6 Skills for Successful Startup Founders: Maximize your chances

You can't guarantee success, but you can increase the chances of it by working on these six skills for startup founders.
What to do after raising money: • Startup Next Steps aft...
Roll your way to a Startup Unicorn: • Roll your way to a Sta...
Stop wasting your life: • LEARN, EARN or QUIT | ...
00:00 Intro
02:36 Engineering
04:44 Product
06:15 Design
08:16 Sales & Marketing
08:54 Finance
10:00 Management and leadership
Full transcript and sign up for email updates at blog.garrytan.com
Key resources mentioned
* Codecademy codecademy.com
* Insight Fellows blog.garrytan.com/my-newest-y...
* Career Karma careerkarma.com
* Garry's YC Startup School: Design Part 1 • Design for Startups by... and Part 2 • Design for Startups by...
Music 04:44 to 08:16 by Sudo, aka Suhail Doshi / sudo
I’m Garry Tan, venture capitalist and cofounder at Initialized Capital. We were earliest investors in billion dollar startups like Coinbase and Instacart. I’m doing my own run-and-gun one man KZbin 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!

[@sfpoet5885]

"We repel people when we need them most." I never seem to be able to learn this lesson. Thank you for this video!

[@GarryTan]

It’s my least favorite truth

[@jpjp9111]

Truth

[@RemiOdufuye]

12:31 "Founders are often the speck of dust that forms the crystalline structure that actually solves a real problem " ... truly profound. Thanks Gary

[@JayChoyceTibbitts]

I find so much value in your content, Garry! Thank you for bringing such great videos every week 🙌

[@breakfastofchampions]

It's crazy how Gary takes the time to reply to comments, really cool dude!

[@GarryTan]

Just legit trying to help

[@doftpeters]

I cant tell you how much your videos have benefit me as a startup founder, Thank you Garry !

[@hasenamanyecgaa]

Gary sir, my life is even short to pay you back the value you are giving. I am really grateful to have you.

[@gauravbhatia7]

Garry, there is something about you that keeps viewers like me to watch you and learn from you. I have been thinking to start something of my own and found inspiration from your videos. I wish you all the best.

[@_ericelliott]

Lots of great founder advice here that resonated with my experience, and lots of great reminders as we're building our new ventures.

[@streetcred9585]

This was an amazing watch Garry. Tremendous value added. Thanks!

[@SteveKalinda]

Thanks Garry, we need more of this!

[@finnbaseley]

Damn this exceeded my expectations by far. Great Job.

[@gabimoncha]

Amazing content! Love how you structure everything and give real examples that work

[@prakharshivam]

This one was awesome, Garry! Waiting for the next episodes.

[@GarryTan]

Thank you Prakhar!

[@YourCompanyCTO]

Love your work, Garry. I've always been in the rift of engineering and design.

[@winnerekwuazi7704]

You do amazing work, Garry. Thanks for your time and efforts.

[@MrPrat777]

Garry sir, much respect. I always felt surprised how to transition from ideas to startup. You have been explaining the most valuable nuggets 🙏

[@cycltheapp9800]

Where has your channel been all my life! So excited to learn more. This video was great.

[@kenmooso]

Probably a video I’ll have to watch multiple times. Love it. Great advice Garry!

[@GarryTan]

Thanks so much for the encouragement Ken! I've only been doing this for less than 6 mo so I'm still learning how to do it every single time.

[@kairanwang5150]

This channel is pure gold. Keep up the good work Garry!

[@GarryTan]

Thank you Kevin!

[@samuellow2464]

Really love the authenticity you put into making your videos! Thank you!

[@GarryTan]

Thank you!

[@simon.0ri26]

Thank you Garry Tan for sharing!

[@charleschia4414]

One of the videos that you thought you already knew the content but learn so much more from watching it! Great perspective!

