Why now? The key to million dollar startup ideas

As you think about whether you want to work on or at a startup, I want you to ask what great investors ask themselves all the time: WHY NOW?
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00:00 Why now?
00:45 New Technology
04:45 New Behavior
08:13 New Regulation
14:16 The Three Why Nows
I’m Garry Tan, venture capitalist and founder at Initialized Capital. We were earliest investors in billion dollar startups like Coinbase and Instacart, and I’m a Forbes Midas List Top 100 venture capitalist in the world. We want these videos to be about helping people build world-class teams and startups that touch a billion people. Our startups have gone on to create more than $200 billion in market value so far, and Initialized has over $3.2B in assets under management.
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[@jogihann]

Thought I’d share a memory your video unearthed from the lost depths of my brain’s memory. Funny enough, I wrote an article in my sophomore year of college on this exact topic, despite never having read a single book on startup culture. This was when I first started dabbling in technology-oriented entrepreneurship (startups). I might not have known about product-market fit or structuring a company to raise money, but the fundamentals came naturally to me just as they come naturally to many who study science. Anyways, I titled the article, “Why Physicists Make Great Entrepreneurs.” When you work with various orders of magnitude for an extended period of time, you program yourself to think in orders of magnitude. If you’re finding yourself having to combine various marginal improvements to convince people your product is better, you’re probably doing it wrong. Cheers!

[@buenobomb]

Great video. I'm working on Homelessness in California. Appreciate these videos!

[@kevtfung]

I love your inclusion of government in startup ideas. It's a big part of my background for a startup in this space and also applying to yc!

[@sivsoto4285]

You are amazing, you Have the power of encourage us to start a start up!!! Thaks a lot!!

[@mustaqimkhan6885]

Each of your videos are as worthy of reading a book! Just watching these are helping me to learn so much! Thanks for creating such informative and helpful contents!!

[@esmeralddedushaj3598]

Add on top that: availability of talent, access to funding and a market ripe for innovation, access to eager consumers, where today's consumers are more open to new ideas and funders are more open to new ways of doing and solving things, there's has never been a better time than to build a Startup and solve the problems, the world is throwing at us. Great video as always, Garry!

[@SethWieder]

This channel is a wealth of insights. Thank you!

[@anandsheth5490]

Great video Garry! I applied to YC a couple of years back...but I realize that I did not share the "big" idea that will change the future of professionals. Call it Imposter Syndrome, call it "No one will take it seriously cause it is a massive shift to an old tech" - whatever the reason...my mistake. A couple of years in, I am excited cause I did not give up on the idea...bootstrapped it and raised a small angel round. It is going well. Now I need to raise bigger $. It's time to put fuel on the fire. Your video reminded me that I need to be better at telling loudly about the game-changing aspect of what we are up to. Would love to connect with you - if interested.

[@huntercole1863]

Tere phaiun di fuddi

[@Starship737]

can u give some tips about dos and don't to apply for yc inroder to get accepted

[@joeingram1]

Incredible video, thank you very much

[@AIAdoption]

Garry, you are an amazing person who genuinely wants to help entrepreneurs and make a greater impact in society. You have a heart for giving back, and your passion for helping others is evident in everything you do. Thank you for being an inspiration to us all!

[@jean-baptisted.8797]

Couldn’t describe it better, thank you so much Garry. I learn a lot watching you. Take care 🙇🏻‍♂️

[@AIAdoption]

Sorry I misspelled your name. Corrected. Thanks

[@ousmaneyadely]

Inspiring. My new fav KZbin channel

[@sommjes]

this video is perfectly timed for our startup. The Apoorva clip helped me articulate our ‘why now’ (behavior change) related to our thesis of async video powering the future of learning and development for hybrid organizations. Stay on this mission of encouraging founders, Gary!! 🙏🏾

[@mohammedelyas142]

Garry, you did great 👍

[@BennyRubanov]

As always, the presentation, the passion, and the informativeness elements of these videos are phenomenal. Thanks Garry!!

[@jeffheiner]

Hi you have great insight on how to organize the changes. Its really hard to see when you are in the trees. So many things have been technology before its time. That has been the failure of many inventions. thank you for helping me understand that.

[@simleoita]

Garry for president

[@lucasrosvall]

Just found you channel! What a great video!

[@alfabumhira2545]

Garry you are a LEGEND 👏

[@bluepunkrocker]

Thank you for the videos! I'm just starting my journey into a new startup and these and all the YC content has been a life changer ✨️! These videos act as a compass in where my mind should be steering

[@maneeshs3876]

Thanks Garry for the videos, any pointers to your videos on semiconductors fabless startup space. Thank you

[@adennyh]

Thanks for this inspirational video :)

[@Shah_Khan]

Refreshing and reigniting my startup why's.

