What Startups Are Really Like
October 2009(This essay is derived from a talk at the 2009 Startup School.)I wasn't sure what to talk about at Startup School, so I decided to ask the founders of the startups we'd funded. What hadn't I written about yet?I'm in the unusual position of being able to test the essays I write about startups. I hope the ones on other topics are right, but I have no way to test them.
- ▪October 2009(This essay is derived from a talk at the 2009 Startup School.)I wasn't sure what to talk about at Startup School, so I decided to ask the founders of the startups we'd funded.
- ▪What hadn't I written about yet?I'm in the unusual position of being able to test the essays I write about startups.
- ▪I hope the ones on other topics are right, but I have no way to test them.
Paul Graham — Essays files mainly under blogs. We currently carry 219 of its stories.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Want to start a startup? Get funded by Y Combinator. October 2009(This essay is derived from a talk at the 2009 Startup School.)I wasn't sure what to talk about at Startup School, so I decided to ask the founders of the startups we'd funded. What hadn't I written about yet?I'm in the unusual position of being able to test the essays I write about startups. I hope the ones on other topics are right, but I have no way to test them. The ones on startups get tested by about 70 people every 6 months.So I sent all the founders an email asking what surprised them about starting a startup.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Paul Graham — Essays.