capocannoniere
Joined 14 years ago
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Recent submissions
Comment · 5 years ago
Comment · 6 years ago
In your parent comment you mention:
> not much of the strategy content applies to hardware companies
While it's probably a good idea to not blindly follow every single piece of advice (by YC or anyone), saying that not much of the content applies is probably a bit of a stretch. Considering how many successful companies YC has funded in the hard-tech space, I'd be receptive to at least some of their advice / insights.
You also mention:
> you have this de-facto "ship and iterate" model from the SaaS world which just doesn't apply to nontrivial hardware projects.
Again, it may be a good idea to question the advice of "ship and iterate", but saying _it just doesn't apply to nontrivial hardware project_ is again a bit of a stretch. As the above commenter mentions, the success of Cruise is a good counterexample.
Comment · 6 years ago
While Airbnb is clearly going through a rough patch right now, there is a clear bull-case argument for why Airbnb will emerge stronger than it's ever been after this:
- Airbnb has sufficient cash in the bank to survive the crisis.
- A significant % of hotels and budget chains will not survive the crisis --> decreased competitor supply
- People will be looking for budget options when traveling --> increased demand for Airbnb
- People will seek to make extra income to make ends meet --> increased supply for Airbnb
Comment · 6 years ago
Replit sounds awesome, especially once you put it this way ("view-> source for code, plus a server"). Kudos to the team.
Comment · 6 years ago
PG tweet for context: https://twitter.com/paulg/status/1256526589300441093
> I wrote this yesterday as an example for my kids.
> A lot of people learned how to make web pages using view->source. Replit is view->source for code, plus a server you can run a copy on. A generation of kids will learn to program from it.
Comment · 6 years ago
This is exceptionally well-written. And it looks like YC's design has stepped up quite a notch too :)
Quick question: how to reconcile these two almost-conflicting views:
1) Raising money is the CEO’s job. If you are the CEO, you should plan for it to be your sole, full-time focus.[...] Do what you can to avoid distracting others with fundraising. Co-founders or other executives are typically only brought in to answer specific questions (e.g. CTOs handle technical diligence), and usually only at the full partnership stage.
Even in the rare case of co-CEOs, it’s best to have a single point of contact. Investors want to see a clear decision-making process, which generally requires a final decision-maker. (https://www.ycombinator.com/resources/prepare-your-company)
2) Signing on with a Series A lead is the beginning of a 10 year relationship. If all goes well, that’s how long your board member will have a say in your company. As such, optimize for your board member, not vanity metrics, like valuation. (https://www.ycombinator.com/resources/how-to-choose-an-inves...)
Given point 2), shouldn't non-CEO founders also be involved in at least some meetings with investors to weigh in on who they want to have as board members?
Comment · 6 years ago
While I personally find Asana clunky and slow (I've used many tools for project management: Notion and Jira are by far what I personally enjoy the most, followed by Airtable at a distant 3rd), Sam Altman's perspective on Asana are interesting to look at for a more positive outlook on the company: https://blog.samaltman.com/asana
Oh but that's exactly how it already works in existing supply chains: "imperfect" produce gets allocated quite well with food manufacturers, restaurants and food halls, or gets donated to foster homes, hospitals, etc. And many supermarkets do in fact stock up with "imperfect" produce.
"Reducing food waste" makes for good marketing. Except it's not that true.