Should You Follow Your Passion? - Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel

Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel talk about solutions in search of a problem, whether or not to follow your passion, how to figure out what to work on, and how to motivate yourself.
To create Rookies Mistakes we asked YC founders: Is there a simple fact you wish you knew when you started your company or a rookie mistake you wish you could take back?
/ daltonc
/ mwseibel
Chapters (Powered by bit.ly/chapterme-yc) -
00:00:00 - Rookie mistakes
00:00:30 - Note from YC founder
00:00:53 - SISP - Solution In Search of a Problem
00:01:33 - Have an opinion
00:01:56 - != School
00:03:09 - How are you supposed to figure out what work on?
00:03:15 - What to do
00:03:36 - Follow your passion?
00:07:22 - No approval
00:08:42 - Motivators
00:10:33 - Traction
00:13:36 - New Passions
00:13:59 - Setting up motivators
00:14:59 - Game yourself
00:16:51 - Intrinsic motivators

[@gambaweb]

When they spoke about passion, it remembered me about the IKEA effect. Once you build something you give it more value especially when you see a tangible result (BJ Fogg, tinny habits )

[@isra2612]

Love this

[@ScottMaday]

I love the first point where people are making solutions in search of a problem. I couldn't have summed up the AI hype of the past year and a half better myself.

[@razvangrigore322]

Is it? Given the big impact on so many induestries, how easy one can pivot, AI seems the best bet to take in a startup right now.

[@ScottMaday]

@@razvangrigore322 it’s my opinion that AI is amazing for integrating with existing solutions to problems and making them better (imagine an analytics platform using AI to predict trends or a social posting tool that uses DALL-E to generate thumbnail images). Selling AI for the sake of saying that you use AI to customers (such as the Microsoft copilot app) seems like a solution looking for a problem that people don’t have.

[@hlinc2]

Don't often see talk about finding passion that's actually actionable, this is awesome

[@lwebb9464]

I approach work like dating, I date my work and ideas and see which ones I want to put a ring on. And being in my and I usually recommend the same approach to others when asked. Date your job, occupation, or business ideas/passions. And see which ones you want to commit to and marry, because like Steve jobs said - outside of our family and friends our work is the next important relationship well build in our lives. Don't work your mob role, Date it!

[@techronin_]

In my experience as an elite athlete. It’s usually the less talented nerdy, do it at all costs, all day and everyday person, that almost always beats the naturally talented individual. The reason why from my experience is because raw talent doesn’t beat effortless time under tension. It’s a balance on the whole but I’ve seen time and time again super talented people never fill reach their potential-while less talented people with high motivation to win-win. Just sayin. But awesome vide none the less

[@JagjitBrawler]

Good point. The way I think of it, the guy who is “nerding out” over sports is more like someone who fantasizes over the sport and obsessed over it but doesn’t actually go out in the field and play/train. Versus someone who may not be so obsessed with the sport but just trains and gets really good at it due to the fact that they’re training rather than obsessing over it. But your point is totally valid in that less talented but extremely motivated individuals can (and in many cases do) beat out the natural who doesn’t see the need to train harder or improve their skills

[@oozieligus]

I'm re-listening to these chats every few weeks and every time I hear something new.

[@von2552]

Really hope they bring the podcast back. It was the podcast that got me into podcasts! Great content

[@aasiyahadams9536]

I love this. Being a Founder of a non-profit, you see the real problems. Well said!

[@hassanxelamin]

Michael & Dalton. Thank you so much.

[@hardikvaidya]

Thank you for this brilliant, brilliant video. Taking back a lot of important points to think/apply.

[@doug2731]

I've started thinking of ideas while walking my dog and I get these really great ideas sometimes! "Oh, that would be so helpful!" Then I reflect a little and go, "Oh Doug... That's a Solution in Search of a Problem." This way I know I've retained some knowledge watching Michael Seibel and YCombinator content :D

[@rib5436]

While I agree with the SISP concept at high level, I don't necessarily agree with its premise. I believe that ideas are not born in a vacuum. The fact that you come up with an idea that you think is great, is rooted in some sort of problems that you think exist but might not be actively aware about them. Sometimes coming up with lots of ideas (good and bad) can help you better understand the problem/need space in ways that are hard to explain. At least, this is what I found out for myself. I wouldn't be too dogmatic about the 'SISP' thing, and this notion that you first have to understand the problem, and only then come up with solutions puts some hard, unnecessary limits on yourself. Coming up with ideas is a natural tendency of our thought process, and we can use those ideas to better understand what are we trying to accomplish, rather than limit ourselves to rigid processes. It's an interesting topic which would be worth debating nevertheless.

