BC STARTUPS
Saved by @zmbnski

My guide to startups:

I've lost millions, hired hundreds, raised millions and sold companies before the age of 30

Read this to become better:

 Venture capital & PR are like drugs

Drugs can kill you or save your life

Use accordingly.
If you’re lucky: your startup will be copied. Don’t be mad

The best startup revenge is overwhelming product/market fit
Okinawa is an Island in Japan with the highest life expectancy. It's called "the land of immortals"

The secret: almost everybody gardens

Entrepreneurship is a marathon not a sprint. Be sustainable

Find your gardening.
A wonderful online course is so valuable its like you’re stealing from the teacher

A bad online course is a teacher stealing from you

Tip: scout out for wonderful online courses

A few dollar investment will completely change a life
For most people: forget Harvard or living in SF

With the internet, you are more powerful than you think you are

1) Learn anything you want
2) Connect with anyone you want
3) Be anyone you want

What a time to be alive
Startup life is a life full of rejection

No rejection, no progress
How to learn quickly:

Ask questions. You almost never learn while you are talking
Gratefulness: makes it hard for you to be fearful
Recruiting is not hiring

Recruiting is actively seeking the best people to create the best possible team

Hiring is pulling the trigger

Founders should always be recruiting
Most sales people stop after one or two rejections. Go until two or three

I bet your sales go up

Lesson: try and try some more
A good job interview is the same as a good therapy session

Ask questions & learn
To-do lists are overrated

A “not to-do” list is more effective than a to-do list. Keeps you from being exceptional

Focus is the holy grail
Quincy Jones would talk to every person at a book signing and leave a personalized note even if it took him until 3 AM to get home

He understood the power of making people feel heard

Personalization is the secret weapon to build loyalty for your customers & team
This may sound silly but:

A single viral tweet can change your life forever (h/t @sweatystartup)

Going viral can transform your business

Point: It's worth experimenting
Maybe this thread will go viral

Follow me @gregisenberg for more thread about startups, internet communities and niches

I'll make it worth the follow
2 criteria for success:

1) you’re happy
2) you’re making other lives better
I once had my identity stolen. It sucked

Tip: use a password manager like @1Password

Saves time and gives you peace of mind
When dealing with someone upset, think:

Have they slept, eaten, or been bothered by someone?

Sensitivity to people is a superpower
How to build relationships:

- Don’t dismiss people
- Don’t be a jerk
- Don’t rush
- Don’t interrupt

Be positive & kind
Fear kills startups & dreams. Don't let it!

Stressed is the word that high achievers use for fear

Never be fearful, OK to be stressed sometimes

Tip: Master micro-bravery. conquer fear by breaking it down into smaller steps
Many team issues are like cavities: long term that people never can address the main issue

Band-aids never work. Address main issues

You can’t fix something that starts with a poor foundation
Good questions to ask yourself everyday before bed:

- What have you done today to help someone
- What is something nice that someone has done for you
- What did you learn
- What can I do to be better tomorrow?
For more detailed startup insights, subscribe to my free newsletter at https://t.co/F3G2HRaeqB

I talk about internet communities, niches and startup opportunities

I bet you'll enjoy it

More from GREG ISENBERG

GREG ISENBERG
GREG ISENBERG
@gregisenberg
I made a list of things that 95% of people think are weaknesses but aren’t

The best founders, bosses, employees, creators I know are really “weak”

If you master these 17 “weaknesses”, it will be life changing:

Changing your mind

You become happier and luckier when you change your mind

Changing your mind isn’t controversial. It’s totally normal

Knowing when to shut up

Normalize listening!

Listening actually solves most problems

To get things done: listen

Taking advice from someone that you don't like, but who is smart and right

This one is hard and hurts

Just because you don’t like them, doesn’t mean they aren’t right

Taking a nap

Fun fact: naps are predominantly deep sleep and our body is wired for them

Naps are the past, present and future
LIFE LESSONS
GREG ISENBERG
GREG ISENBERG
@gregisenberg
Life gets better when:

You understand that grades never mattered but how you grade yourself does

You learn from disagreements, you don't get upset

You keep your private life private

You often have your phone in DND mode
LIFE
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GREG ISENBERG
GREG ISENBERG
@gregisenberg
Here’s the story of how I (almost) lost everything building and selling my last company Islands to WeWork

I’ve never told this story publicly. Sharing it on Twitter because sharing is caring

Here we go…...

