hack harvard talk (1/20/2014)

I’m @grinich

1. My Background

2. How to Startup

3. Inbox Preview

1. My Background

2. How to Startup

3. Inbox Preview

The least likely founder

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?”

+1000 people $15k from sponsors (VCs, law firm) 12 speakers from Boston & SF ... 3 full-time students.

Enough about me. !Let’s talk about startups.

1. My Background

2. How to Startup

3. Inbox Preview

• 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.

• 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.

Startups need software engineers, not computer scientists.

I shipped +20 projects before graduating. Many were either well-paid 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!

1. Learn to build stuff

• Business

• Product design

• Founder blogs

• Hacker News

• Design magazines

• HBS Case Studies

• Take classes in other departments

• NYT & NPR

• Technical papers fromindustry companies

2. Read everything

1.01365 = 38.8 0.99365 = 0.03

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.

3. Work your ass off

• 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

Have (lots of) ideas

Most of them will be lousy.

You only need to be right once.

☑ large market

☑ hard tech

☑ pain point

☑ crufty foe

Ingredients for a startup:

• 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

If you want to go fast, go alone.

If you want to go far, go together.

– African proverb

People you’ve built fun projects with.

People you like hanging out with.

People who work hard.

People you trust.

Your friends.

Most important that you have shared values.

• 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

Realize that your idea is 5% formed.

Build small things to test big ideas.

Startups evolve as they grow.

That’s the point.

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

• 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

(Wait as long as you possibly can.)

Who are you?

Why are you building this?

Who is it for?

How do you know they need it?

Fundraising is performance art.

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.

• 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

Traditional interviews don’t work.

Recruiters don’t make sense.

You are HR.

People join startups because of the people.

Be generous with equity.

• 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

1. My Background

2. HOW TO STARTUP

3. INBOX PREVIEW

1. My Background

2. HOW TO STARTUP

3. Inbox Preview

questions ?mg@inboxapp.com

preview.inboxapp.com

ps: we’re hiring :)