February 1, 2016

One of the most amazing things about Snapchat to me is the functionality of Snapcodes. I remember back in 2010 when QR codes were all the rage and were poised to change marketing for ever. That never happened. But Snapcodes are virtually the same thing and immensely more popular than QR codes ever were.

startup-adviceAnyway I have had Snapchat since it became a thing a few years back. It was one of those apps that I used basically to “stay current” I never found the interface intuitive. The utility of it never appealed to me either initially. Really though I never understood why they turned down that check for 3 billion…I wanted to see what Evan was planning to “build” with Snapchat.

Their content idea never really took off and it’s not an app where you can publicly browse other people’s content easily in the same manner as twitter or linkedin…So there were never any influencers IMHO. Sure there are famous people with Snapchats but none that offered what I would consider real value until I came across this post that was trending on Hacker News and written by Justin Kan.

I understood the utility of Snapchat (to the demographic that uses it) when I came across my GF’s little brother watching the stories of his friends. At first I was like “What video are you watching?” and he responded “I am watching all my friends Snapchat stories to see what they did last night” I don’t have friends that make Snapchat stories…

Justin breaks down the brilliance of Snapchat’s stories in his post which I hope you read. After reading Justin’s post I immediately followed added him on Snapchat. I had no idea initially who he was (Founder of Justin.tv & Twitch) but he had a lot of value in his Snapchat stories that would be of paticular interest to anyone who is launching or considering launching a Startup. I mean like really good shit. Finally after his trip to Davos I had to Google him because at that point he was rubbing elbows with world elite. I suggest you do the same.

So…some startup advice I have learned from Justin’s Snapchat stories that resonated with me…keep in mind he sometimes reviews startups that are submitted to him and offers very constructive criticism:

  1. Make it clear and obvious what it is your app/start up does
  2. People don’t want to read a bunch of text
  3. Get a tongue scraper
  4. Workout
  5. Work on your startup! 
  6. Have a concise value proposition
  7. If you wanna ball then you need to listen to this whenever you need inspiration (never gets old)
  8. Listen to user feedback
  9. Don’t waste investor money on art
  10. He initially thought Pinterest would not catch on
  11. Not everyone knows what will be successful
  12. Don’t lie to yourself & get to work
  13. It’s not a marathon it’s a sprint
  14. Don’t spend all your money
  15. Fitness is next to greatness
  16. Don’t be out partying where investors can see that shit…everyone needs to blow of steam but be discreet about it
  17. Less time on pitch decks and more time refining your onboarding process
  18. Work on your startup! 
  19. If someone wants something from you. It’s their problem, not your problem
  20. Talk to customers, make something they want, release and get feedback. Repeat over and over
  21. You may not raise the same amount of money b/c startups are not fair, the timing may not be right or many other reasons
  22. Don’t spend money on dumb shit
  23. Investors that want to be great need to make decisions quick and do their research.
  24. Work with people that are better than you in some way
  25. You are on failing when you are not learning
  26. Trying to get a job at a startup…you may have to take whatever job you can get then move laterally into the position you really want
  27. Top rated productivity tools…Outlook for iOS, Slack, Trello and Sunrise.
  28. Resume Tips: http://justinkan.com/the-startup-resume
  29. Show that you have value
  30. Get users early then Iterate, Iterate, Iterate. Use their feedback.
  31. Everyone should apply to Y.C.
  32. When networking have a goal… i.e. I want to network with people who are great at design.
  33. Always offer something of value
  34. Always be positive and have a great attitude
  35. Imagine if you didn’t have something you currently have that is really important in your life…it will make you grateful
  36. Now your numbers
  37. Start your startup b/c it’s something you car about and want to do
  38. Add a colon to the end of the subject line in your email campaigns to convert better.
  39. Most negative experiences you have on a day to day basis are inconsequential
  40. Instead of pitching an MLM business you should Fuck Off And Die!!! (Once listened to a 45min train wreck of a sales pitch from a friend!?! for a travel MLM…I cringed so hard.)
  41. It’s a marathon not a sprint
  42. Have startup friends that you can chat with
  43. Start a company when you are young as your energy is relentless
  44. Your passion can grow into something as you are building it
  45. Be concise in emails where you are asking of someone who is mad busy, offer them real value.YC COMBINATOR ADVICE
  46. theartistunion.com/top
  47. You can still apply to YC with no traction in terms of users…traction is progress vs time period you have been working on your product. YC Fellowship is for pre launch companies
  48. Dropbox was a successful YC company that was pre-launch only had a beta demo version when accepted
  49. Don’t apply to YC combinator w/o a founders video
  50. V/C want to return fund w/ 15-20x return
  51. Angels are wealthy individuals who want 25-100k investments into a few million
  52. YC funds anything that could be a great company w/ great founders
  53. Do not prematurely optimize features
  54. Pre-order campaign for hardware products to prove that there is demand..i.e. kickstarter
  55. Undergrad is perfect to find co-founders and start a company –  no responsibilities
  56. Top 3 traits for YC founders….relentlessness, ability to build your product, unique market insight
  57. A strong advocate internally is a great way to close deals
  58. Money is a resource used to solve problems
  59. Have a dedicated work space
  60. It’s useful to have smart people around your startup
  61. 25% in startups 55% stocks and bonds and the rest in real estate
  62. Set directions and KPIs, can say no, good at recruiting, good at fundraising
  63. Take money where you can get it and get back to work
  64. Always be learning
  65. Work on your startup!
  66. Don’t act thirsty, demonstrate value when meeting VIPs
  67. Don’t hire to solve a problem you don’t know how to solve
  68. Set clear success and failure criteria for projects
  69. Give clear goals and let employees accomplish them via means they have
  70. Be authentic with employees
  71. Communicate goals of company from onset with employees
  72. People grow up expecting to be told what to do…this is bad
  73. Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains
  74. People grow up expecting people to tell them what to do
  75. Big Company Mindset is to ask permission
  76. Entrepreneur Mindset is to do it then ask for forgiveness if you fuck up
  77. Big company mindset is to be in love with process
  78. Entrepreneur mindset is to be in love with results
  79. Entrepreneur worry about covering your ass
  80. Entrepreneur mindset to produce results b/c if you don’t you won’t have a job
  81. Do be obsessed with a systems that tells u what you can and cant do
  82. Flex your freedom muscle
  83. Don’t tale rules to seriously
  84. It’s worth getting a niche in a large market = Facebook started by going after college students
  85. One key metric per person in company is ideal
  86. Hire when you understand clear goals for their job and you can’t do it yourself
  87. Don’t build a startup based on YC…build based on what you want
  88. Execution is the key to defending against someone stealing your idea
  89. Have basic knowledge of coding
  90. You don’t know what you can’t do when starting a business out of college
  91. Where your audience is via an untapped channel is where you want to market
  92. Set goals of what you think success looks like
  93. You can always go back to school if you drop out to join a startup
  94. Don’t lie about your numbers
  95. Make something people want – via poster in the background
  96. Pay yourself as little as you can without it becoming a distraction
  97. Ruby and Python are the best languages to learning to program
  98. Founding a company requires an act of faith to believe in a future that doesn’t exist
  99. Come with ideas when you are looking to join a startup
  100. REcruiting is like selling
  101. How does joining your company solve the recruits goals?
  102. You should ask.
  103. Never stand in the way of people who are hungry and want to make you more money
  104. Protect your time
  105. Time is more valuable than money
  106. The joy of everything wears off, achievement fades
  107. Negative Visualization – Imagine your life w/o something you value…then you will appreciate it more
  108. Focus on the things you can control

There has been more than just this list shared but my memory escapes me of all the advice given. And I will be adding to this list in the future as it will serve as a personal bookmark for myself.

Looks like Justin himself is keeping a running list here: http://www.themacro.com/articles/2016/02/startup-advice-on-snapchat/