Startup School 2017

Notes from watching Startup School 2017 class videos.

Startup Mechanics (10 Apr 2017)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_IpVq6vKR0

Do a Delaware C-Corp; investors are familiar with it, lawyers are familiar with it. People outside the startup may say an LLC is OK, but it will always be headache later.

Incorporate in the US. US investors struggle to invest in non-US corporations.

Y-Combinator company clerky.com has many template forms & legal agreements.

How & Why to Start a Startup (5 Apr 2017)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoqgAy3h4OM

Joining a startup that is already established may make more sense — Facebook Like button, Google Maps, etc were created by later-stage employees and still did fine w.r.t. compensation.

Q: How do you decide whether to work at another company to implement a feature, or create your own company? A: What's your competition against distribution and network effects of existing players?

Cofounders should have a shared history, where you know you can work together. You keep going because you don't want to let your friend down. Don't pick cofounders off the street. Best attributes for a cofounder: (1) values, (2) aptitude & potential, (3) specific skills in order of most desirable skills for a cofounder.

More important to have a few users that love you than a lot of users that like you.

User questions and talking to your users: have you paid me? Why, why not? Why did you stop using our product and use another product? Have you told your friends?

How to get first 100 users: (1) e-mail everyone you already know, ask them. If paid product, actually charge. (2) Research people that may use your product and e-mail them. Conversion rate is low, 2–3%. (3) Social media/forums/etc. Must be an ongoing marketing strategy.

Laziest thing you can do: buy Google and Facebook Ads. Is typically not effective, and is expensive.

Law of compound growth: get 2% better very iteration cycle. Attempt to build fastest iterating company possible.

Flexibility of a company decreases as the inverse of the square of the number of employees.

Resist the urge to hire medicore or inappropriate people.