Paul Graham Archive

Paul Graham of Y Combinator has a great (lengthy!) post which is meant to help you overcome your issues with creating your own startup. It is a great read. He goes over each of the points listed below in-depth. He also notes that their first Y Combinator startup experiment produced at least 4 out of 8 winners including Reddit. What exactly determines success? Buyout? Money? Good question for someone to answer.

Paul's topics include:

• Too young
• Too inexperienced – I disagree with him here. I still believe that everyone should work a regular job for at least 1-2 years. When I coach youngsters this is the advice I give them. For so many different reasons.
• Not determined enough
• Not smart enough
• Know nothing about business – see "too inexperienced" above for my views here. This is why you should take as many business/accounting/finance classes as possible no matter your major. Both undergraduate and graduate.
• No cofounder
• No idea
• No room for startups
• Family to support
• Independently wealthy
• Not ready for commitment
• Need for structure
• Fear of uncertainty – this is a big one for many people
• Don't realize what you are avoiding
• Parents want you to be a doctor – I have a funny story about this which I can tell over drinks one day – remind me!
• A job is the default

So after reading this, what are you waiting for – get out there and get your brain working. Just remember to "make it your own" says Simon.