[@doug2731]

@@rib5436 thanks a lot for the thoughtful response! I generate ideas as potential solves for challenges, but then realize maybe there just isnt that much of a market for it. You're right I shouldnt dismiss ideas too quickly.

[@sachinelearning]

Love this format! superb energy!

[@nanami73_]

Inspirational!! Thanks for helping us keep going!!!

[@alexanderprice2116]

I've been digging through content for 2-3 weeks and I found this. Wow, this is what I need.

[@jasonwee7580]

Thanks for sharing as always! It really is an art to connect your intrinsic motivators (things you’re passionate about doing) and the extrinsic motivators (validation, revenue). To succeed and persevere, one will need both.

[@martinstine]

Thanks Dalton, Michael and YC. Great one.

[@rafaelnunes000]

Thank you for this video! Very good content!

[@todayu]

That last section on extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation was incredibly encouraging.

[@JoaoJGabriel]

To reconcile the ideas of passion and traction, I'd say that the source of passion is meaning, and the greatest source for meaning is usefulness... helping other people out with things that actually matter. Success isn't just being praised, getting money early on, or having your startup funded, because you can bullshit your way through all of those, and fool everyone for some time... only to get frustrated, burnt out, and fail later. What really keeps "motivation" (and dignity), is seeking long-term, intrinsic, rewards without bullshiting yourself or others. Steve Jobs talked about computers being bicycles for the mind. He meant it. It wasn't fluffy talk for marketing or funding, that's what kept him pushing through. Think about it, how exciting would it be to take part in creating a tool that would allow intelligent people like you to do unimaginable things, and increase humanity's potential exponentially?! Man, I could die broke and still jump out of bed to help make that happen!

[@mzar62458]

Just adding a thought that finding meaning can be circumstantial. For example, solving a real problem in your life that affects other people as well. The usefulness of this is immediately clear and impactful.

[@ekkamailax]

Millions of children die from dehydration and starvation. Would you start a company to help them out? I can't think of a more important problem to solve.

[@arik_dev]

@@ekkamailax That is a very important problem to solve. But if you don't actually have a solution, then you're going to fail. Setting a lofty goal with no solution is not a good basis for a company. It's not a good basis for anything actually. But if you actually have a solution for dehydration and starvation that you can personally put into practice, you should definitely do it.

[@ekkamailax]

@@arik_dev it’s a good problem to solve as a non profit, not a business. Starving kids don’t have money to pay you for your solution. If you want to solve a problem like this, you need to first get rich by stating a company that sells a product to a customer base. Then use your wealth to set up a non profit that solves these kind of social problems.

[@arcli2233]

@@ekkamailax Have you thought of other ways to improve or change the situation of dehydration and starvation such as new food technology? Or may be just start a profitable charity business, non-profit may not be the best solution (if so the problem should be solved).

[@Taskade]

Lovely advice as usual!

[@Eatonetwork]

Love these videos

[@AlexanderLouizosLouizos]

These videos are golden

[@adawg6726]

I love YC, their vids are goated

[@U-Singh]

This is literal gold

[@TitoMitto]

Occasionally while watching this video I’d feel the urge to like the video then realize I already did... Thanks a lot for the awesome content

[@function1983]

Love your videos. I am super lucky that I don't have to care much about making money to support my family any more. But trying to build new products for the market is hard when not so many people who are closed to you understand why you keep doing small things and not working in a big company like before. It's emotionally taxing. Glad that now I know there are many others enjoy doing weird hard things when those things have yet to be the norm. Again, thank you YC for your support.

[@dungbui1341]

same

[@saopen9479]

hhhh

[@sergeyivanov1091]

Super useful.

[@vasanthr5623]

So good!

[@vedantdighe4278]

Very useful information

[@ethantastic]

Such gold

[@gorilladatalabs5785]

great video

[@BedrockLeadership]

Every founder must remember two definitions of passion. Most think of it only as their intense, driving conviction about something. Another definition of passion is suffering. Think Passion of Christ. Even if you’re an atheist the story illustrates the question, for what are you willing to suffer?

[@Omkar3324]

this was very useful, i make game art- and this just restored my faith in my abilities, as this industry doesn't really pay very much, but i am trying to look at what is it different that i can work on everyday that can spark some creativity and make me feel happy and proud of myself.

[@user-mx8sj1nc6v]

I think there are many kinds of wisdoms. A matematition is passained to find a new discovery in math. It can be used later on... A scintist may find something that worth patent it. Maybe later it will be used. You explain to us the wisdom of finding a need of customers, and fulfil it, under constraint of money.

