Having scanned through these lectures, one thing really jumps out at me. There is a serious lack of diversity here. That may seem trivial, but these guys seem to fit a very narrow range of experiences. Even their accents are nearly identical. I would suggest trying to learn from people of a wider background. There are plenty of great startups on this planet not founded by t-shirt-clad brogramers.
The one exception to this pattern is lecture 18, legal and accounting. Watch that lecture. Note the accent change. Note the change of pacing, the polite pauses and lack of a constant train of thought. Legal and accounting are professional fields. These are people from a different background than the other lecturers. Aggressive modes of speech may be cool in founder land, but they do not fly in established professions. If you want to separate yourself from the crowd, if you want to be taken seriously by a wider audience, learn to speak and present as these women.
Yesterday my co-founder and I attended YC’s Open Office Hours. Fortunately we had watched the “How to Start a Startup” series, so we knew in advance how to concisely introduce our company and also set an appropriate goal for the meeting. Every second counts in a 20 minute meeting with a YC-partner.
In under 1 minute we defined the product, market size, and traction to date.
In under 1 minute we introduced the team. It takes discipline to not promote your past successes and the degrees you earned. Instead we just stated all the founders are highly technical with a good sense for design, and we have known each other for years.
We then simply proposed 3 or 4 opportunities and then kept quiet. Our target talk-to-listen ratio was 1:5. We kept the single minded goal to obtain advice on strategy and direction.
At the very least this series is a kernel that should eventually produce your company’s unique culture. I hope it resonates with you as it did with our team.
Be warned, the legal stuff there is a very high level overview. I personally would hesitate to give such a lecture for fear of people walking away with too much confidence. I've seen too many think they can get away with downloaded contracts and advice from lawyers they saw at conferences. Remember that the people giving you money have their own lawyers, good ones, to protect their interests.
Like others I also really enjoyed the legal and accounting lecture. It was outside of the scope of the usual startup advice you hear (technology, sales, marketing, etc.).
There's an app that goes perfect with this course called: Visions - An Idea Log Based on Y Combinator. It's based directly on a project from this course. Check it out: http://www.getvisionsapp.com
[+] [-] sandworm101|10 years ago|reply
The one exception to this pattern is lecture 18, legal and accounting. Watch that lecture. Note the accent change. Note the change of pacing, the polite pauses and lack of a constant train of thought. Legal and accounting are professional fields. These are people from a different background than the other lecturers. Aggressive modes of speech may be cool in founder land, but they do not fly in established professions. If you want to separate yourself from the crowd, if you want to be taken seriously by a wider audience, learn to speak and present as these women.
[+] [-] louprado|10 years ago|reply
In under 1 minute we defined the product, market size, and traction to date.
In under 1 minute we introduced the team. It takes discipline to not promote your past successes and the degrees you earned. Instead we just stated all the founders are highly technical with a good sense for design, and we have known each other for years.
We then simply proposed 3 or 4 opportunities and then kept quiet. Our target talk-to-listen ratio was 1:5. We kept the single minded goal to obtain advice on strategy and direction.
At the very least this series is a kernel that should eventually produce your company’s unique culture. I hope it resonates with you as it did with our team.
Thanks YC!
[+] [-] barbolo|10 years ago|reply
I don't like rules like "1 minute for this, 5 minutes for that".
But if that works for you, go ahead.
[+] [-] sharemywin|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dineshp2|10 years ago|reply
The lecture about accounting and legal aspects of startups cleared up a lot of doubts I had.Very consice.
[+] [-] sandworm101|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wj|10 years ago|reply
https://leanpub.com/how_to_start_a_startup
(Just use $0--any proceeds go to the EFF)
Like others I also really enjoyed the legal and accounting lecture. It was outside of the scope of the usual startup advice you hear (technology, sales, marketing, etc.).
[+] [-] unknown|10 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] callmeed|10 years ago|reply
Just search the App Store for "startup class" if you have a 4th gen Apple TV.
[+] [-] grimmfang|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bbody|10 years ago|reply
[+] [-] L-Logic|10 years ago|reply