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Founders: #276 Paul Graham’s Essays Part 2

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What I learned from reading Paul Graham’s essays. ---- Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com ---- [4:01] You don't want to start a startup to do something that everyone agrees is a good idea, or there will already be other companies doing it. You have but that you know isn't to do something that sounds to most other people like a bad idea. [5:20] The independent-minded are often unaware how different their ideas are from conventional ones, at least till they state them publicly. [6:20] Founders find themselves able to speak more freely with founders of other companies than with their own employees. [7:40] There are intellectual fashions too, and you definitely don't want to participate in those. Because unfashionable ideas are disproportionately likely to lead somewhere interesting. The best place to find undiscovered ideas is where no one else is looking. [8:30] How much does the work you're currently doing engage your curiosity? If the answer is "not much," maybe you should change something. [9:00] How To Think For Yourself by Paul Graham [9:00] How To Work Hard by Paul Graham [10:00] Hackers and Painters by Paul Graham [11:00] Paul o

[00:00] A: There are some kinds of work that you can't do well without thinking differently from your peers. Your ideas have to be both correct and novel. You see this pattern with startup founders. You don't want to start a startup to do something that everyone agrees is a good idea, or there will already be other companies doing it. You have to do something that sounds to most other people like a bad idea, but that you know isn't. Like writing software for a tiny computer used by a few thousand hobbyists, or starting a site to let people rent air beds or strangers floors. He's referencing…

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