If you're building a consumer social product then there's probably mechanics built into the product itself that caused it to spread. Sometimes things spread a bit organically and then you kind of use it through different tactics. So I think the best companies actually focus on aggressive distribution early. And those stories are never told. People always say oh these things just grew organically and isn't amazing but almost every company that's ended up in tens of billions or hundreds of millions of market cap have been very aggressive about distribution from their earliest days.
Elad Gil is an entrepreneur, operator, and investor. He cofounded Color Genomics 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, which is a guide to scaling startups published by Stripe Press.
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.
The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.
We're accepting applications from startups for the Winter 2019 funding cycle. Apply here.
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Topics
01:04 - Why should an entrepreneur read the High Growth Handbook?
5:35 - On Marc Andreessen's comment, "The companies that charge more tend to grow faster."
6:50 - Myths about startups
7:50 - Leon Coe asks - What types of businesses do you avoid investing in?
9:20 - Things to just say 'no' to
12:40 - Companies that may be too early
14:52 - 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."
17:41 - On Claire Hughes Johnson's "Guide to Working with Claire"
19:40 - Masud Hossain asks - How did most of the companies you interviewed get their first 10 customers?
20:55 - Masud Hossain asks - Is content really king?
22:50 - Narayan Mallapur asks - Where do founders make the most mistakes? Is it on hiring? What steps should they take to avoid these pitfalls
24:55 - 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?
29:05 - Media cycles
30:55 - Marius Chawa asks - What are the top three things a startup "must" achieve before VC firms would line up to fund them?
34:45 - 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.
36:54 - Tanmay Khandelwal asks - When you are sprinting in growth stage, how do you predict engineers required and hire accordingly?
38:41 - TD Bryant II asks - When your organization is experiencing exponential growth, how do you choose which functions to outsource vs build/hire?
41:50 - Andrew Pikul asks - Who is your favorite Dragon Ball (Z/GT/Super) villain?