[@bashamohamoud576]

Thank you

[@maidenseddie1701]

Thanks Garry, encouraging video! A question to follow up on the ‘Why now’ aspect of building is the ‘Why you’ question both investors and the public may ask a builder. What are your thoughts on who the founder is - the person that is building the solution to a problem? What if they’re first time founders building something outside of what their career was for the last 20 years - is that something you’d frown upon as an investor?

[@osmiumbin]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="901">15:01</a> - <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="952">15:52</a> is epic!

[@jayesh814]

Thanks for sharing this gem! You do great job at putting things in framework and simple equation that makes it easy to evaluate the timing and idea! Thank you!🙏🏻

[@rexhinohysa5298]

GOD BLESS YOU KEEP GOING

[@aswinplay79]

You are inspiring us. Aswin from India🇮🇳

[@fredrickdenga7552]

what a powerful outro 💥💥💥

[@olegc6209]

super!

[@solomonakinbiyi]

This is beyond priceless Garry ✨.

[@OutcompeteAI]

Lol I still have my Motorola Marco. General Magic was a helluva drug even when the web was just getting started.

[@EngineerDJ_Julius]

great video

[@cuzonGames]

Mr Tan you guys putting the pressure on 😅

[@vivekgr3001]

This is really interesting. Thanks Garry!

[@isaacmorris1397]

Every financial goal requires patience, dedication and consistent spirit knowing that investment is currently the most lucrative business in the world, both NFT, real estate and Crypto shares are really positively changing people's lives.

[@adamdiroff4869]

I'm thinking of investing in the crypto market but taking my time to figure out how the whole thing works.

[@davidhoover3358]

The real risk in the Crypto market is the risk of not investing, not the risk of short term price volatility.

[@billsouthard3574]

I have been investing in crypto but have had a bumpy ride. How can l reach your broker? I will appreciate any tip or pointers

[@aristotleroger541]

l once tried trading myself but made more losses than profits. I wouldn't suggest it to anyone

[@mehdir5635]

Amazing video

[@gpt_haseeb]

Thank you man best video recommendationIi have receive so far from KZbin

[@daun-ai]

Thank you so much for the great video.

[@LeAndreWatts]

I sense a Paul Graham inspired individual 😅 Great Content

[@abdullahaliyuw]

This is true, absolutely! You try hard to give us what we want, even though we might not really realise we do.

[@fabiosparano8382]

Hey Garry, thanks for sharing your knowledge! I've been following YC for months and just found your channel. I'm interested in starting a startup and have been learning to code for the past few months. I'm currently in a Data Science BootCamp that finishes in September. I'm over 40 and I'm not sure if I should start a company right away (FOMO) or work for a startup first to get a feel for it. I would like to apply to YC but I noticed that most YC applicants have many years of experience as developers. What do you think? Thanks for all you do😎🤗

[@Chillobserver]

what did you do? i suggest just applying

[@barbarosozturk]

The vision of Apple Watch from that nostalgic clip was quite a shock to see.

[@lnyxiux9654]

Hey Gary thanks for the content, especially the point on regulation. I got hardware, embedded software and ML friends to start exploring climate tech opportunities with me so we're definitely looking at regulations (in the EU). I didn't know Pano and it's nice to see there's opportunities for smart sensors and not just satellite data which is all people talk about for climate risks.

[@pavelsnkhchyan]

Hey Gary, Thanks for the amazing content - very insightful and inspiring. I do have one question. My startup develops a mobile eye exercise & training platform to reduce eye fatigue due to extensive screen time. What's your opinion on the digital wellness industry and trends there? Hope you will find time to answer :)

[@GarryTan]

So much of digital health is inevitable but you have to figure out your go to market. Is there a way for your cost to acquire customers to be much lower than the revenue you can derive from them? This might involve working with payer providers or enterprise sales, not just consumer approaches.

[@majesticmewtwo7386]

You can try tying up with tech companies

[@pavelsnkhchyan]

@@majesticmewtwo7386 Good idea, I do actually explore this option already. thanks for suggestion!

[@steve_moves_]

Thanks a lot for this great question and the video !

