Lecture 3 - Before the Startup (Paul Graham)

[@dinner173]

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.

[@snowman7234]

100%, could not agree more.

[@RasHmiR91]

Thanks for highlighting this!

[@pfdemuizon]

"Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics."

[@aguilarcruz215]

S

[@ryanbennett6801]

Sup Ryan

[@RC404]

hum...Great lecture

[@SagefulSolutions]

LOLOLOL! Even more funny on 2x speed.

[@azs2152]

I was confused by this...I’m no longer am

[@podium732]

HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM :))

[@maniac50ae14]

You'll never get as many likes as the amount of times he said, "humm"

[@RC404]

@@maniac50ae14 🤣

[@nabinghimire2183]

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

[@bikashkaziswar6271]

It’s been a year , did you use it🌻

[@Lens_lores]

@@bikashkaziswar6271i am from nepal and i am gonna soon

[@sushildeshmukh1904]

india

[@st_evengm9811]

Basically I am kind of that boy watching the video from Costa Rica, so yes you are rigth, it is facinating.

[@karanpun1191]

100% 🇳🇵

[@hoodasaurabh]

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

[@AlbertNikanorovtscosj]

***** hmmmm

[@abcdxx1059]

Saurabh Hooda 3 yrs ago

[@abcdxx1059]

Saurabh Hooda hey do you have a start-up

[@movocode]

Paul Gra...hum...

[@3nityC]

Are you easily annoyed?

[@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.

[@Him_Dante]

Not all heroes wear capes. But I’m pretty sure you do ! 🤧 Thanks for the advice, Tomas.

[@eliasn.9960]

Thanks a lot :)

[@tarsemlal1720]

You are a legend

[@pushkarsingh1819]

thanks for summerizing

[@DhairyaMehta1234]

Thank you bro....❤

[@laronburrows7958]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@mrbillgoode]

Look at this man with his shiny bald-head talking about binge watching this shit.

[@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!

[@markaaronbarrett]

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

[@ituramphozo3466]

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.

[@JWu-jt7fz]

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.

[@chriscfedrizzi]

No BS, listen to him guys. I've been starting and trying startups for 6 years, he really knows the deal.

[@angeljimenez7374]

You ever think that not everybody is like you?

[@chriscfedrizzi]

@@angeljimenez7374 What do you mean?

[@Zbigniew_Piatek]

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

[@youngmarker9925]

Yes! I think that's an essential ingredient to effectively communicating valuable ideas!

[@peterjones9087]

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

[@derrickthornton386]

I have a dynamite idea and am in the process of building the idea and team. Sky's the limit. These lectures aren't the end-all-be-all but they are a great start. Thanks to Paul and the collective for providing this priceless information.

[@LCTesla]

how'd that turn out?

[@fabio.1]

following

[@omarmassoud6499]

how'd it go?

[@aryansolanki5897]

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

[@sebastianwalls7001]

Paul Gra-hum...

[@pancanitamanalu9041]

he hummm alot.

[@Everything00523]

😂

[@meghaseth5815]

I CAN'T STOP NOTICING IT NOW!!!! 😭

[@nuwandakoh]

i knew this was coming in the comment section i knew it!!!

[@samuelh5]

Goddamnit I didn’t notice this before... knowledge is a curse

[@christopherarmstrong2710]

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.

[@avinashprasadfilms]

Goodjob Christopher!!

[@homesbychhayank9788]

🙏🏼

[@piyushkumar6609]

Thanks a lot

[@christopherarmstrong2710]

@@piyushkumar6609 Sure thing

[@Dorian_Barber]

10 seconds in and I love how real the vibe is.

[@mrbillgoode]

You surely buy books because of its color. Numbnut!

[@mccarthyroderick]

This man is brilliant!! Great 48 minutes of my life!!

[@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.

[@phillip4822]

Lmao, 12:10 god this thing is being recorded 😂. Well done, 10 years later. Has still been a very good talk

[@inspiredink07]

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

[@_digital_dan]

Thank you so much Paul! You answered my most disturbing questions. I'm a high school student who wanted to start a startup but now I see that the question is in what domain to work.

[@gubby740]

Hey, how is your startup going?