[@amanjha__]

15:00 what are other psychological motivators besides revenue and working with friends? Are those two disproportionately powerful or are they two of many?

[@freemanjiang]

16:50 Gold.

[@duongtt3]

V6; Thanhk you YC!

[@djcardwell]

Dalton Caldwell reminds me of that cocky brother-in-law

[@przemekblasiak]

It's great to hear Michael highlight the advantage of "intrinsic motivators", as it's truly counter-intuitive and opposite to most advice I hear along my way.

[@pbrennan98]

Great videos, thanks for sharing the insights! Re the most tried college idea, tools re activities for friends, who do you think won this space? Or there are 1000s of apps... Paul Helsinki

[@AyushSharma-tv7xc]

Positive feedback loop Hard work People liking your product Values All the above things make you like your job

[@alamskmustafin4544]

Great 👍

[@ernestradner156]

📌🌟Thank you for this informative video. We are currently experiencing the greatest transfer of wealth ever recorded in world history . People who invest now have probably made the best decision in life. Investment is the future!!

[@harrisvangeest5134]

Have been making losses trading myself .... I THOUGHT trading on demo account is just like trading the real market .. can anyone help me out or at least advice me on what to do ?

[@debbiecowdrey1358]

I literally want to wake up one morning to discover my portfolio is above $60k

[@joachimmilberg2313]

I will recommend you stop trading on your own if you keep losing and start trading with a professional.

[@stevenwalker2117]

The mentorship from a professional coach should definitely be the first step taken while trading.

[@joachimmilberg2313]

@@stevenwalker2117 This is refreshing coincidence,she has been handling my trade, it’s been a year now and the experience has been amazing.

[@rafaelolvera240]

Gold

[@cowboyuniverse7258]

Opposite to wat I’ve heard before from mike that don’t build a startup bc of new tech is the motivation

[@monotheist..]

inteinstic motivation real prooblem match passion great happy lot of stuff

[@altious899]

If you see justin tv journey is that as well, solution looking for problems and that work well for them in the end with twitch, so there is no one way to do things i believe what matters is persevere on what you want to do

[@thedigitalceo]

It’s a good point but where’s the line where you need to continue and improve as opposed to losing motivation because something doesn’t work.

[@margaretcezarcreates]

You mentioned about calling it a project is incorrect. What is the best word to use?

[@edgarodey]

So which means if Facebook didn't succeed, mark wouldn't have called connecting the world is passion right?¿

[@douglachman7330]

I like the term affiliate winning. In your case its a real case of MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL FREE ENTERPRISE based relationship. You get to spread the value.

[@natashalands2144]

As an event promoter I have been pitched this event calendar connector app at least ten times by College kids, and I ask are you apart of the event community ? Have you been to any of my events ? The answer is always no...

[@mikecounsell]

Is there any correlation with endurance athletes and successful founders? Folks who do ultra marathons for fun sure no how to grind based off of internal drive.

[@SwayampravoDasgupta]

Kobe/MJ reference at 12:50 🙌

[@yairopro]

Love the != 😂

[@thanatosor]

It’s about real problem encountering vs. problems you are asking if people need it solved. Passion should be taken as personal hobby to entertain yourself first. So it’s not for the people.

[@christiancaceresfuentes9253]

Its possible that you have subtitles in spanish?

[@doxologist]

Michael's lost a lot of weight! That's amazing. I want to know his regime. These Covid pounds aren't gonna shed themselves

[@samusande6461]

17:14 ❤️❤️❤️

[@brian_akhtar]

Not me programming an app that helps you have a better night out experience that also includes planning a night out with friends 😬

[@joelhounak]

Hey how do I join Y combinator

[@djcardwell]

There's a trend of not following passion and instead chasing opportunity, I think it originated from Mike Row. I couldn't disagree more with this sentiment. I know "follow your passion" sounds cliche, but there are some simple truths that shouldn't be ignored. It's hard for me to adopt this mindset, especially when I've had several friends win gold medals in the olympics and myself competed at a high level in something I'm passionate about. There is a reason why you fell in love with your passionate interest. I hope this helps someone, and I hope that someone never gives up on their passion. It is better to die trying.

[@CoconutPete]

I think you're right... Not following your passion is probably bad advice but it gets more views. Sadly this bad advice will probably destroy a few in the process

[@wadexyz]

Like everything in life, it's a continuum. If you're too far in either direction, you're going either to fail hard or be really unhappy with what you are doing with your life. Neither is desirable.

[@healingsoundsmeditation751]

I hope Dalton and Michael are not just passing faint arguments. I hope there arguments are based on a meticulously done research.

