Notes from YC Startup School Europe

Yeah, that part of Paul's talk was amazing. He said most people thought Gmail was a mistake, so he explicitly set a goal to make 100 users really happy, and just went round asking them "What exactly can I make this product do to make you happy?" Then he'd just pick things off the list and do them.

Thanks jl! Everyone I spoke to loved the event, particularly because:

1. The talks were awesome 2. It was ridiculously well-organised (and the food was superb) 3. There was a really good crowd there

I look forward to more YC events in London!

It was absolutely wonderful for me, but mostly for meeting all these wonderful people. I came to London early and got together with some other attendees the day before.

I can't say it was productive, but atleast we got to simulate a Silicon Valley -type of social environment for a day.

It was a great day and a great event, really inspiring!

Definitely worth going next year if it comes to Europe again.

jl, I enjoyed the last talk you gave including the gem:

  Quietly determined people tend to win because the
  scenesters usually can't build anything.

  - Jessica Livingston

Your point is a good one, but, in the case of Adora, you may be missing some of the facts. She was an accomplished programmer and had worked for Max Levchin at Slide, where he was so impressed with her that he agreed to be one of her first investors later on. (I don't believe she had any particular connections that got her the job at Slide.) She applied to YC (2x in fact) and we had never met her before. I remember being extremely impressed with her and Aaron during the interview and the idea seemed quite plausible at the time (even though it later failed). I also remember personally being really excited about the sister/brother team.

During the time Adora was at YC, we got to know her well and were even more impressed, which is why Paul invested personally when she said she had no money left.

Startups are hard. Most people quit and that's nothing to feel guilty about, of course. I guess I'd just hate for Adora's talent, effectiveness and level of determination to be misinterpreted as merely having connections.

I'm not saying all this to disagree with you, but to encourage you. Getting a job at a company at Slide or getting into YC are hard, but not impossible.

In my opinion, the hardest question really is when should you throw in the towel?

There certainly are a lot of zombie companies out there with founders toiling away on "bad" ideas with seemingly no hope of success, burning precious opportunity cost with each passing week, month and year.

At the same time, one hears again and again that the successful founders are the ones who don't give up. That success comes from facing down those doubts, shaking the despair and finding a way to keep going even when it feels everyone around you thinks you are going to fail.

I don't have an answer other than to say that for anyone it is a very personal, gut-wrenching decision. If it is no longer worth it to you, then that is your call and I don't think anyone else -- especially someone who hasn't entered the same arena -- should think any less of you for it. Most startups fail after all.

And, I think that is likely close to the answer to the question. The right time to quit is when you no longer believe in the idea, or in your ability it make it succeed, or even that the idea is superior to other opportunities which might be available to you.

I'm not speaking as someone who has had huge success, but as someone who has faced setbacks and doubts, has come close to running out of money multiple times, but has somehow managed to get past those challenges and has become a bit more comfortable riding this crazy roller coaster.

What I've found is that the drive to "find a way", that survival instinct to keep going because you believe at your core in what you are doing -- that triggers creative thinking. And when you open your eyes and look around you see there are resources and people willing to help you that you didn't see before. You see new paths that were not visible before. At least that's been the case every time in my experience. Once you get past the doubt and are determined to find a way, then you find it. I suppose, until the last time, when you don't...

Ben Horowitz described it as "focusing on the road, not on the wall"[1] and that rings very true to me. You can only see the opportunities around you when are able to stop focusing on the wall (impending doom).

I don't believe founders should be guilted into chasing ideas they no longer themselves believe in. There are certainly cases where quitting is going to be the right call.

But human psychology is such that you will want to "flee the danger" and you will see certain doom when there may very well be a way out.

My two cents (if it is worth even that) is to never decide to quit out of fear.

Don't quit because you doubt your chances.

The time to quit is when you no longer believe that what you are working on is what you really should be working on.

[1] What’s The Most Difficult CEO Skill? Managing Your Own Psychology -- http://www.bhorowitz.com/what_s_the_most_difficult_ceo_skill...

EDIT: fixed typo

I guess it comes down to how far you're willing to push. If you do move to the Valley (as YC partners frequently advise you to), then you probably could get a meeting with Peter Thiel if you really tried. I mean if someone figuratively held a gun to your head and told you to, you probably could.

I agree with the general point, though - you need a certain amount of baseline opportunity to be able to do this stuff. That is a problem that needs fixing.

Thanks Kristjan!

The whole event was filmed. I'd expect an edited version will be made available.