Startup
Phases
By: Paul Graham
Failure
How startups fail.
In most cases, because they don't make something people want. That can happen by:
- (a) failing to ship,
- (b) shipping but never getting any growth,
- or © mediocre growth combined with high expenses.
Success
This recipe will beat all three failures:
- ship quickly,
- then relentlessly optimize for growth,
- don't hire a lot of people till you have it.
If you’re on the journey and some clones come with their copy machines, know that people like that generally don’t have the determination to stick it out 10 years to win. Every winning startup is the 10 year overnight success. Few people want to sign up for that lift.
Valuation
See Your startup valuation, explained simply