[@aadarshroy2000]

1:15 feels something like NFTs.

[@Shreed]

lol, I feel like I just got roasted - young me just wanted to hang out with my homies but we all suck at organizing 😂😂

[@nurkleblurker2482]

I'm not sure I got anything out of this. Don't be extrinsically motivated but also use money as a metric you care about? Start ups don't reward you for accomplishing tasks? Isn't revenue supposed to be rewarding?

[@olegprytula2881]

Time to buy Tesla shares

[@CoconutPete]

Ugh

[@JosephProsnitz1]

money is extrinsic?

[@vlogmoinc5597]

I would shave my head at that point

[@startup_talks_de]

If seeing money come through accidentally(when you built something) creates a passion for the problem you are solving, I really doubt if that is real passion and will last long. Passion has several dimensions for every human influenced by their social, economic circumstances.. It evolves over time as you go through difference life experiences and get hooked or inspired by certain things were you see a sync and want to work relentlessly to solve something irrespective of whether money is involved or not(you don't care). I personally experience, love and see an impact that I could make in longterm doing what I am doing now. I guess that gives a "kick" and that's the real passion. I really don't believe it has a connection with money for all, for some it might but not for all.

[@philmckay9973]

to ask for someone's passion about a job....is such a privileged life position....

[@charleshurstreinvention3959]

You should follow intelligent tactics. Follow your passion. That's what the gurus say. I'm telling my own subscribers that this is bad advice. I have seen many living in their mid forties with no skills, no resources and no future because they did follow this mantra. Swell Charles, give up on your dreams you say? No. I'm saying to be smart about it. You don't just pick a job that you would do for free and that is usually the arts. Like Stephen King--he could have retired in the 1980s but still writes--because he would write anyway. But most artists don't make the big time. So if you have this burning passion that is in the small percentage of making it, by all means do that---on the side. But keep a day job and that job can be a cousin of what you would do for free. For example, maybe you are an oil paint artist at heart. But your day job is a graphic designer. Or you are that actor. You day job is teaching high school drama--or advance to teach college drama. See? You do the next best thing to "your passion" that pays the bills decently. That's how you negotiate the thing you would do for free where there is risk vs quitting your day job to leap off the cliff not knowing if the water is below. Hope this helps someone---Charles

[@jeffmorrison2915]

Wait! What? Passion with no money in sight? Sounds fine to innovators! but why do you guys as investors ask innovators to pitch in business plans then? Would you invest in solutions that has no prospect of hefty revenue?

[@lordfuture1]

My friend applied to YC, worked hard on application and got denied. Was fine with not getting accepted until she found out they NEVER ACTUALLY WATCHED her product demo or founder video. The videos uploaded to KZbin stayed on 0 views even though they said they sent an email saying they reviewed her application and rejected it. SO SHADY!! No matter how selective YC is, INTEGRITY STILL MATTERS. SHAME ON YOU YC!

[@timtheli0n]

I also have zero views on my rejected application video. Luckily for me, I only set in the application for a laugh.

[@chrisharrisglobal]

They did review it, and what they read was enough to decide not to invest, they didn’t need to watch the video. There’s nothing shady about that…

[@bcyc2004]

You know there are over 10,000 application each batch. Maybe yours fell through the crack. Or maybe they decided your idea isn't worth their time in less than 30 seconds after watching your video. Because KZbin consider a view thats over 30 second.

[@c-meezy765]

They probably just didn't watch the full video. It's on the entrepreneur to keep the investor's attention. It seems like your friend didn't do that.

[@function1983]

@@c-meezy765 Agreed, YC is more open than most other VCs about their process. You applied to YC, they are not your parents so, it is certainly not their responsibility to review your application from start to finish.

[@thierrymilard1544]

This was said 20 times by the same actors. It's a stutter.

[@ll-qy9nl]

good until you mentioned elon musk. the guy is a scam artist. unsub.

[@function1983]

I can totally agree with you about him personally. But in the end, he DID built things that people want which is pretty hard, just to name a few: the cars, the rockets, and now fast and affordable satellite internet.

[@CoconutPete]

I'm soooo tired of Elon musk and Elon musk worshippers. Electric cars and rockets. Yawn

[@ll-qy9nl]

@@function1983 he did not build squat. tesla wasnt even founded by him, autopilot is a scam.

[@benzionsadigursky4250]

@@ll-qy9nl Interesting how people who offer ZERO value to the planet have such strong negative opinions of those that do. Odd.

[@ll-qy9nl]

@@benzionsadigursky4250 then put 25% to 100% of your net worth in his stock. Do it.