THE TRUTH ABOUT STARTUPSWhat I wish someone had told me about entrepreneurship, Silicon Valley, and successful careers

In the past, most people would tell you to:

Get a job at a big, established company

Achieve job securityClimb the corporate ladder

Achieve job security

Sounds great, but…

Mmm, yeah, I’m going to have to go ahead and ask you to come in on Sunday…

Nowadays, it’s all about startups:

Sounds great, but…

So what do you do?

I’m YevgeniyBrikmanybrikman.com

Co-founder ofGruntwork

gruntwork.io

PAST LIVES

Author ofHello,

Startup

hello-startup.net

This is the book I wish

I had in college

hello-startup.net

I hope this talk & book help you in

your career

hello-startup.net

1. Startup myths2. Startup truths3. Startup careers4. Getting started

Outline

1. Startup myths2. Startup truths3. Startup careers4. Getting started

Outline

Myth #1: I’ll be an overnight success!

Reality:

“Acquired companies were an average of seven years old…

…while IPO companies went public around 8.25 years, on

average.”

Note: “exits” for the investors. Founders stay on

longer.

So if you remember nothing else from this talk, remember

this:

Building a successful startup takes about a decade.

Are you willing to give 10 years of your life to this idea?

Myth #2: I’m going to get rich!

Reality:

Most startups pay lower salaries and offer few

benefits

The stock is often worthless

And most startups fail

Myth #3: I’ll get to party all day!

Reality:

This is startup life.

It’s not sexy or glamorous.It’s mostly a lot of hard work.

Myth #4: I’ll get to write code all day!

Some programmers might be thinking, “this looks great!”

Reality:

Building a successful startup takes more than just code

Sure, you’ll write plenty of code

But you’ll also have to do everything else, including:

operating agreements, articles of incorporation, employment contracts, licenses, permits, insurance, NDAs, term sheets, financial modeling, P&L, balance sheet, fundraising, budgeting, cap table, stock certificates, taxes, 81b, 1040, 1099, 1120, W2, pitch decks, customer acquisition, sales calls, CRM, LTV, churn recurring revenue, billing, invoicing, refunds, receipts, interviewing, hiring, firing, promoting, training, motivating, organizing, leading, payroll, HR, mission, vision, culture, renting office space, building a website, setting up email/phone/fax, buying furniture, ordering toilet paper, …

Myth #5: All I need is a brilliant idea!

Reality:

“What surprised me most was how unsure the founders seemed to be that they were actually onto something big. Some of these companies got started almost by accident.”

It’s not about coming up with a single brilliant idea

It’s about navigating anidea maze

Most paths lead to failure. A small few lead to success.

And even the best ideas don’t matter without great execution

1. Startup myths2. Startup truths3. Startup careers4. Getting started

Outline

You’ve now seen some common startup myths

It’s not that they never happen, but they are bad reasons to join or start a

startup.

So what are the good reasons to join or start a

startup?

1. Mastery2. Autonomy3. Purpose

Mastery: The urge to get better at something.

“I've come to believe that learning is the essential unit of progress for startups.” – Eric Ries

Learning how to build a product users want

Learning how to market and sell a product

Learning how to build and motivate a team

Learning how to…

operating agreements, articles of incorporation, employment contracts, licenses, permits, insurance, NDAs, term sheets, financial modeling, P&L, balance sheet, fundraising, budgeting, cap table, stock certificates, taxes, 81b, 1040, 1099, 1120, W2, pitch decks, customer acquisition, sales calls, CRM, LTV, churn recurring revenue, billing, invoicing, refunds, receipts, interviewing, hiring, firing, promoting, training, motivating, organizing, leading, payroll, HR, mission, vision, culture, renting office space, building a website, setting up email/phone/fax, buying furniture, ordering toilet paper, …

Join a startup if you want to grow as a person

“A startup is a company designed to grow fast. Being newly founded does not in itself make a company a startup. Nor is it necessary for a startup to work on technology, or take venture funding, or have some sort of "exit." The only essential thing is growth. ” – Paul Graham

Working for a growing company is an amazing

experience

Autonomy: The urge to control your life.

At a startup, you choose what to work on

At a startup, you choose who to work with

At a startup, you choose how to work

At a startup, you choose where to work

Purpose: The urge to do something meaningful.

Gruntwork’s why:

We believe software is one of humanity’s greatest

inventions.

We also believe that creating software is too hard.

We believe making software more accessible will transform humanity.

This is what getsme up in the morning.

As a startup, we are searching for the right what and how.

“[Established] Companies execute business models where customers, their problems, and necessary product features are all “knowns.” In sharp contrast, startups operate in “search” mode, seeking a repeatable and profitable business model.” – Steve Blank

It turns out that search mode is more fun

It’s hard to feel passionate about increasing profit

margin by 0.3%

It’s hard not to feel passionate about fighting for

survival

When you’re one of 5,000 employees, you rarely feel

like you’re making a difference

When the company is 5 people, everything you do

matters

1. Startup myths2. Startup truths3. Startup careers4. Getting started

Outline

You’ve now seen reasons you should or shouldn’t join a

startup

So where do startups fit in your career?

1. Join an established company

2. Join a small startup3. Start your own company

1. Join an established company

2. Join a small startup3. Start your own company

At least once in your career, join a big, established company

Try to join one of the leaders in your industry

A “Google” on your resume will benefit you your entire career

You will work with amazing people

You will make a good salary(pay off your loans!)

