Startups
How to Start a Startup
paulgraham.com
Startups
41 min read → 60 sec
A framework for starting a startup built on three requirements, strong founders, products users want, and low spending. It covers ideas, hiring, customer learning, fundraising, and why slow growth and frugality improve the odds of success.
Startup success needs good people, something customers want, and very low spending.
A brilliant initial idea is not required.
2 / 20
Good founders can fix bad ideas. Bad ideas cannot fix bad founders.
3 / 20
Technology startups need technical founders who understand users.
Most failures come from weak customer understanding.
4 / 20
Build the product by learning from users.
1
Release prototypes fast.
2
Watch direct user reactions.
3
Refine from what users do.
4
Skip long planning.
5 / 20
Startup ideas are weak on their own.
Many companies change plans en route, and VCs reject NDA pitches.
6 / 20
Google built a billion-dollar business with better search, link ranking, and simple pages with ads.
7 / 20
A 10% improvement in ease of use can double sales.
Normal users find software intimidating.
8 / 20
Niche and low-end markets offer the best startup odds.
Simple cheap products often rise to beat incumbents.
9 / 20
Hire obsessive people.
1
Test smartness.
2
Test execution.
3
Test whether you can stand them.
10 / 20
“
I don't know.
11 / 20
“
Maybe you're right.
12 / 20
“
I don't understand x well enough.
13 / 20
Projects reveal talent better than interviews.
Startups usually form through friends and school networks.
14 / 20
2–4
People in the ideal founding team.
Solo founders lack support. Larger groups form factions.
15 / 20
Business expertise matters less than technical judgment and customer focus.
Founders can learn basic business.
16 / 20
Most failed startups die because customers do not want the product.
Funding is often only the visible cause.
17 / 20
1 year and $2 million
What the Hail Mary strategy can waste.
It can still produce something nobody wants.
18 / 20
Preserve survival odds.
1
Take investor money if it improves survival odds.
2
Settle founder equity early.
3
Settle IP ownership early.
4
Grow slowly.
5
Avoid unnecessary hiring and fancy offices.
19 / 20
20 / 20
Carouse
Turn any article, video, or podcast into a carousel you can browse in 30 seconds.