Wisdom of Y Combinator | Generated by AI
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:
-
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.
-
Launch early and iterate - Release your product quickly, even if imperfect, to start getting user feedback.
-
Talk to your users - Deeply understand your customers’ needs through direct conversations rather than assumptions.
-
Do things that don’t scale - In the early days, use manual, high-touch approaches to acquire users and understand their needs.
-
Growth is the core metric - Prioritize measurable week-over-week growth as the best indicator of success.
-
Focus on a small number of things and do them exceptionally well.
-
It’s better to have 100 users who love you than 1,000 who like you.
-
Founder-market fit matters - Build in a domain where the founders have genuine expertise or passion.
-
Persistence is crucial - Most successful startups go through extremely difficult periods.
-
Default alive - Structure your finances so you can reach profitability on your current funding.
-
Startups = Growth - As Paul Graham puts it, a startup is fundamentally a company designed to grow quickly.
-
Building distribution (not just product) is critical to success.
Would you like me to elaborate on any of these principles in particular?