Wisdom of Y Combinator | Generated by AI

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Y Combinator (YC) has developed a wealth of startup wisdom through working with thousands of early-stage companies. Here are the key principles from their philosophy:

  1. Make something people want - This is YC’s most fundamental principle. Focus on creating a product that solves a real problem rather than chasing an interesting technology.

  2. Launch early and iterate - Release your product quickly, even if imperfect, to start getting user feedback.

  3. Talk to your users - Deeply understand your customers’ needs through direct conversations rather than assumptions.

  4. Do things that don’t scale - In the early days, use manual, high-touch approaches to acquire users and understand their needs.

  5. Growth is the core metric - Prioritize measurable week-over-week growth as the best indicator of success.

  6. Focus on a small number of things and do them exceptionally well.

  7. It’s better to have 100 users who love you than 1,000 who like you.

  8. Founder-market fit matters - Build in a domain where the founders have genuine expertise or passion.

  9. Persistence is crucial - Most successful startups go through extremely difficult periods.

  10. Default alive - Structure your finances so you can reach profitability on your current funding.

  11. Startups = Growth - As Paul Graham puts it, a startup is fundamentally a company designed to grow quickly.

  12. Building distribution (not just product) is critical to success.

Would you like me to elaborate on any of these principles in particular?


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