Paul Graham on why startups should deliberately choose hard problems:
@ycombinator Paul says this from his VC point of view, for him it makes only sense to invest into startup working on hard problems only, he makes 100 bets to get 2 winners, the rest just go bust, but as a founder, you gamble with less than 1% chance to win going after hard problems
@ycombinator hard problem for me right now is reading those squeezed blocks of text.
@ycombinator Teams that tackle impossible problems develop capabilities that can't be hired. The collective learning becomes an irreplaceable competitive advantage.
@ycombinator Interesting. Choosing hard problems can force innovation and create defensible moats.
@ycombinator This hits hard! But does it still apply to most YC startups today? A lot of companies in recent cohorts seem more like they're running around than running upstairs.
@ycombinator If a solution is super easy, it would probably be solved already.
@ycombinator This thing I'm working on is hard to the point I'm not 100% sure the tech is there to do what I want it to do. Will find out :)
@ycombinator this is the best justification I've heard for either going more towards the hardware direction or the very technical ML direction but no where in between the middle ground of npm gluers & next js apps is the most competitive and arguable has already been over saturated
How does a startup answer the question: couldn’t Google just do this? When is the answer to that question ever truly “they can’t”? It’s a question I get most often from people outside tech/startups. One answer is because they’re just busy making unlimited profit elsewhere. But unless we’re talking about a fundamental breakthrough, if they truly wanted to, surely they could.
@ycombinator I've found this strategy works. My toughest technical challenges created the most defensible moats for my business.
@ycombinator is difficulty measured only in terms of how hard it is to build the product? or is it also measured in terms of how hard it is to capture a certain market? or another factor like you being the sole owner of a patented technology that is used in building that product?
@ycombinator views must be down, this is the oldest trick in the book
@ycombinator Why don’t he choose hard problem himself?
@ycombinator The definition of MOAT has been changed by AI
@ycombinator Totally agree with this. If you aren't solving hard problems you are 1. not following in the joy, adventure and nature of having a startup and 2. you make the most impact!
@ycombinator Even economy by design reward solvers of hard problems...rightly so...shouldn't they be?
@ycombinator It was meant to be hard, if it wasn't it wouldn't be worth it. x.com/ExclusivoOne/s…
@ycombinator It was meant to be hard, if it wasn't it wouldn't be worth it. x.com/ExclusivoOne/s…
@ycombinator love that you guys started posting PG content. THE BEST
@ycombinator Choosing a tough problem from the start definitely feels a lot riskier. But the eventual payoff is in a different league if you can actually crack it. Not everyone has got the stomach for it, but then most dont make history.
@ycombinator Deliberately choosing tougher issues could scare off some founders, but it is the only real path to unique breakthroughs. Too often, teams look for easy wins and then blame failure on the challenge itself.
@ycombinator Been using this strategy for years. The harder path often has less competition and more defensibility.
@ycombinator Hard problems feel painful while you fight them, but they build a wall no competitor can climb. If it’s easy to copy, it isn’t worth building.
@ycombinator How hard would this be for someone else to develop? - The question that changed the perspective of company valuation
@ycombinator Whoever this guy is, he’s smart. Bright future.
@ycombinator I think the key thing is here chasing hard problems not immovable markets.
@ycombinator The truth is as a 5 ppl startup we don't really have any advantages - we are just going all-in on early markets that big companies don't even bother with