[@privateequityguy]

3 Sales Tips (REALLY good ones) 1. Always say: this may not be for you. 2. Ask them why they think the product is a fit - asking this they might start telling themselves why they want it 3. Ask the prospect why they booked the call and why now is the good time to get started

[@thewellnesscottage]

Great video! Got me thinking, why now? Subbed and looking forward to more. Thank you and keep sharing your deep knowledge with thoughtful videos

[@MrSuperGerald]

Biggest thumbs up. Thank you, Garry Tan.

[@lafleureth]

Hey Garry! Love your videos so much, started watching a week ago and have seen over 50 I think 😅I've been super interested in KZbin and how to grow, and watched a lot of Mr. Beast interviews talking about it. He says it's all about thumbnails and watch time. I think you've got the thumbnail part, and even a lot of retention with your quick intros, but you are definetly falling off with your outros. I myself almost never listen to them and skip to the next video. Mr Beast says outros don't serve any purpose and should be replaced by a very very quick ending, so that people won't tune off and you can hit 100% watch time. Anyways, love your videos, please keep doing these 😊

[@emmanuelben1393]

I always love your video sir.

[@mohdjibly6184]

This is awesome....great insghts...thanks for sharing Gary :)

[@ruiren2643]

Hi Gary, do you have podcast? I hope I can listen to your talks during exercise.

[@kamichikora6035]

The fact that this chanel is still under a million subscribers is beyond me...

[@jaredbeckwith]

Starting my healthcare startup has been a great journey. In seed stage now!

[@emmzyb1748]

What's your health startup about?

[@jaredbeckwith]

@@emmzyb1748 as a job I work at a hospital recording seizure patient’s brains with a test called an EEG. My startup is building an improved EEG machine based on my experience on the job. I post about it on my channel if you wanna see more!

[@dulanjayawardena8576]

Best

[@indighosh]

Insightful content! Grateful ! Isn’t Tech and behaviour change correlated ? or rather tech leading to Behaviour change …

[@victorpinasarnault9135]

Wow... it choke me to the bone!

[@jailosalia]

Love the content and energy @gary! Keep up the motivational, great work!

[@truenorth5072]

Hi Garry, I am running a new startup in Singapore and wondering how to find a legal firm locally that is affordable and yet capable in drafting founder share options and ESOP contracts. If you know any kindly refer me a web link that would be great. Learnt a lot watching your videos. Appreciate what you are doing for the community. 😊👍

[@TerryEf]

Great video👍

[@benpaul1903]

Thanks Garry. I believe this will be one of your best videos. Once again thanks so much.

[@Sam-wb8jx]

This question doesn't always apply to million dollar ideas. What about startups which take years and years to build and take off? Where their initial markets were small. Nvidia and GPUs for instance. Apple and the personal computer as another. We can even apply this to old industries like drug development. Drugs which takes a decade to develop from target discovery, perhaps nothings changed in that decade, but once they've passed all the trials, they can make huge waves in the market.

[@galbudip8196]

It is hard to take a proper first step, we tend to imagining the ideal but real world is very fluid

[@pokegan52]

Hey Garry, I wish I could resend my YC app and mention the “why now?” Word for word haha great video though, hope we can interview soon with YC

[@Topblessed1]

I have a few ideas for companies. Some are tech related, some agriculture, and some philanthropy where would I start to get these made into reality? Any first steps or places I can go to find people to help?

[@nalanakishon889]

Hi JTV, you seem to have interesting ideas, check out this e-book book available on apple books called idea to reality, it has some handy tips on developing your idea and things like developing a minimal viable product.

[@tboneskids4029]

Hi Garry. Been a sub for several months now. How can I contact you privately with a tech startup question? Thanks and thank you for all of your great content and positive messages. 🤙

[@payvolt9347]

We in PayVolt invent the future of alternative payment methods to those who don't have access to traditional means.

[@charlielee3945]

Song on the outro????

[@oluwashinayomiademiluyi1733]

Does anyone know how to create a google maps like app?

[@Phyx1u5]

Hi Gary how can we get in touch to talk about pitching a start up?

[@walidhamdicherif4782]

Well health technologies

[@nothinghere4520]

Who is the person in suit at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="80">1:20</a>?

[@yoman9446]

Garry, what if we're lacking in skills or resources? Hit a brickwall? How do we overcome those problems?

[@kalimistakidou9103]

Find someone, a co founder/mentor who does :)

[@negashna]

Thanks so much Garry for this video and all other great videos. In fact, I am working on a startup that complements well with what Kim is doing on climate change and hope to be able to present my pitch to you. Cheers! Negash

[@unicornist]

"If you ask the right question, product market fit will find you." 👍 Also, Elon Musk in one of his videos talking about his existential dilemma in his younger ages, quoted from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, that humans just have to seek for asking better questions.

