with Elad Gil (@eladgil) and Chris Dixon (@cdixon) There's a lot of knowledge out there -- and networks of talent (especially in Silicon Valley) -- on what to do in the early stages of a company, going from 0 to 1, and even in going from 1 to 100... but what about beyond that? It's not as simply linear as merely doubling or tripling resources and org structures; it's actually much more complex on many levels, communication to coordination. Because with great scale comes great complexity... and many, many more places for things to break down. So how should founders/CEOs of growing tech startups think about everything from hiring (including key executives) to product management (what is it, really, beyond common myths/misconceptions around the role?) to thinking about late-stage financing, M&A, and other key aspects of building a company? This episode of the a16z Podcast shares both specific answers to -- and general mindsets for thinking about -- these questions. Chris Dixon, general partner on a16z crypto, interviews Elad Gil, investor/advisor to numerous tech companies; co-founder of Color Genomics; formerly of Google and also co-founder and CEO of Mixer Labs (acquired by Twitter, where he also became a VP). He's the author of the new book, The High Growth Handbook, on scaling companies from 10 to 10,000 people. But the two also explore the growth -- and evolution -- of market and tech trends, including the continuation of mobile/cloud; machine learning (and silicon); crypto; and finally, longevity -- both in the near term and further out in the future. Should people -- and even companies for that matter -- really live longer?
Serial entrepreneur and angel investor Elad Gil sits down with YC Partner Geoff Ralston to discuss startups. Learn more at https://startupschool.org.
Elad Gil - https://twitter.com/eladgil - is an entrepreneur, operator, and investor. He cofounded Color Genomics - https://www.color.com/ - and Mixer Labs. Worked at Google and Twitter. And has invested in companies including Airbnb, Coinbase, and Stripe. He just released the High Growth Handbook - https://www.amazon.com/High-Growth-Handbook-Elad-Gil/dp/1732265100/ - which is a guide to scaling startups published by Stripe Press - http://press.stripe.com/ It contains tactical advice on key issues for post product-market fit companies such as the role of the CEO, hiring executives, late stage fundraising, M&A, and other topics. It also includes interviews with people in tech, including Sam Altman, President of YC Group. You can find the High Growth Handbook on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/High-Growth-Handbook-Elad-Gil/dp/1732265100/ The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon - https://twitter.com/craigcannon We're accepting applications from startups for the Winter 2019 funding cycle. Apply here: http://ycombinator.com/apply Read the transcript here - https://blog.ycombinator.com/elad-gil-shares-advice-from-the-high-growth-handbook-a-guide-to-scaling-startups *** Topics 00:14 - Why should an entrepreneur read the High Growth Handbook? 4:45 - On Marc Andreessen's comment, "The companies that charge more tend to grow faster." 6:00 - Myths about startups 7:00 - Leon Coe asks - What types of businesses do you avoid investing in? 8:30 - Things to just say 'no' to 11:50 - Companies that may be too early 14:02 - On Naval Ravikant's comment, "The most successful class of people in silicon valley on a consistent basis are either the venture capitalists, or people who are very good at identifying companies that have just hit product/market fit. They have the background, expertise, and references that those companies really want to help them scale." 16:51 - On Claire Hughes Johnson's "Guide to Working with Claire" 18:50 - Masud Hossain asks - How did most of the companies you interviewed get their first 10 customers? 20:05 - Masud Hossain asks - Is content really king? 22:00 - Narayan Mallapur asks - Where do founders make the most mistakes? Is it on hiring? What steps should they take to avoid these pitfalls? 24:05 - Brianne Kimmel asks - What are some lessons learned in highly regulated sectors? When should you hire a General Counsel? How do you prioritize public policy and lobbying efforts? 28:15 - Media cycles 30:05 - Marius Chawa asks - What are the top three things a startup "must" achieve before VC firms would line up to fund them? 33:55 - Taylor Caforio asks - My company is at our early MVP stage. What is he best way to find a balance between giving our earliest customers the 6 star treatment while also having swift and exponential growth in the back of our minds. 36:04 - Tanmay Khandelwal asks - When you are sprinting in growth stage, how do you predict engineers required and hire accordingly? 37:51 - TD Bryant II asks - When your organization is experiencing exponential growth, how do you choose which functions to outsource vs build/hire? 41:00 - Andrew Pikul asks - Who is your favorite Dragon Ball (Z/GT/Super) villain?
Early stage startups should focus on finding product market fit; but how do you know when you have it? Entrepreneur and investor Elad Gil tells us how. Join the community and learn from experts and YC partners. Sign up now for this year's course at https://startupschool.org.