[@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!!"

[@purelogic4533]

The guy was right they were making a bubble - he answered rudely because as investors they are only hopeful that technology startups will spur the economy and create more wealth even though funding rates cant afford to be kept low any further

[@Channel-gv2gw]

What did he say ? I can't say .. pls elaborate

[@vizvan]

Seemed a very sincere and kind advice. May I add greed-less advice, especially since many of the viewers/listeners would be aiming at Y-Combinator.

[@arielf9587]

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

[@wholeness]

hummm is the sound before accessing advanced intelligence.

[@Akh6one2]

I was going to stop watching this video because of the comments, however surprisingly I continued and could say that this was probably the most informational video I’ve ever watched.

[@carlossolis1]

Paul Graham makes the best lectures ever!

[@SachinMahajan223]

A lecture worth millions...

[@tedcarr]

I love how dissapointed and deflated he sounds everytime he says Humm /Watching this in Thailand. Arrived with just a backpack. Now living in Chiang Mai, the #1 ranked Digital Nomad spot in the world.

[@Ahmad-ps9zh]

What are you doing in Chiang Mai? How is it? Videos please :)

[@masukuma]

lol

[@danpena344]

nomadlist.com/ this is how you would rank it

[@denisblack9897]

worst air in the world

[@omieuno]

That Q and A was GOLD!

[@ethanjyx]

So true. Domain expertise is so important.

[@Novu_ai]

I just uploaded a video from Paul Graham's essays. Paul is truly an inspiration.

[@vineetk1998]

Major takeaway is to "learn" what you like, follow your passion and new ideas will spring on the way

[@brabra2725]

No

[@yaxxee]

I love to listen to this man, he cuts through the bullshit like no one else. He also gives me the confidence that I can start something of my own. Although I did think he was quite rude at 36:30.. But then the startup world is not for someone who gets hurt easily

[@LuanaVasco88]

The value of these lessons is insane

[@syguy]

Question: what are your recurring systems in your work and personal life that make you efficient? Answer: having kids is a good way to be efficient; because you have no time left. So if you want to get anything done the amount of done you do per time is high. GOLDEN! 😅🔥 This lecture is awesome.

[@Thebaron666]

Love the content.. My only beef with these lectures (and many, many others) is that it seems that their metrics for success are limited to Apple, Google, and Mark Zuckerberg. Every example is based off of what Zuckerberg did or what Google did, etc. Give me some more real examples of Bob down the street that started a shipping company from nothing and turned it into a successful company. I don't know.. Just something I've noticed.

[@duanestanford2827]

True -- I think because he's looking at it from a YC perspective, and YC's goal is specifically to create huge monoliths.

[@deepaksrinivasmondal]

So true!

[@Crafterthecaster]

​@@duanestanford2827 I disagree. From what I've read of his essays Paul Graham knows A LOT of great people. Before I read his essays I thought I knew a lot of great leaders, but I recognised only 20-40% of the people he mentions in his essay. And YC's goal is not specifically to create huge monoliths. If you look at the list of startups YC funds, you will see that most of them won't be huge monoliths. And even if you're talking about VCs and not YC, it isn't true either. What most VCs ended up doing is funding safe startups and ignore the super-risky ones, which guarantees that they will turn down the next Google.

[@Crafterthecaster]

If you love this video, then I think you should check out Paul Graham's essays mate. www.paulgraham.com/articles.html Check whichever ones that seems interesting to you. There's like a hundred essays and they don't seem to cover one particular topic, but the couple dozens I've read so far are pure fucking gold. I can't say which one is the best for you, but I can say that my absolute favourites were "What You'll Wish You'd Known", "How to Do What You Love" and "Undergraduation".

[@singularityhq]

Google indiehackers. You'll get better step by step instructions.

[@peace_and_blessings1111]

25:56 How to make your mind, the kind of mind that generates start up ideas unconsciously: 1. Learn a lot about things that matter 2. Work on problems that interest you. 3. Work with people you like and respect.

[@Dannykim722]

Fantastic lecture. To the point. No BS

[@tinashe695]

Thank for the valuable information and the wonderful humour Paul. :)

[@goranstankovic2501]

Great insight! enjoyed the rawness of the talk!

