Comparateur mutuelle

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blakemasters:

Here is an essay version of my class notes from Class 6 of CS183: Startup. Errors and omissions are my own. Credit for good stuff is Peter’s entirely. This class was kind of a crash course in VC financing. I didn’t include all the examples since you can learn more about VC math elsewhere, e.g. here or here. As usual, though, I’ve tried to include all the key insights from the lecture.

CS183: Startup—Notes Essay—Thiel’s Law

I.  Origins, Rules, Culture

Every company is different. But there are certain rules that you simply must follow when you start a business. A corollary of this is what some friends have (somewhat grandiosely) called Thiel’s law: A startup messed up at its foundation cannot be fixed.  

Beginnings of things are very important. Beginnings are qualitatively different. Consider the origin of universe. Different things happened then than what we experience in everyday life. Or think about the origin of a country; it necessarily involves a great many elements that you do not see in the normal course of business. Here in the U.S., the Founders generally got a lot of things right. Some things they got quite wrong. But most of the time they can’t really be fixed.  Alaska has 2 senators. So does California. So Alaska, despite having something like 1/50^th of California’s population, has equal power in the Senate. Some say that’s a feature, not a bug. Whatever it is, we’re likely to be stuck with it as long as this country exists.

The insight that foundings are crucial is what is behind the Founders Fund name. Founders and founding moments are very important in determining what comes next for a given business. If you focus on the founding and get it right, you have a chance. If you don’t, you’ll be lucky at best, and probably not even that.

The importance of foundings is embedded in companies. Where there’s a debate or controversial claim at Google, one says, “The Founders have scientifically determined that x is true,” where x is his preferred position. If you think that certain perks should be extended since happy people are the most productive, you say that Larry and Sergey have already settled the matter. The point is that all the science is done at the founding. No new data can interfere with the founding moment.

Foundings are obviously temporal. But how long they last can be a hard question. The typical narrative contemplates a founding, first hires, and a first capital raise. But there’s an argument that the founding lasts a lot longer than that. The idea of going from 0 to 1—the idea of technology—parallels founding moments. The 1 to n of globalization, by contrast, parallels post-founding execution. It may be that the founding lasts so long as a company’s technical innovation continues. Founders should arguably stay in charge as long as the paradigm remains 0 to 1. Once the paradigm shifts to 1 to n, the founding is over. At that point, executives should execute. 

There is, of course, a limit to how much you can do with rules. Things can and will break down even with perfect rules. There is no real chance of setting things up correctly such that the rest unfold easily. But you should still get the early stuff as right as possible.

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lefigaro-photos:

À ciel ouvert. À l’inverse des occupants du véhicule qui apparaissent comme surexcités, ce guépard semble lui parfaitement à l’aise. Allongé sur le toit du 4x4 qui transporte ces touristes, il profite de ce moment de pause pour les accompagner lors de leur safari dans la réserve nationale du Masai Mara, au sud-ouest du Kenya. Comme eux, ils sont chaque année de plus en plus nombreux à visiter ce paradis et à découvrir les éléphants, lions et autres girafes. C’est aussi dans ce parc à l’équilibre fragile qu’a lieu la transhumance des zèbres et des gnous qui se rassemblent par milliers et en troupeaux pour traverser ensemble la périlleuse rivière Mara où attendent patiemment crocodiles, lions et guépards. (Abaca)

An out-of-the-ordinary expedition.  Contrary to the excitement of the vehicle’s occupants, this leopard seems languorously at ease as he lounges on the roof of their 4x4. This incredible encounter occurred as the tourists traveled on safari through the Masai Mara National Reserve in southwestern Kenya. More and more tourists come to this paradise each year hoping to glimpse the abundant wildlife, which includes elephants, lions and giraffes. This park is also the site of the famous migration of thousands of zebra and gnu across the river Mara. The waters are filled with patiently waiting crocodiles and hungry lions and leopards wait on the banks.

northwesternu:

Northwestern alumnus and former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens is at the NU Law School today and tomorrow. He will deliver the convocation address at the school’s graduation ceremony tomorrow. [Full Story]

northwesternu:

Vote for Northwestern alum Carly Ciarrocchi, one of ten finalists in CBS Chicago’s Traffic Tryouts contest! Good luck, Carly!

maythefest:

(via northwesternu)

northwesternu:

A rally organized by Medill faculty for James Foley (Medill ‘08) and other journalists detained by Libyan forces was held on campus today. [Full Story]

northwesternu:

Northwestern alum and ESPN analyst Michael Wilbon, who is relatively new to Twitter, just tweeted a photo of his old NU student ID. It seems to lack some of the purple pride of the current WildCARDs…

northwesternu:

A rally for Medill alumnus James Foley and other journalists detained by Libyan forces will be held Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. outside of Crowe Hall. Sign the petition to Help Free James Foley and Clare Gillis! Full story: http://bit.ly/elmqvv

actuallyyourethe47percent:

It’s amazing how many of these begin with ‘I was a paperboy’. 

The newspaper industry is on its last legs. The routes that do exist are generally run by adults…in cars. The fuel you supplied to the robust American economy created a sprawling suburban hell in which a little boy on a bicycle contributes nothing of economic value. 

You worked while in college 45 years ago - back when you could pay your entire college tuition by working part-time. (But let’s face it, you were in the army = you weren’t even paying your 3 figure tuition bill.) 

You spent your life passing from one government sponsored enterprise to another (military, college, ‘putting men on the moon’) oblivious to the fact that you belonged to a uniquely privileged generation where “simi-retired people” who “labor hard during their careers” - that’s to say, marginally competent white people like you - could still live pretty great lives.

Over those years you’ve taken every opportunity to destroy the social and economic infrastructure you benefited from, ensuring that there will never be another generation like yours. And now you spend your golden years wandering back and forth between Tea Party protests and Medicare checkups. And, apparently, posing for Viagra ads.