8. Wasn’t the prodigy kid programmer....
... no Intel Science Fair, robotics club, programming
classes, research labs, aced SATs, ivy league, etc.
“MIT? That’s in Michigan right?”
9.
10.
11.
12.
13. +1000 people
$15k from sponsors (VCs, law firm)
12 speakers from Boston & SF
... 3 full-time students.
19. • How to prepare while in school
• How to think of a (good) idea
• How to find your co-founders
• What to build when prototyping
• How to raise money (and the pitfalls)
• How to hire people
… my last 12 months.
20. • How to prepare while in school
• How to think of a (good) idea
• How to find your co-founders
• What to build when prototyping
• How to raise money (and the pitfalls)
• How to hire people
… my last 12 months.
21. 1. Learn to build stuff
Startups need software engineers, not computer scientists.
I shipped +20 projects before graduating. Many were either wellpaid internships or contract jobs with flexible hours.
... and I wrote my first line of code during freshman year.
You don’t run a marathon without training first!
22. 2. Read everything
• Business
• Product design
• Founder blogs
• Hacker News
• Design magazines
• HBS Case Studies
• Take classes in
other departments
• NYT & NPR
• Technical papers from
industry companies
23. 3. Work your ass off
365 =
1.01
38.8
365 = 0.03
0.99
Nearly all meet-ups and networking
events are a waste of time.
!
Treat them as recreation, not work.
!
The best connections are made through
working on projects with people.
24. • How to prepare while in school
• How to think of a (good) idea
• How to find your co-founders
• What to build when prototyping
• How to raise money (and the pitfalls)
• How to hire people
26. Most of them will be lousy.
You only need to be right once.
27. Ingredients for a startup:
☑ large market
☑ hard tech
☑ pain point
☑ crufty foe
28. • How to prepare while in school
• How to think of a (good) idea
• How to find your co-founders
• What to build when prototyping
• How to raise money (and the pitfalls)
• How to hire people
29. If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far, go together.
– African proverb
30. People you’ve built fun projects with.
People you like hanging out with.
People who work hard.
People you trust.
Your friends.
32. • How to prepare while in school
• How to think of a (good) idea
• How to find your co-founders
• What to build when prototyping
• How to raise money (and the pitfalls)
• How to hire people
33. Realize that your idea is 5% formed.
Build small things to test big ideas.
Startups evolve as they grow.
That’s the point.
34.
35. The important thing is to strive towards
a goal which is not immediately visible.
That goal is not the concern of the mind,
but of the spirit.
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
36. • How to prepare while in school
• How to think of a (good) idea
• How to find your co-founders
• What to build when prototyping
• How to raise money (and the pitfalls)
• How to hire people
40. Cold-emailing doesn’t work— get intros.
Best investors provide value beyond $$$.
Don’t focus on the valuation.
Startups are a binary outcome game.
Get back to work.
41. • How to prepare while in school
• How to think of a (good) idea
• How to find your co-founders
• What to build when prototyping
• How to raise money (and the pitfalls)
• How to hire people
45. • How to prepare while in school
• How to think of a (good) idea
• How to find your co-founders
• What to build when prototyping
• How to raise money (and the pitfalls)
• How to hire people
