What I’ve Learnt From Users

Notes on Paul Graham's essay (link)

I recently told applicants to Y Combinator that the best advice I could give for getting in, per word, was :

Explain what you've learned from users.

That tests a lot of things:

• Whether you’re paying attention to your users
• How well you understand your users
• How much they need what you're making

What has YC learnt about their users?

Most startups have the same problems; you rarely encounter problems that haven’t been seen before.

This doesn’t mean there’s a formula for success; each startup is unique, and you need to be advised by specific partners who know them well.

Founders

Founders are bad at realizing what their problems are. They’ll come in to talk and will discover a much bigger problem. Examples are:

• Difficulties raising money → the company is doing badly and investors can tell

• Still haven’t cracked the problem of user acquisition → their product isn't good enough

  "Would you use this yourself if you hadn’t built it?" If the answer is NO, that's the reason why you’re having trouble getting users.

Founders often don’t listen. This is because startups are counterintuitive; no one knows what it's like except those who’ve done it. If it weren't counterintuitive, founders wouldn't need advice on how to do it.

Speed defines startups. Focus enables speed. YC improves focus.

YC's value lies in helping founders get an extra increment of focus that lets them move faster.

YC gives founders colleagues. History shows that great work clusters around certain places. However good you are, good colleagues make you better. Very ambitious people probably need colleagues more than anyone else.