How not to drown in startup advice

1. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
@andyy
How not to
Drown
in
Startup Advice

2. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Hi, I’m Andy!
@andyy
#fb
PhotobyDanTaylor-dan@heisenbergmedia.com

3. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Let’s talk about..
How Not to Drown in
Startup Advice

4. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Let’s talk about..
How Not to Drown in
Startup Advice

5. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
What is advice, anyways?

6. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Limited life experience
+
Over-generalisation

7. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Limited life experience
+
Over-generalisation
- Paul Buchheit : creator of Gmail

8. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Advice is our secret weapon
We can benefit from the
learnings of others

9. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Blogs, books, tweets, slide decks, talks..
Some of my favourites:
➔ BothSidesOfTheTable.com - Mark Suster’s blog
➔ Paul Graham’s essays
➔ Marc Andreessen’s blog archives
➔ Dave McClure - Startup Metrics for Pirates
➔ The Lean Startup - Eric Ries
There’s a lot of advice out there..

10. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Generic advice
..that you read in the blogs, books..
vs
Specific advice
..about your situation, that you get from mentors,
advisors..

11. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“All the Startup Advice You Read is Wrong
- but you should read some anyway”
- Ev Williams: Co-founder of Medium, Twitter
https://medium.com/on-startups/8ba2f1774789
Generic advice

12. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Specific advice
Find yourself mentors & advisors
- People who have been there before
(Un-)successful startup founders, business leaders..
- People who are travelling the same journey
Friends / fellow founders..
- People who have seen a lot
Investors..

13. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Getting specific advice
DO: Reach out to people and
ask for their advice / feedback
- Be specific
- Be courteous
- Give a reason, suggest date(s)
- Earn their respect

14. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Advice is great!
but..

15. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Too much advice?
Analysis paralysis

16. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Too much advice?
Analysis paralysis

17. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Too much advice?
Analysis paralysis
The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma:
Most advice is contradictory

18. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Too much advice?
Analysis paralysis
Most contradictory advice is still valid
The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma:
Most advice is contradictory

19. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Have a clear vision, and stick with it”
vs.
“Be prepared to change your idea / pivot”

20. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Get a lot of users,
figure out monetisation later”
vs.
“Make money from day 1”

21. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Raise more money than you need”
vs.
“Only raise as much money as you need”

22. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Hire your friends”
vs.
“Never hire your friends!”

23. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Understanding & interpreting advice
Who’s giving it?
What’s their context?
What are they assuming?

24. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“You should do X..”

25. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Assuming Y..
“You should do X..”

26. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Raise more money than you need”
vs.
“Only raise as much money as you need”

27. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Hire your friends”
vs.
“Never hire your friends!”

28. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Deciphering the clichés

29. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Focus”

30. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Be focused”

31. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Focus on core”

32. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“The main thing
is to keep the main thing
the main thing”
- Stephen Covey

33. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“The main thing
is to keep the main thing
the main thing”
¯_(ツ)_/¯

34. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“The main thing
is to keep the main thing
the main thing”
- Stephen Covey

35. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Focus, Level #1
Say “no” to distractions

36. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Focus, Level #2
Cut things out;
narrow down your scope

37. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Focus, Level #3
“Minimum Viable Business”

38. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Minimum Viable Business”
1 product
1 market
1 USP
1 distribution channel
1 revenue stream

39. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Focus, Level #4?
Identify the 1-2 things you’re trying
to improve right now

40. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Focus, Level #4?
Identify the 1-2 things you’re trying
to improve right now

41. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
How to not drown

42. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Seek advice
Understand the context / assumptions
Make strong choices
It’s your opportunity

43. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“Avoid decision by indecision”
- Mark Suster
bothsidesofthetable.com/2010/05/15/
avoid-decision-by-indecision/

44. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
“You’ll often hear conflicting advice about everything
but ‘build a great product’
..this means you can go either way on much of the rest of it
and it doesn’t really matter.”
- Sam Altman, Y Combinator
http://blog.samaltman.com/startup-advice

45. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
Good luck!

46. Andy Young // @andyy // andy@500.co
References
“Avoid decision by indecision” - Mark Suster
http://www.bothsidesofthetable.com/2010/05/15/avoid-decision-by-indecision/
“All the startup advice you read is wrong - but you should read some anyway”-
Evan Williams
https://medium.com/on-startups/8ba2f1774789