
Startup School 2013 Notes - pain_perdu
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xo99mjzc4nyK3J4_GBiba_Kz4h1NPL2Os06JhvbCh5c/
======
LinaLauneBaer
Quote from the Google Doc:

"You shouldn't be friends with people who you wouldn't start a company with."

(Made by Phil Libin / Founder, Evernote, CoreStreet)
[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xo99mjzc4nyK3J4_GBiba_Kz...](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xo99mjzc4nyK3J4_GBiba_Kz4h1NPL2Os06JhvbCh5c/preview?sle=true#heading=h.hvkxyhqup7qy)

Am I the only one who thinks this is a terrible advice? I have friends, long-
term friends from kindergarden. I enjoy being with them but I would not start
a company with them for several reasons. What does this say about the
friendship?

Edit: Does anyone know this reasons for giving that advice?

~~~
ghiculescu
There's more context at [https://github.com/charlesfeng/startup-
school-2013/blob/mast...](https://github.com/charlesfeng/startup-
school-2013/blob/master/PhilLibin.md) \- "You shouldn't even make friends with
people you don't see starting a company with — why bother? You only have so
many best friends, so use those resources wisely."

Doesn't sound like a fun way to live.

~~~
LinaLauneBaer
Thanks for the context. The additional context does not really make the
statement any better IMHO.

Starting a company with one of your friends has a lot of "drawbacks". If your
friend is underperforming by a huge margin you often don't want to risk the
friendship by telling the truth.

Some of my friends have nothing to do with tech or business - most of them
enjoy a very low risk way to live (employed with the state or county for
example) and don't want to do it any other way. I enjoy a little bit of risk
in my live. :) This different way of living does not make my friends any worse
or better...

------
001sky
_Before Dropbox, there were 100 cloud storage companies, half of which were VC
funded. But Dropbox knew the problem better than anyone else, focused on
making the actual use of space easier, and disrupted the existing solutions
who were merely trying to compete on economy (offer more space and /or charge
less)_

This is a very true piece of advice in many ways.

(1) If there are "no" competitors, there is likely no market;

(2) There can be many competitors, but no "competition" if you execute well

(3) You need true _insight_ to pull off #2

(4) A good screen is (3), and in the presence of (2) a huge market opportunity
for an investor.

(5) Talent drives (3) more than age; but experience matters

(6) Corralary to (5) is _rare experience_ has value in the context of (3)

------
canttestthis
Are the videos mirrored anywhere? I was working so I couldn't watch the talks.

~~~
austenallred
They usually upload them to YouTube a few days after startup school.

------
ruang
_> A very handy memory device. Make do / dont’s lists. Note all the things you
never want to do again_

Does anyone know what does Jack Dorsey use exactly? Evernote would make sense
although he didn't say so specifically.

~~~
streeter
He said he used the Notes app built into his iPhone.

~~~
ruang
Thanks! Definitely makes sense with his emphasis on simplicity.

Tip - I also use Notes and I change the default account to gmail so I can
recover accidental deletions.

------
Miyamoto
> _You shouldn 't be friends with people who you wouldn't start a company
> with._

Ouch. Not everyone is an MBA. I'm guessing that note is exaggerated or out of
context.

~~~
notduncansmith
The idea, as I understood it, was that you have a very limited amount of time
on this earth, so you should (in general) avoid spending time or other
resources on building deep relationships with people that you can't rely on.

~~~
avalaunch
I have amazing friends that I can rely on - friends of over 2 decades that
would literally give their lives for mine. But they'd make horrible business
partners. They aren't self motivated in the way they'd need to be. They
require the structure of a 9 to 5.

I get the sentiment of the quote - that you need trustworthy cofounders - but
it's a really odd and incorrect way to phrase it.

------
phildini
It would be awesome if someone could take these notes and pair them with the
videos when they post the videos.

------
Patrick_Devine
I'll post mine when I get a chance.. I thought the speaker line up was pretty
good. Lots of diversity.

------
bilalhusain
download as pdf link for the paranoid

[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xo99mjzc4nyK3J4_GBiba_Kz...](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Xo99mjzc4nyK3J4_GBiba_Kz4h1NPL2Os06JhvbCh5c/export?format=pdf&id=1Xo99mjzc4nyK3J4_GBiba_Kz4h1NPL2Os06JhvbCh5c)