In June 2016, I was having tea in SF and realized “group chat is the new social network”

My thinking: everything would be verticalized

You’d have group chats around finance, around gaming, around work etc.

People want fluid, spontaneous communities/groups, not newsfeeds

I had previously sold a company. I created a short slide pitch deck

I raised $2m from some of the world’s best investors on an idea. From first pitch to money in the bank in 45 days

We had no product. No prototype. No users. Just a crazy idea

SF is sometimes magical like that. It was a privilege

We were off to the races

We built the product. We decided to focus on colleges

The idea: open up Islands on your campus, see group chats around you, form communities and create relationships

It was like Slack for communities. Focused on college
ALL
GREG ISENBERG
GREG ISENBERG
@gregisenberg
10 reasons why I think now is the greatest time to launch a startup

You should probably consider starting something

Just listen to this:

You can start with the community

I’ve identified ~8000 communities that could be unbundled from Reddit

- They are thriving
- They could make you ~$1m/year of revenue
- You often need $400 max to build MVP to tap that untapped value
- It's fun

Sounds like a dream job to me

People in Silicon Valley don’t have an edge on you

SF held the monopoly on startups for decades. Now, being in SF doesn’t matter for 99% of businesses

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise

The world is flat and is staying flat

Hell yeah. That feels good to say

You have 10x the amount of funding sources

You used to have to rely on VCs. Not anymore

To name a few:

- Fund via your community
- Fund via NFTs
- Fund via pre-sales
- Fund via tokens
- Fund via accelerators all over the world
- Etc

All of a sudden, you have 10x the options

Niche businesses can be worth billions

People used to laugh at niche. Why “go small” when you could “go big”?

The way to go big right now IS to go small

Large tech companies can’t be everything to everyone
STARTUPS , STARTUP , ALL
GREG ISENBERG
GREG ISENBERG
@gregisenberg
The billion dollar Google Chrome extension club:

- Loom
- Honey
- Grammarly

These companies started as Chrome Extensions and created billions of value

Here's why it works:

- People barely uninstall extensions
- Barrier to install is low
- Extensions are "always on"
- People pay for many of them

Chrome Extensions are underrated

The cool thing about Chrome Extensions?

You could make millions to billions from extensions

Tons of opportunities small and large

Chrome Web Store:

2 billion users: 200,000 extensions = 10,000 users : 1 extension

Apple App Store:

100 million iPhone users : 2 million iOS apps = 50 users : 1 iOS app

Google Play Store:

2 billion Android users : 3 million apps = 667 users : 1 app

Bottom line:

Launching a Chrome extension gives you 200 times more potential users than an iOS app
ALL

More from Startups

Harjeet
Harjeet
@Harjeet
1/ Today I prepared for talking about common mistakes startups make (founding -> growth stages) by writing it in tweet form. I ramble too much when public speaking and hoped it would make the core ideas clearer in my mind and more concise. Think it worked. Here are the tweets

2/ Earliest mistake is picking the wrong co-founders. You have to be value-aligned (don’t have conflicting personal goals) and respect each other. With both of these, any other differences are irrelevant - can be worked out. Without them everything else you do is irrelevant.

3/ If you launch, next mistake is chasing top-line vanity metrics (sign ups) instead of growing the number of users who *really* love you. @paultoo advice - better to have 10 users who depend on you than 100 who a lukewarm. This requires patience and killing your ego.

4/ If you raise a seed round, it’s tempting to ignore retention. With money, there are always ways to grow top-line (buy ads, launch a new location). Strong fundraisers can do this for multiple rounds (though investors are more savvy to this now). Eventually, the bottom falls out

5/ Once you’re growing without churn, you find you have a diverse set of customers and can’t make them all happy -it’s easy to fail trying. Commit to a long term strategy for going public and build for the users who get you there, even if you lose the others. You have to focus.
STARTUPS
Andrey \uf8ff Azimov
Andrey  Azimov
@AndreyAzimov
The best way to know if people like your product is NOT:

- Have a lot of emails in the waiting list
- Become #1 on PH
- Become #1 of HN or Reddit
- Have people that saing "I'll pay"
- Have a lot of free users

The best way to know if they're actually pay for it.

