"Build something people want" is not enough
Most people take “Build something people want” to mean “Pick a problem to solve and solve it well.” This is not sufficient to build a world changing company. “Why now?…
Most people take “Build something people want” to mean “Pick a problem to solve and solve it well.” This is not sufficient to build a world changing company. “Why now?…
Today is a bittersweet day. I am closing one chapter of my life and opening a brand new one.
Lesson from the success of Dropbox. Should entrepreneurs abandon current ideas to shoot for something bigger?
Home page for Andy Brett
Most real startups don’t grow like this: Instead, most successful startups grow like this: Those initial loops are unsuccessful attempts to create a product people want to use. The problem is those…
Shortly after the sale closed, John Cook interviewed me about the experience. He did a great job of transcribing all of my verbal gems, like “Maybe that is an economic way of looking at it, or something that I am unfamiliar with.” I’m not even sure what that means. It was the best I could muster in the middle of a…
by Paul Hontz
In a comment I made on Hacker News , I expressed my desire to write an article about the differences and misconceptions between being a single-founder and having co-founders. This is not that article, but it is related. The application for YC W12 is open, and in response to my comment I received a few emails asking…
May 2004 (This essay was originally published in Hackers & Painters .) If you wanted to get rich, how would you do it? I think your best bet would be to start or join a startup. That's been a reliable way to get rich for hundreds of years. The word "startup" dates from the 1960s, but what happens in one is very…
Photo by Images of Money I recently received the following question from a reader: When we spoke at a recent conference] I had been thinking of a $1/month price point [for my product aimed at teachers] to make it a “no-brainer,” and you strongly advised against it, suggesting $5-7 at a mini