[@GarryTan]

Thanks Charles

[@joechotirawi9420]

I'm starting to be your biggest fan now. Keep them coming!

[@Danny-qh4su]

Hey, Gary! Thanks for the great content!

[@nickhatzis]

you are a great human being Gary. Thank you

[@nicolasflamel3489]

Thanks for your content Garry. You are I'm sure one of the most impactful educators on the internet.

[@zizzyzozo807]

Killing it Garry. Tech is definitely the space to be in if you want to build a competitive moat. Low barriers to entry regulation wise, that's what makes it so exciting I think. It gives people in their fields of expertise - be it Law, Medicine, Construction etc. the chance to pivot on a dime and leverage their knowledge to create something amazing. You don't have to go through a 4 year degree and burden yourself with debt - it's all got to do with how bad you want it.

[@GarryTan]

It's a very welcoming space. Lots of people from lots of walks of life come to tech, and then later become founders. That's why I'm so excited about Career Karma!

[@akashtandon1]

This is helpful. It puts together important ideas and information in a simple form. Thanks Garry!

[@GarryTan]

Thanks for watching Akash!

[@vaibhavgupta6611]

This is the one of the best recommendation I got on KZbin, this would be very helpful for me and really need such type of knowledge. Thanks Mr. Garry

[@GarryTan]

Appreciate you watching!

[@Darija_Institute]

Gary, I'm hooked to your content. Love it so much!

[@remote3652]

gems! loving it Garry thanks SOOO much for making these videos.

[@marioacosta1842]

Way to go, thank you again Garry!

[@denswam]

I love your insights Garry Tan! Where have you been all my life!

[@F250eh]

The more I watch your videos, the more I validate my project! Thank you for sharing

[@GarryTan]

Thanks for watching!

[@jeremiah8437]

That's why I love watching your video. You hit the nail before you open your mouth.

[@GarryTan]

Glad you enjoyed

[@josiahamaze]

Great video brother! Thank you as always!

[@JoeyT]

Im currently in a data science bootcamp while incorporating my business and relocating. I have a very good understanding of engineering and even read a book on hiring a software developer. I found the biggest key to both scenarios of learning or hiring is this: just pick one and do it fast and better than the ones who failed to do it right. Love the content. Keep this going!

[@hamzahimran3447]

can i work for you😨

[@reactdev71717]

What's the book called?

[@LifeyApp]

thanks for sharing!

[@GarryTan]

My pleasure!

[@XOmermaidOX]

I’m an engineer and learning to get into product management. Thank you for the high quality content video. If I watch one of your videos every day, I think I’ll get closer and closer to my goal. Great job! 👏

[@GarryTan]

Great to hear!

[@kefeh]

Damn, I love this guy. I am really fortunate I found your channel at this point, I am following every series of it

[@GarryTan]

Thanks for watching!

[@sibuleledubula4890]

Garry, thank you soo much for this. You have no idea how much i needed it.

[@odedejikehinde6514]

I downloaded video to view offline, but after seeing the video, I had to reopen KZbin to like and subscribe to your channel. That's was contents filled ; I've been wanting to know the simple key skills needed to startup a company, I saw this and you helped me out. Thanks Garry, this was helpful.

[@abhiglad]

Thanks Gary for sharing your distilled knowledge.

[@EnglishTreeTV]

Amazing video Garry, thank you, wow! Super insightful, articulate and concise. As an artist I'm finding it harder and harder to think of myself as a "business". I have a successful brand but can't seem to get over my lack of interest in making any more money than I do now, which is simply a humble, comfortable living. Yet to create bigger creative projects without the need to beg for funding or give up control, I will need to do just that. Feels like I'm stuck in limbo. Anyways your videos are very helpful and inspiring. Thank you!

[@DarleneTechTips]

I total agree with How to win and influence friends. It helped me develop much empathy and build relationships as well as be a good leader

[@sandieman]

💪🏼👏🏼 great advice and breakdown. I remember reading so many books before starting first company years ago. This is so much more concise and easy to digest for next generation of entrepreneurs.

