great: 1. Study 2. Build 3. Share
Read books
Read papers, articles, blogs
Take classes
Go to meetups, conferences, and talks (like this one!)
Aim to be a “T-Shaped Person”
When I was a kid, I didn’t like reading.
When I was in college, I didn’t like reading.
When I was starting my career, I didn’t like reading.
You know what finally got me to love reading?
Becoming a person who needs reading.
What kind of person is that?
A maker.
As I tried to build software, teams, & products, I realized:
I have no idea what I’m doing.
It turns out that the knowledge I needed was in books.
The more I built, the more I had to learn, the more I read.
Go make things.
Work projects, side projects, learning projects, open source, hackathons, prototypes, inventions, art, music, teams, communities, …
Share everything you’ve learned
Write
Speak
Open source
Why?
Quality: you do better work when others are looking.
Branding: you become an expert by sharing your expertise.
Mastery: the best way to learn is to teach.
That’s why I’m here today.
To share what I’ve learned with all of you.

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