How Not to Die (2007)

[Htsthbjig]

Very true what Paul says here.

I have created two companies on my own(backed companied from others). The first one was Hell, nobody believed in us or the idea, everyone believed I was crazy, and after fighting and loosing battles a lot I also(my subconscious mind) started believing it!!(I had trained it in failure)

But then it turns out it was a brilliant idea after all. We were the first surprised to see that in the end it worked even better that what we devised at the start. Everybody loved our product and people that had down played us in the past were telling us how much they "always knew" our idea was going to succeed.

The second time everything was objectively very similar to the first company, but it felt completely different. The experience of success gives you confidence and makes things very easy and even fun.

[optimusclimb]

> "If you can just avoid dying, you get rich."

Where "you" == "the founders."

Certainly hard as an employee to hang in there for all the ups and downs and near death experiences after years when "avoiding dying" might look like watching the investors get their pref back and the founders getting a nice new post somewhere else.

[zxcvvcxz]

Employees get money. If they don't, they leave. If they want to hang in there through some late paycheques, it's because either they believe in the founders and/or the work is rewarding enough.

You don't have to coddle employees and protect them from bad feelings. They're adults and can make decisions for themselves. That being said, founders who keep morale high tend to keep loyal employees longer.

[brlewis]

Yes, the opening paragraph in italics and parentheses explains that "you" == "YC founders".

"Founders getting a nice new post somewhere else" does not sound like "avoiding dying" to me. It sounds like the opposite. Could you clarify your point?

[cynicalkane]

Yup. If you have funding and employees, "not dying" is an irresponsible attitude to have. If you can't pay people what they deserve, I think you should accept death--and given that good developers have more self-respect than they used to, you might have to accept death anyway.

[joslin01]

I pretty much wake up every morning and watch motivational videos on YouTube to keep me going.

I'm onto my fourth start-up, third as CTO, and let me tell you start-ups are no walk in the park. The idea that there's even walking involved is so far off what it's really like. It's non-stop sprinting and if it's not, then you're not doing it right and moving too slow. I like the idea of a work/life balance, but when you have to build every little part of a business, it's just not reasonable to get obstinate about it. When and if I make it, I'll be thanking my perseverance.

[yesimahuman]

The further I get into my startup, the more diligent I get about keeping balance. Perseverance requires actually being at your best day in and day out for years. You can't do that when you're burnt out and unhappy (newsflash: these things take time!).

Also, the whole founder/success mythos is perpetuated by people actually not running startups. These days, I just do what I think is best and work hard, and try to ignore the bullshit.

[Retric]

I would suggest this 'constant' sprint idea is often a sign of doing something wrong. Working long weeks cause fatigue which results in a lot of terrible choices which creates more work which 'forces' long hours. Most startups work ridiculously hard, and then fail. Some successful companies had the 24/7 mindset, but fewer than you might think.

[branchless]

Why does it have to be done at break-neck speed? If it's such a great idea and it happens in 3 years instead of 2 is this a problem? Genuinely curious. I don't understand this start-up culture of long hours.

[jacquesm]

Start-ups are study in crisis management. If you watch too many motivational videos on youtube you are spending a ton of time that might be better used elsewhere. Success is a really good motivator and reflexively watching motivation videos / reading self help books / insert placebo here may work - for a while - but it can just as easily become a reason for failure by itself if done to excess. It's understandable but be careful with that.

Best of luck!

[normloman]

You may think sprinting is pushing you faster, but by working yourself to exhaustion, you're really going slower (and neglecting your health in the process). For your own sake, give yourself time to recharge. Work/life balance is no small thing.

[jebblue]

In addition to not doing other things, I'd like to suggest adding the idea that one also does not have to burn out or be burned out doing a startup.

[paul]

Indeed. In fact, I think burnout is often one of the causes of failure, either directly, or indirectly through the bad decision making it causes. Building a successful company takes many years. It's a marathon, not a sprint.

[maaku]

With the title I was expecting Paul Graham to have written an article on Cryonics and the need for donations to SENS :\

[pa5tabear]

Not dead according to this month-old article.

http://news.sys-con.com/node/3350225

But they do seem to have fallen off that billionaire trajectory.

[mkoryak]

https://octopart.com/ ?

[michaelochurch]

I'd love to hear Giles Bowkett do another dramatic reading, for this essay. The first one was an instant classic: http://gilesbowkett.blogspot.com/2015/06/let-other-95-of-rea...