YC Playbook Flashcards
What is the secret of success?
Have a great product. This is the only thing all great companies have in common.
What is the key characteristic of a founder?
Speed. I have never, not once, seen a slow-moving founder be really successful.
What is a goal of a startup?
Your goal as a startup is to make something users love. If you fail to do this, you will fail
Is it better to make a product which many people like or a few people love?
It’s much better to first make a product a small number of users love than a product that a large number of users like
What is better from financial perspective: to start from the very beginning or to join a fast-growing startup?
Joining an early-stage startup that’s on a rocketship trajectory is usually a much better financial deal
What is riskier if you have an idea? To start a startup or to keep working at a company?
I personally think the riskier option is having an idea or project you’re really passionate about and working at a safe, easy, unfulfilling job instead.
How should a good idea sound like?
Clear. Ideas in general need to be clear to spread, and complex ideas are almost always a sign of muddled thinking or a made up problem
How do I test an idea?
The way to test an idea is to either launch it and see what happens or try to sell it
How do I proceed with an idea if I’m in biotech or hard tech?
For most biotech and hard tech companies, the way to test an idea is to first talk to potential customers and then figure out the smallest subset of the technology you can build first.
What do you ask about the market?
We ask how big it is today, how fast it’s growing, and why it’s going to be big in ten years.
Is it better to go after a small part of a large market or a large part of a small market?
And somewhat counterintuitively, the best answer is going after a large part of a small market.
Is it better to be new or incremental if you want to grow big?
Most really big companies start with something fundamentally new (one acceptable definition of new is 10x better.)
How should a good idea sound like?
The best ideas sound bad but are in fact good. So you don’t need to be too secretive with your idea—if it’s actually a good idea, it likely won’t sound like it’s worth stealing
How do I come up with a good idea?
It’s better not to try too actively to force yourself to come up with startup ideas. Instead, learn about a lot of different things
What should I do to get a good idea?
Practice noticing problems, things that seem inefficient, and major technological shifts. Work on projects you find interesting. Go out of your way to hang around smart, interesting people. At some point, ideas will emerge.
Can a mediocre team build a good company?
Mediocre teams do not build great companies.
What makes a great founder?
The most important characteristics are ones like unstoppability, determination, formidability, and resourcefulness. Intelligence and passion also rank very highly.
What are other important characteristics of a founder?
They get things done no matter what
They are very responsive
What is one of the leading causes of death for early startups?
Cofounder breakups are one of the leading causes of death for early startups, and we see them happen very, very frequently
What is better, to have a co-founder or to do it on your own?
The best case, by far, is to have a good cofounder. The next best is to be a solo founder. The worse case, by far, is to have a bad cofounder.
When should we talk about equity?
the conversation about the equity split does not get easier with time—it’s better to set it early on.
How do I build an improvement engine in my firm?
talk to your users and watch them use your product, figure out what parts are sub-par, and then make your product better. Then do it again.
What should founders concentrate on first?
they should be building product and talking to users, and not much else besides eating, sleeping, exercising, and spending time with their loved ones.
What is the most important reason for the lack of growth in a company?
the product just isn’t good enough
How do I recruit first initial users?
Do it yourself and do it one at a time
How should a founder treat product quality?
The best founders seem to care a little bit too much about product quality
What is the task of a CEO?
The only universal job description of a CEO is to make sure the company wins
Why lack of growth is dangerous?
People just burn out
Why is it important to set KPI on growth?
If you care about growth, and you set the execution bar, the rest of the company will focus on it
Should I be transparent with employees about the performance metrics?
Extreme internal transparency around metrics (and financials) is a good thing to do
Is retention important?
retention is as important to growth as new user acquisition.
How do I set the goals for the firm?
You should set aggressive but borderline achievable goals and review progress every month. Celebrate wins!
How open should I be?
The more information you share internally—good and bad—the better you’ll be.
What should I concentrate on as a founder?
Do things that don’t scale
Should I concentrate on customer service in the early days?
great startups always have great customer service in the early days
How to make good operations?
If I had to distill my advice about how to operate down to only two words, I’d pick focus and intensity.
Can I succeed in doing several things at once?
No great company started doing multiple things at once
How do I set my daily goals?
pen-and-paper list for each day with ~3 major tasks and ~30 minor ones, and an annual to-do list of overall goals.)
Should I decide things myself or listen to others?
Great founders listen to all of the advice and then quickly make their own decisions.
How do I make things done?
Charlie Rose once said that things get done in the world through a combination of focus and personal connections
What does a CEO do to make his company win?
1) set the vision and strategy for the company, 2) evangelize the company to everyone, 3) hire and manage the team, especially in areas where you yourself have gaps 4) raise money and make sure the company does not run out of money, and 5) set the execution quality bar.
Can a have a personal life being a CEO of a startup?
You can have one other big thing—your family, doing lots of triathlons, whatever—but probably not much more than that.
How much can I delegate as a CEO?
You have to always be on, and there are a lot of decisions only you can make, no matter how good you get at delegation.
How do I become efficient?
You have to eat well, sleep well, and exercise.
You have to spend time with your family and friends.
You also need to work in an area you’re actually passionate about
Can I make excuses?
People who let themselves make a lot of excuses usually fail in general, and startup CEOs who do it almost always fail.
Should I concentrate on making my ways in the established areas?
Do what works in the well-established areas, and focus your creative energies on the product or service you’re building.
How should I be hiring people?
Don't do it Trust your gut on people. If you have doubt, then the answer is no. Do not hire chronically negative people. Value aptitude over experience
What should I do with highly valuable toxic people?
Also, fire people who are toxic to the culture no matter how good they are
How should I think about competitors?
Do not worry about a competitor until they are beating you with a real, shipped product.
How do I use customer LTV to estimate my long-term profitability
If you have a paid product with less than a $1,000 customer lifetime value (LTV), you generally cannot afford sales.
How do I approach to sales?
Try selling the product yourself first to learn what works. Hacking Sales is a useful book to read.
How should I watch my cashflow?
Watch your cash flow obsessively.
What message do I have to convey to VCs?
Always explain why you could be a huge success.
What is the ratio of ideas to a success?
Remember that at least a thousand people have every great idea. One of them actually becomes successful.
