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My questions:

- What advice would pg (2010 instance) give to pg (2004 instance)?

- What property of the 4 yc partners, if removed, would do the most damage?

- What has surprised you the most?

- What is the biggest mistake people have made?

- What is the biggest thing that will have to be different (about yc) in the future?

- What kind of yc startup is most likely to hit a grand slam home run?



Wow, these are good questions. But it's 10:58 so I'll try to answer them afterward.

Edit: Answers:

1. Not to be influenced by credentials. Where people went to school in particular.

2. Our own determination, probably. We need it too, not just the founders.

3. How many people just give up.

4. That founders have made? Building stuff users don't really care about.

5. Doing everything on a larger scale.

6. The kind with the right founders.


People are hard-wired to give up. There has to be a carrot, stick or both to overcome it. Ideally, just wanting to make a change, or being really excited by something is what keeps people going against the odds: like Steve Jobs. Developers are basically problem solvers, I suspect giving up occurs when a certain set of problems seem or have proven to be insurmountable.




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