Paul Graham offers 13 sentences of wisdom for startups:
- Pick good cofounders.
Cofounders are for a startup what location is for real estate. You can change anything about a house except where it is. - Launch fast.
- Let your idea evolve.
- Understand your users.
- Better to make a few users love you than a lot ambivalent.
- Offer surprisingly good customer service.
- You make what you measure.
- Spend little.
- Get ramen profitable.
“Ramen profitable” means a startup makes just enough to pay the founders’ living expenses. - Avoid distractions.
Nothing kills startups like distractions. The worst type are those that pay money: day jobs, consulting, profitable side-projects. - Don’t get demoralized.
- Don’t give up.
- Deals fall through.