The only thing that matters is your product providing a value, and you can't know this until people will pay money for it.

We can have a first signal of a product/market fit after the launch by check how many sales we've got in the first 24h. Some scale:

200+ This has a high potential.
100+: This has a potential.
50+: Some people need it.
10+: People almost don't need it.
0+: People don't need it.

This is for a single time payment product. For a subscription probably it should be less because people hate subscription.

And obviously, you should have a lot of traffic like 3-5k+.

Here is a stat for my products (macOS apps) for the first 24h after the launch:
STARTUPS
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Justin Jackson
Justin Jackson
@mijustin
If folks aren’t already buying what you’re thinking of selling, don’t start that business!

There should be be evidence that folks are already spending money in the space you’re thinking of entering.

Before AirBnB, folks paid money to stay at hotels, B&Bs, cottages, vacation homes, and hostels.

Annually, people spend $570 BILLION on travel accommodation.

Entrepreneurs need to follow the money:

“Where is it already being spent, and how can I get a piece of it?”

Don’t look for “problems that need solving.”

Look for categories where people/businesses are already spending money.

From an entrepreneur’s POV, if folks are willing to spend money on it, it’s a problem worth solving.

Apple has consistently followed this approach.

They didn’t make the first:

- PC
- Laptop
- MP3 player
- Smart phone

They saw the existing demand, and built on it.
STARTUPS
Paul Graham
Paul Graham
@paulg
A potential danger to America I didn't consider till now. The Bay Area seems to be less attractive to founders. What if this makes America as a country less attractive to immigrant founders? What if instead of going to another US city, they don't go to the US at all?

I know founders don't feel the same need to move to the US that they used to. The question is how much of this is due to the change in their opinion of the Bay Area specifically, rather than e.g. greater optimism about remote work, or decreased interest in the US overall.
STARTUPS
Ben Awad
Ben Awad
@benawad
Say hello to VSCode Tinder aka VSinder:

stop swiping on bodies and start swiping on code :)


demo:

Available on

iOS: https://t.co/nxryFdyS7z
Android: https://t.co/lUpNHbJD7d
VSCode:

my dms are open @Microsoft @BillGates if you like what you see 💰😉🤑
STARTUPS

You May Also Like

Pat Walls
Pat Walls
@thepatwalls
And here they are...

THE WINNERS OF THE 24 HOUR STARTUP CHALLENGE

Remember, this money is just fun. If you launched a product (or even attempted a launch) - you did something worth MUCH more than $1,000.

#24hrstartup

The winners 👇

#10

Lattes For Change - Skip a latte and save a life.

https://t.co/M75RAirZzs

@frantzfries built a platform where you can see how skipping your morning latte could do for the world.

A great product for a great cause.

Congrats Chris on winning $250!


#9

Instaland - Create amazing landing pages for your followers.

https://t.co/5KkveJTAsy

A team project! @bpmct and @BaileyPumfleet built a tool for social media influencers to create simple "swipe up" landing pages for followers.

Really impressive for 24 hours. Congrats!


#8

SayHenlo - Chat without distractions

https://t.co/og0B7gmkW6

Built by @DaltonEdwards, it's a platform for combatting conversation overload. This product was also coded exclusively from an iPad 😲

Dalton is a beast. I'm so excited he placed in the top 10.


#7

CoderStory - Learn to code from developers across the globe!

https://t.co/86Ay6nF4AY

Built by @jesswallaceuk, the project is focused on highlighting the experience of developers and people learning to code.

I wish this existed when I learned to code! Congrats on $250!!
MAKERS
Jaya_Upadhyaya
Jaya_Upadhyaya
@Jayalko1
ARULMIGU SRI PARTHASARATHY SWAMY KSHETRAM, CHENNAI (TN)

Divya Desha where Perumal appears with moustache of a Sarathi (charioteer) to conduct Arjun’s Rath in Kurukshetra war.
Here, Venkatkrishna-Parthasarthy is present with his entire family.