[@GarryTan]

Thanks Rob!

[@astrarai-thesobercoder]

Goldmine! From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

[@pavelclaudiopatino419]

I watched this out of curiosity. I'm not part of any of these fields. It's clear to me that you REALLY got to have passion & love for this. Because it's extremely complex & difficult to Master. I always thought that the geniouses of this era are the programmers. Wow, I'm impressed. Smart people.

[@sagarjaid]

I was finding this content from months :) thanks! Grate video really helps new founders

[@GarryTan]

That's what I'm trying to do, just help!

[@theodoreomtzigt7145]

Garry: this is amazingly productive content, I am in awe.

[@GarryTan]

Thank you Theodore!

[@loulei9339]

Makes you wonder why this feeling is so rare. I made a few videos on a different channel that garnered traction with a lot of similar "this is so useful!" comments. This makes me feel that most content consumed is manufactured for engagement metrics as opposed to genuinely helping people.

[@manishpingale6558]

The thing I like about your channel is that you 1) Get to a straight point 2) Explain in simple words 3)Great content I subed to your channel in first video

[@GarryTan]

Thank you so much!

[@manishpingale6558]

@@GarryTan and yes 4) You care about your subscribers 😊😊 you are truly great KZbiner keep it up love your video I hope you will keep uploading such great content 😊😊🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@kdan777]

Pure 💎!! Thank you!

[@bradhouston4734]

Thanks for the tips! See YOU real soon 😁

[@blindguymcsqueezy50]

Thanks Garry! You are the best

[@GarryTan]

Thanks for watching!

[@BendOregon67]

Great work Garry. Thank you for your time.

[@GarryTan]

Thank you Jason!

[@Future_ology]

Thank you Gary, Really insightful channel.

[@shafichowdhury7923]

Awesome Garry! I listened to almost all of your vlogs! So in-depth analysis and insightful! I have a dream and wanna work with you! Sending you my resume. Hopefully together we can build something great for humanity!

[@kloudytics]

Always interesting content, Garry!

[@MrCrystello]

I’ve worked directly with Sales & Marketing, Finance, and Leadership & Management roles. I have some expose to Product and Design, but probably Engineering is the one I am lacking the most. I’m on the process to become full time focused on my entrepreneurial journey and I was thinking to study some coding exactly with the intention of what you said. To have better understanding of this area (last time I coded probably was at uni 20 years ago), but at least to increase my chances to have more meaningful conversations with potential CTOs. Thanks for another great video.

[@leekheang5628]

Thank you for sharing Garry!

[@GarryTan]

Thanks for watching Lee!

[@tupacbayar681]

so glad I found this channel

[@MrJwcool]

Hi Garry, thank you for sharing! This is very helpful and your contents are amazing! Can't wait to see more!

[@GarryTan]

Thanks for watching and your kind comment!

[@abnux]

Thank you for sharing Garry! Lots of food for thought here.

[@GarryTan]

Any time

[@margaretngarachu6321]

So insightful, honest and realistic. Thanks Gary

[@GarryTan]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@olzhasbeisenbayev246]

I really like this video! Very lean and to the point, loved the Product and Leadership parts in particular. I think YT is a perfect format to expand on your ideas from Twitter, and you should definitely keep making more of these. Also a question: does Initialized work with pre-product-market-fit products / co’s? I’m releasing mine in a few weeks and was contemplating the next steps / exploring the options. Thanks.

[@tacochub4353]

I find a lot of value in the things you share here. Thank you for creating these videos.

[@GarryTan]

Glad it was helpful!

[@harshitboss]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!

[@GarryTan]

Thank you for watching Harshit.

[@juvent.h6699]

I like your channel dude, thanks for having created it

[@user-tu2vp7xz6j]

Came across this channel recently. Garry here tells simple but very important stuff. I find it very interesting. Would like to keep watching. Looking forward to more interesting videos.