[@MaiFast]

Great lecture. I am going to start startup in next couple of years.

[@DaffodilPClimited]

Great lecture!! This video is more precious than diamond.

[@mrbillgoode]

You're a fool. You know nothing about diamonds.

[@simonsmashup]

33:50 I guess I agree with this. I started my startup career right after college graduate, and I have doubted if I don't learn enough to run a business from work experience. Got my first successful startup after several attempts. (well, technically it's just small business in some sense and it's not that scalable like tech giants, but certainly did hire some 20 people to run the business) And I am glad to be lucky enough to have family support to let me do it. It's still fucking hard. It's kinda like you just have little idea on how to swim and you decide to jump into the ocean. If you don't wanna die, you will find a way to get shit done.

[@swex-smile]

but what if you jumped in a ocean where you can never sink , dude : what you wanna say is , you should never have sex since you have never sex done before 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@robbartlett1221]

Excellent startup advice, this guy is spot on.... Funny the question around the 42:00 minute mark is exactly how I work. Either you're forced to work on something less interesting or it comes to you.

[@AlanAspera]

Some questions at the end are looking for magic wand answers. Read the book , 'The Hard Thing about Hard Things', by Ben Horowitz. Some situations in business cannot be answered by simply looking at a flow-chart. Sometimes, you will have to find the answer to the problem as they come along. The same solution to that problem may not work at another start-up.There's no such thing as a 'catch all' solution for every problem.

[@zohayer.mehtab]

26:09 How to get startup ideas(and cofounders) unconsciously: 1. Learn things that matters. 2. Work on problems that matters to you. 3. With people you like and respect.

[@sofiyaely]

Pure genius eloquence

[@RahulMahat-s3d]

Bhaisaab aise teacher ho to cls karne ka majaa hi ku66 aur hai 😂😂😅😅❤❤❤

[@abutahermuhammad4827]

I think I'm currently working on project that taking my full time. discussing with friends, family, communities!

[@KingMalekDelane]

Real advice, perspective, and insight..Priceless.

[@mrbillgoode]

Moron

[@larap.1850]

"Work with people you genuinely like and respect and who you have known for long enough that you are sure."

[@amarvanee]

There is no reason Sam would want to tell if he had done it several times. Great timing on that joke. Hum. This by the way is perhaps the best resource on learning how's. Thanks

[@bonaventureBarry]

I can summarized this talk with these words: "Grit, foolishness, and courage".

[@nayandhabarde]

That thing to stop thinking of ideas consciously is so true

[@bluecuracao6478]

Thank you a lot for this genuine lecture and sharing! Lots of essential knowledge unless then an hour

[@stephanotto212]

This guy is a great investor!!!

[@dztennessee9744]

u changed my world

[@vivekkaplingat6384]

Excellent talk!

[@eVerseApparel]

38:49 “podcasting business… do those words even grammatically fit together” crazy how just a few years makes a difference

[@BescoutedOfficial]

Every word i hear is so true. Nice lecture.

[@quickesttutorial]

I periodically watch this lecture when I'm down mentally

[@datofadzlishah7566]

Funny how when PG goes 'hummmm...' it doesn't sound so much like he's nervous/puzzled/thinking internally as it does like he's out of breath. strange public speaking technique?

[@SamA-zf9sp]

He's just being himself.

[@fhoplist]

Fadzli Anuar It is just his mannerisms. I know people who do the same thing.

[@AlbertNikanorovtscosj]

fhoplist hmmmm

[@RasHmiR91]

Oh wow! Great to see some prominent name in our country here!

[@vkris81]

“If you work on things you like, you don’t have to force yourself to be efficient”

[@jslbrt]

I loved the talk, but why was Paul dressed as a country club coke dealer? I'm teasing of course. Paul is the best.

[@DHEERAJKUMAR-dn2li]

Thank you, sir, today I got some wonderful knowledge .

[@vinabe-welistenweshare.568]

I love the way he delivered!

