Story: New normal after COVID
It’s in August, the middle of summer, I want to do something new. So, I looked for some videos that increase my motivation. It was a startup topic.
Once I watched the Y Combinator video, YouTube showed a related video. Recently, I am using these videos as background sounds, like a BGM, but it’s better than just BGM. The startup stories inspire me to do something. I don’t know what it is. Something.
Brian Chesky(Airbnb)
©Greylock Partners: Blitzscaling 18 – Brian Chesky on Launching Airbnb and the Challenges of Scale
Airbnb: Vacation Rentals, Homes, Experiences & Places
There are many empty rooms in the house once children left hometown. People are just wasting space in the big house. The owner may not be comfortable renting the room to a stranger. Therefore, the review system works.
I have both good and bad experiences with Airbnb. Airbnb represents a recent Startup style, develops a platform and connects providers and buyers. They don’t have to possess a physical asset or even an employer who provides accommodation directly. It’s smart and a big difference from WeWork.
COVID-19 hits Airbnb. No one expects this situation even though pandemic is not the first time in history. The challenge is the chance of the next step.
I use Airbnb for my upcoming trip in Montreal. Changing people’s daily life, disrupt the ordinary hospitality industry, that’s a startup.
Mark Zuckerberg: How to Build the Future
©Y Combinator
– 2 types of startups, what I want to use(like Twitter) or what I want to solve(like Uber)
– Start with purpose
– Focus on learning as quickly as possible
– The data and feedback tells you what problems you need to solve
– 12 product teams and all of the people are running without reporting
– Connecting people, A.I., augmented reality
– Pick up you care about, work on it, but don’t commit to turning into the company until it’s working
– The world is changing very quickly, the biggest risk that you can take is not taking any risk
Elon Musk : How to Build the Future
©Y Combinator
– No need to change the world
– Try to be useful
– Technology is not automatically improve
– Democratize of A.I., open A.I.
– Sense of urgency
– Believe the mission
– 80% of my time spend in engineering
The lists of the companies which Elon Musk involves:
– Tesla
– SpaceX
– Boring Company
– Neuralink
– OpenAI
Drew Houston(Dropbox): How to Build the Future
©Y Combinator
Dropbox: A modern workspace designed to reduce busywork.
– The idea came from the personal frustration
– Find a co-founder
– Made a demo video
– Hacker News
– People say, it doesn’t work.
– Competition did not bother me.
– Build a product, build a company at the same time.-
– CEO has to update the work every 6 months, year, a couple of years.
– Nobody is born as CEO
– Reading is the single most valuable things
– Need to good judgment
– Mission, value, culture
– It’s exciting time
Kevin Systrom(Instagram) at Startup School SV 2014
©Y Combinator
– Failure is tolerated
– You don’t have to be best, you have to be dangerous
– Importance of process of making a product
– Take action and move within an appropriate time, no perfect move
– Little single experiences are important
– 8 weeks for 1st version, MVP
– Be relentless, people say it won’t work
– You have to believe your product
– We were a lucky, right place, right time, right team
– Users and the community are a most valuable asset
Ben Silbermann(Pinterest) at Startup School SV 2016
©Y Combinator
Pinterest: Discover recipes, home ideas, style inspiration and other ideas to try.
– TechCrunch
– You should do it, or stop talking.
– Developed what I want. (It’s as same as Twitter.)
– World catalog
– In my opinion, Pinterest Ads quality is high. Entertainment.
– Start slowly.
– Did respond to a customer call.
– Fundraising is a tool, not a goal. You use it to get to the next step.
– No guarantee of success. Guarantee of adventure.
– Series of mistakes, learn from them and move forward.
– Take risks
– What build and why
– Creating an organization finding a people
– Obsess the user
– Diversity team
Sam Altman(Y Combinator) on how to get funded
©Startup Grind
Y Combinator: Created a new model for funding early stage startups.
– Why do you start?
– Figure out what you are going to do. Take time and have an idea. Then focus on growth.
– Visualize growth.
– Lean startup method.
– Understand the user needs.
– The best founder executes so quickly.
– How much progress we made
– Silicon Valley is the best place for startup
– Startup does not need huge capital. A small amount of capital and develop a product.
– Technical co-founder is a benefit
– Startup for Government, start small.
Conclusion: Startup atmosphere
It was before the COVID, I visited the startup pitch night. It looks like practice of the pitch. It was a quite short time, only 3 to 5 mins for 1 pitch. The organizer gave feedback to each participant. I was an audience and simply enjoyed it.
I remember that after the event, my motive increased. I don’t know how many businesses still exist during COVID. It’s not the point. What we tried to do. It’s important and if we could, we can do something in the future.