He is flanked by Sri Rukmini, Sri Balarama, Satyaki, son Pradyumn and grandson Anirudha.
It is said that on the request of Raja Sumathirajan, Sri Perumal appeared and stayed here as Arjun’s charioteer (Partha-sarathi).


He is without chakra as he had promised not to wield weapons in Mahabharata war.
The face has scars caused by Bhishma’s arrows on Arjun. Prabhu took the arrows on himself to protect Arjun.


The Naivedyam offered here does not have spices. Ghee is used in it to cure Prabhu’s wounds. Sarkarai Pongal is famous here.

It is said that Rishi Bhrigu found Devi Lakshmi (as Vedvalli) in Alli flower in the mandir pushkarini. Later, Sri Ranganatha came here to marry her.
ALL
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ArmaniTalks \U0001f399\U0001f525
ArmaniTalks 🎙🔥...
@ArmaniTalks
A relationship begins to get stiff when excessive patterns begin to form.

Too many patterns leads to a boring, predictable, logical lifestyle.

Get the emotions involved.

Do something spontaneous out of the blue moon & flip the script.

'What's wrong with the patterns?'

Nothing is wrong with patterns.

However, there is a problem when all you have are patterns.

It's boring.

'Can you explain why?'

Sure 👇

The thing with relationships is that it's meant to be an emotional experience.

It's very difficult to logically explain love, right?

'Right.'

Well this is where you want to steer the ship the right way.

1. Too emotional is bad.

2. Too logical is bad.

Let me break it down.

1. Too emotional

If a relationship is completely ruled by emotions, then it's too volatile.

You will never reach productivity if you are aimlessly only following each others emotions.

This lifestyle tarnishes any structure for the couple.

'So why do people do it?'

Because it's fun.

You may ruled by this stage in the honeymoon phase.

Normal.

You'll be so spontaneous that it almost becomes a lifestyle.

But it's hard to level up your life when you're too spontaneous.

Avoid.
LIFE
itrade(DJ)
itrade(DJ)
@ITRADE191
Here is the detailed information of about strategy,

Entry time : 9.30 - 10
Exit : Upto you

Strategy :
Sell weekly ATM CE & PE at almost equal price
For ex : Sell Nifty 17250 CE at 50 and Nifty 17250 PE at 48 so it will become short straddle

Buy monthly ATM or near ATM CE & PE at matching price (5-10 points diff should be fine) as hedge
For ex : Buy Nifty 17250 CE at 150 and Nifty 17300 PE at 155 so it will become long straddle.

Weekly Short straddle + Monthly Long straddle

Adjustment:

• If you feel slightly bullish/bearish then no adjustment needed
• If Nifty moves 50 up or down and sustain then just simply roll up or down half of qnty and keep rest of the quantity. If market goes up or down further then roll up or down rest.

• If Nifty moves one side or about to breach BEP then add equal amount of lot. This can balance tested side. For ex: If I bought 17300 CE 4 lot as hedge then add 4 lot so you will have only one side risk . Note: Remember to keep SL at cost price (only for additional lot bought)

Capital requirement:
2.2 L for 4 lot
Adjustment requires additional capital upto 1L

Note : High risk high reward strategy, please don’t execute until you fully understand. Kindly do paper trading or backtest.
RR : 1:1
POP : 45-55%
OPTIONSLEARNINGS , ALL
James Felton
James Felton
@JimMFelton
Butt plugs were originally sold as a miracle cure for headaches, acne, and insanity

Thread, article here and h/t: @qikipedia :
https://t.co/Ts84xnmWKJ


For a long time, medicine was pre-occupied with the question "can this be solved by putting something in the butt?"

Take, for example, tobacco smoke enemas, in which 18th Century physicians saw drowning victims and attempted to de-deadify them by blowing tobacco smoke up their rectums with a pipe.


Despite having no medical benefit whatsoever, the practice was popular, and enema kits lined the Thames like lifebelts, ready to be used as one final humiliation for somebody who was crap at swimming.

This practice ended sometime after 1800 when it became apparent that it didn't really work, given how the anus famously isn't really connected to the lungs, but doctors weren't quite finished with having a poke around in the old anus to see what happens just yet.
TECH