[@sandeepreddy7831]

chapters: 0:00:00 | combinator function | Y Combinator, function was to tell ignore.. 0:03:33 | yc ski | YC is ski instructors and instructors.. words together, as 0:06:37 | startup college | How to start a startup in college? 0:09:27 | automata theory | Automata Theory.. and look at the questions and essentially. 0:12:36 | people want | What people want.. extend that you do.. 0:14:10 | startups consuming | Startups are all consuming.. will take over your life for 0:16:56 | startup student | How to start a startup or be a student? 0:20:16 | startup 20 | How to start a startup at 20? 0:23:00 | combinator combinator | Y Combinator, Y Combinator, Y Combinator 0:26:46 | begging | begging the question if genuinely interesting interest energetically is yourself 0:29:18 | harvard | Harvard, back in the mid 90s, friends Robert and voiceover 0:31:33 | founder startup | Founder most startup? 0:35:45 | bubble | How to get into a bubble.. 0:38:15 | labs startups | Where people start labs that startups, it might work.. That 0:43:59 | startup monoculture | How to start a startup with a monoculture?

[@aramsam]

Absolutely brilliant lecture!

[@ridamalik581]

Thank you for the invaluable advice. Definitely will help in avoiding some mistakes at least I hope :)

[@maxtradepro]

Still relevant today! Love it

[@gcxlc]

I love seeing him call out, and not answer, the bad questions.

[@davineuskens21]

That's one of the things I dislike most about this lecture.

[@ljunderground]

Diego Neuskens Why? Are you uncomfortable with truth?

[@mylesbuckley9675]

This was funnier than most stand up comics ahaha, and I actually learned something!

[@whatever-wn1nk]

I realize I made starting a startup sound kind of hard... If I haven't, let me try again - starting a startup is REALLY HARD. hahahaha

[@absbox_]

Brilliant Paul, as always

[@rafidhoda]

Paul Graham, the GOAT

[@avinashdwivedi2015]

I liked when he said you shouldn't start a startup in college... The whole crowd went silent for a while ..lol

[@reece_harding]

This is beautiful - currently going through this debate myself

[@abhiasawa]

So good!

[@GeorgiDimitrovX]

37:38 "who knows maybe between now and then the Chinese economy will have exploded then there's a giant disaster recession. Assume the worst"

[@can.slaughter]

Yeah! he almost predicted the corona virus,

[@stephanotto212]

You have to be ethical to not allow duality to mess your mind up. If its gonna rain tomorrow theres a 50% chance of rain. My dad taught me that clever old guy! 73 years old! A good friend had to remind me of it!

[@shrt5828]

realest and funniest guy

[@agustinbjr]

I’m the guy who always asked the dumb questions in class (and I didn’t go to Stanford), so I’ll keep that energy: “Why was it dumb for Facebook to incorporate as a Florida LLC?

[@mallyosih7455]

Not an American so its a stab in the dark, but it could be that there are obviously advantageous states in which to declare an LLC , i know delaware is popular for those advantages.

[@DakshGuptaCuriosium]

LLCs have a cap on how many shareholders you can have so they can’t go public, you need a C-Corp for that. Delaware is the state nearly all startups incorporate in because of knowledgeable courts and favorable laws among others. So the default is Delaware C Corp.

[@raonyguimaraes]

This is gold! Thank you...

[@vrfjwehs29]

He is one funny smart dude. Great Lecture. Thank you.

[@AbhiRoy007]

Nice one old is gold👍

[@אופקטוביה]

unbelievable value.

[@danypell2517]

Paul's such a good fella!!!

[@MaanayShah786]

This guy is too good!

[@jackmiddleton2080]

We think that having multiple founders is causing success but it could just be that social skills is what is causing success and social people tend to want to work with others.

[@dianalastovska8386]

I like him. Such a smart person

[@kishlayrajraj]

just love his lessons

[@sartajsinghahuja406]

7:54, Paul got that comic timing man 😂

[@kaypakaipa8559]

damn damn damn. great stuff, challenges the mind. makes so much sense tho. build great products

[@uscsca]

Y Combinator has been great with Paul Graham.

[@ractheworld]

So there is aproximately 1 hour of compact wisdom and wit by the dude who sees the meta in everything and makes it work for him (Having a company that fathers other companies and profit from it) and all people take from it is "hum"? sigh~