You will learn how a successful company operates

You’ll also learn how not to do things

1. Join an established company

2. Join a small startup3. Start your own company

At least once in your career, join a small startup

Now is the golden ageof the startup.

Average tenure for a firm in the S&P 500:

1958: 61 years1980: 25 years2012: 18 years

“On average, an S&P 500 company is now being replaced about once every two weeks […] At current churn rate, 75% of the S&P 500 will be replaced by 2027.”

Open source 19+ million repositories on GitHub.

Services AWS, Twilio, Stripe, MailChimp, Slack, DesignCrowd, RocketLawyer, …

Distribution Mobile, email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, Meetup.com, YouTube, AdWords, …

Information Books, classes, blogs, accelerators, incubators, conferences, …

Money Venture capital, angels, crowdfunding, government grants, self-funding, …

So why join a startup instead of starting your own?

If you start a startup, you are stuck with it for up to a

decade.

In that same time period, you can join 3-4 startups.

Earning experience, connections, and stock at

each one.

“The 100th engineer at Facebook made far more money than 99% of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.” – Dustin Moskovitz

Some people chase ambulances

Some people chase IPOs

How do you find a good startup to join?

1. Look to your network.2. Look at the products you

use.3. Look at elite VC

portfolios.

1. Join an established company

2. Join a small startup3. Start your own company

You’ll probably have more fun and make more money

joining someone else’s company.

As a founder, you will make roughly 10x the sacrifice.

10x more stress 10x more risk10x more time

So is it ever a good ideato start a company?

Yes: When you can’t not do it.

You have an idea or passion that you simply must do.

You’ve worked on it for years, even while at other jobs.

You just have to bring your dream into the world.

Just remember: a startup is one way to accomplish your

dream.

1. Do a side project.2. Go into politics.3. Do volunteer activities.4. Build a community.5. Join someone else’s company.6. Invest in someone else’s company.7. Start a non-profit.8. Start a lifestyle business.9. Start a startup.10. Do academic research.11. Publish articles, papers, and books.12. Give talks.13. Create an open source project.14. Become an advisor or mentor.15. Become a teacher.

1. Do a side project.2. Go into politics.3. Do volunteer activities.4. Build a community.5. Join someone else’s company.6. Invest in someone else’s company.7. Start a non-profit.8. Start a lifestyle business.9. Start a startup.10. Do academic research.11. Publish articles, papers, and books.12. Give talks.13. Create an open source project.14. Become an advisor or mentor.15. Become a teacher.

A startup is merely one means to an end.

1. Startup myths2. Startup truths3. Startup careers4. Getting started

Outline

So how do you start? How do you build a good career?

“You need to be good at something before you can expect a good job.” – Cal Newport

“The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas […] The way to have good startup ideas is to become the sort of person who has them.” – Paul Graham

The way to have a great career is not to search for a

great career but to make yourself great.

How to become great:

1. Study2. Build3. Share

How to become great:

1. Study2. Build3. Share

Read books

Read papers, articles, blogs

Take classes

Go to meetups, conferences, and talks (like this one!)

Aim to be a “T-Shaped Person”

How to become great:

1. Study2. Build3. Share

When I was a kid,I didn’t like reading.

When I was in college, I didn’t like reading.

When I was starting my career,

I didn’t like reading.

You know what finally got me to love reading?

Becoming a person who needs reading.

What kind of person is that?

A maker.

As I tried to build software, teams, & products, I realized:

I have no idea what I’m doing.

It turns out that the knowledge I needed was in

books.

The more I built, the more I had to learn, the more I

read.

Go make things.

Work projects, side projects, learning projects, open source, hackathons,

prototypes, inventions, art, music, teams, communities, …

How to become great:

1. Study2. Build3. Share

Share everything you’ve learned

Write

Speak

Open source

Why?

Quality: you do better work when others are looking.

Branding: you become an expert by sharing your expertise.

Mastery: the best way to learn is to teach.

That’s why I’m here today.

To share what I’ve learnedwith all of you.

To learn more, see

Hello, Startup

hello-startup.net

Questions?

Office buildings: Floriane VitaMan in suit: energiepic.comLadder: Miguel Virkkunen CarvalhoCubicles: Tim PattersonOffice Space: 20th Century FoxThe Social Network: Columbia PicturesSilicon Valley: HBOThe 4-hour Work Week: Tim FerrissPing pong: SageChimeraBiz Stone: Joi ItoCoding: Hitesh ChoudharySteve Jobs: Matthew YoheMark Zuckerberg: Brian SolisReid Hoffman: Joi ItoIdea maze: Chris DixonRobert Heinlein: WikimediaPrimitive Wheel: John O’NeillCamp Fire: Eric Dufresne

Code: Ilya PavlovSoftware frustration: Tim GouwCoffee: David MaoSteve Blank: Eric MillettePaul Graham: Dave ThomasDustin Moskovitz: Dustin MoskovitzAmbulance: Paul SablemanStressed woman: Aledander DummerWoman writing: Startup Stock PhotosMan and whiteboard: Startup Stock PhotosClassroom: WokandapixJournals: Lum3nMeetup: Sebastiaan ter BurgT-Shaped Person: ValveWriting: Alvaro SerranoTeaching: Pop TechPair coding: Startup Stock PhotosExpert: Graham Lavender

References & image credits