[@Duarte_martins]

Pano looks like an amazing company. How does it address privacy concerns though?

[@denirgar]

OMW woOOOooOO

[@donpreyelmartin5857]

How can I get funded through your company?

[@ndemezeeinstien2450]

Mr Gary. Thanks from Cameroon

[@shabatidjani1354]

Thanks same from Cameroon too

[@shabatidjani1354]

Can we relate looking for tech entrepreneur in the nation but difficult to find

[@ndemezeeinstien2450]

Yes we can do. Drop you number here

[@satyamkulkarni9175]

ser, we are building better payment connectivity network for decentralized networks, how can i get in touch with you?

[@Bismillahiful]

Thank you for info. I’m on my journey making big impact into the future.. if want to invest and right along with my billion dollar idea star up rich me out please.

[@dukefleed8369]

Awesome! How to come up with a great startup idea ?

[@nalanakishon889]

I would recommend a book called idea to reality, it is available on apple books. it has some handy tips on how to come up with ideas and to develop it to reality, with simple tools and concepts

[@yichulau4096]

Gary is absolutely amazing

[@James-mk8jp]

Sometimes the answer to this is "because I was born and I see something nobody else sees"

[@GarryTan]

I would be careful with this one. What someone sees usually will boil back down to a why now.

[@James-mk8jp]

@@GarryTan How would you answer a why now if the insights were always there, and nobody bothered to look hard enough? An invention, not innovation?

[@tafadzwabwakura8531]

1. New tech 2. Behavior change 3. New government law

[@chawaphiri1196]

I am a medical student. I am hopefully graduating this year. I know how to code a bit but I plan to absolutely be obsessed with coding and machine learning once school closes. I hope I will come up with a startup or work with a great start up in medicine

[@Nazyaali110]

That’s great! There are so many physicians pivoting into tech as well as VC. We need physician founders because most health techs try to solve the wrong problem and do so while empowering insurance companies instead of patients. Physicians and patients are two sides of the same coin. Remember that for your startup. Wishing you luck!

[@AI-qt3hw]

Hey Chawa I think we share the same vision. I’m also a med student we can connect if you want on any social media of your choice. Let me know your handle

[@chawaphiri1196]

@@Nazyaali110 thank you so much

[@luskira]

Do share your social media places, I'd love to follow up on your story

[@rutujkulkarni7487]

Hey we’re working on a health-tech startup. Would love to collaborate with a doctor with interest in startups!

[@humzakhurshid1952]

Early gang

[@palmerohenenyako]

Hi Garry, I have a great idea for a picnic startup online market place! How do we get your attention :)

[@GarryTan]

What is your “why now?”

[@jyin66]

@@GarryTan love your channel! Similarly we are seed stage EV battery service company targeting last mile delivery and ride sharing ( instacart, gobble). You would be a great fit. How do we get in touch with you?

[@TheEndevour2010]

You are a true inspiration.

[@yamilletrivas8041]

This was AMAZING!!!

[@tamimsangrar8629]

Hey Gary, exhausting all my efforts in hope to reach you on atleast one platform haha! I absolutely love the content you make and the insights you have. I heard you first in a product room on Clubhouse and have been following you since. I know your time is not dispensable but I was wondering if you could take me in as a mentor in the world of product and VC. I would love to connect and see if an investment in my career would be worth your time.

[@aakashbhadana7340]

I have a suggestion for your future videos, just cut the background music. Its giving “a day in the life of xyz” vibes

[@RobertoNickson]

Loved this video Gary. Absolutely insightful and you nailed one of the most important parts of entrepreneurship - the importance of timing. Must-listen!

[@shuoyang9085]

Insightful!

[@akpamoliken]

The best way to predict the future is to invent it

[@aiandblockchain]

The 16,000x today is definitely AI!

[@johnsmithgumbula4688]

Inspiring Brother Garry, Blessings from Australia. 🙏🏽👍🏽🤝🦘🐨

[@nicolasconnor8622]

I'm joining my first startup backed by Peter Thiel next week as a developer. Garry really sparked my interest in the world of startups which is one of the reasons I'm doing this jump. I'm beyond excited 😆

[@andre-le-bone-aparte]

#congratulations

[@arjv5998]

Which one can u share ?

[@MacaulayGodstime]

Hey Nicolas, are you a software developer?

[@MacaulayGodstime]

Please how do I reach you? Would love to ask a few questions. Thanks in advance Nicholas!

[@digitaljefftv]

That last part of the video 🔥🔥🔥🔥 <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="870">14:30</a>