[@GarryTan]

Thank you!

[@carloslfu]

Great content Garry! Thanks for sharing it 🙂

[@GarryTan]

My pleasure!

[@yuvrajdhepe2116]

Loved it Garry thanks for sharing.

[@GarryTan]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Heydjcam]

Great Gems! Great seeing your twitter advice take more life on youtube.

[@tzmashrim3726]

Thanks Garry, it'd help me a lot to start my future startups

[@metallicbeast]

This is what I would call good stuff. Thank you good sir

[@martinrandolph8220]

Cheers for all that you do and preach

[@RoadmapMBA]

Hi Garry, just discovered your videos and really enjoying them!

[@GarryTan]

Thanks for watching!

[@munaalamudi9975]

You are great. Thank you.

[@kristiandilov5249]

bro this guy is on a new level

[@SlayNetwork]

Followers are more important to leaders than leaders are to followers

[@oppawannadoyou]

It’s called Servant leadership

[@vishalkguptanyc]

Another great and thoughtfully laid out video for any entrepreneur.

[@GarryTan]

Glad it was helpful!

[@yuqin9912]

I just failed my last startup. Now I am working for some company. I suddenly have so much time that I don't know how to use. This is exactly what I need before I start my next one!

[@GarryTan]

You can do it Yu!

[@diwakarkumar9835]

Great contents help me a lot I want to start my own startup . Thanks Garry

[@kunal8423]

love the content.. awesome bro

[@mamaemprendedoratv]

Thanks 🙏🏻 you help me so much to could understand what I need ❤️

[@Thomas-1023]

This is absolute perfection. I had the privilege of reading something similar, and it was absolute perfection. "The Hidden Empire: Inside the Private Worlds of Elite CEOs" by Adam Skylight

[@sakukahkonen]

Thank you Garry!

[@ceciliajackson5950]

Agreed! Well thought out!

[@GarryTan]

Thanks for watching!

[@Shmevin]

yeah i agree on learning how to code. it improves your problem solving skills. also on building teams of people with different expertise. thank you for the video.

[@jecabreradc]

Well this was useful. Thank you.

[@user-yj7um6hv1d]

Awesome channel, I love it! Subscribed with notifications!

[@GarryTan]

Awesome, thank you!

[@mood3019]

Sooo good! See you in a few years at yc

[@RN-xz2sw]

Great content Gary.

[@MZ-iz7jo]

Thanks so much, Garry. That's amazing. Now I'm your loyal subcripers. Looking forward to seeing you in YC W21. - Jack

[@GarryTan]

Welcome aboard! Good luck with YC!

[@priyanshuindra4648]

Thanks man sharing a bunch of good advices and suggestions to help people like me.

[@GarryTan]

Happy to help!

[@faithselby6015]

Very clear, thank you.

[@GarryTan]

Glad it was helpful!

[@notjustdev]

Thanks Gary for this gold

[@GarryTan]

Thank you for watching Vadim!

[@mariamawhai369]

Hi, Mr Gary it's been a while since I enjoyed your program, just one week and it feels as if a whole year......I have decided to go ahead with videos related Start up..... Look out for me, in let's say quarterly. Cheers up

[@samario_torres]

Awesome video. This was really helpful...we need all of the advice we can get

[@GarryTan]

Glad you think so!

[@amitpatel321]

You got 4k followers in last 3-4 days! Good for you bro!

[@GarryTan]

Pretty crazy honestly

[@drmikadirector7113]

Awesome input and info. Thanks for the effort and sharing it! Have been in foodtech BIZ, and this is so relevant event out of the IT tech industry. Going thru our Series A, as have been in operation for passed 15 years. So we are at our growing life cycle, and you content which I m following, has really enhanced and sync my thought process in going thru the investor engagements. Tx bro