"Startups take off because the founders make them take off." Paul Graham on doing things that don't scale:
@ycombinator The worst mistake - especially in a market as competitive as payments is to believe users will flock to your platform. Very good read !
@ycombinator theres a pervasive myth out there that if your product is good then it should just grow by itself, like a rock rolling down a hill. and if that's not happening then the product is either not good enough or there's no market
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@ycombinator Me trying to make my startup "take off": Step 1: Build it Step 2: They will come Step 3: *cricket sounds* Step 4: Aggressive LinkedIn posts 🚀
@ycombinator To me, like these extreme knowledges, YC drop is most🔥. If you drill years of experience of past successers, it helps you light up and carve yours.
@ycombinator If you're not the biggest fan of your business, then who else should?
@ycombinator This is the advice that I take to heart
@ycombinator I’m currently building @majlistudio being in the early traction stage, I find this really insightful as I’m still navigating the challenge of landing my first client.
@ycombinator Do you think this is only applicable to the the concept of the idea or do you think success can apply to any start up, even in something that is heavily saturated?
@ycombinator Submitted Fall 2025 application on time (June 25), got a rejection. No proper reason given-definitely not 'seat full, just vague 'many strong applications. Frustrating, but maybe next time
@ycombinator I think i have personally created @usesfxmoneyapp accounts for over 100 people. On the streets, at church on sunday, at the super market, at football practice .. like everywhere 😂😅
@ycombinator Currently brute forcing everyone in my community into trying our beta stage product. It’s a ‘by any means necessary’ approach 😅
@ycombinator This is the truth most founders skip. Startups rarely “just take off.” In the beginning, you do the unscalable work chase users, install the product yourself, push until momentum catches. Scale only comes after the grind ignites the engine.
@ycombinator Very instructive! In summary; don’t wait for your potential customers despite how useful your solution is, go to them and waste no time to get them experience it at their earliest consent.
@ycombinator You have to go out there and market yourself
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@ycombinator Same in sports tech - we manually track athlete data before building scalable systems. Founder hustle first, automation later.
@ycombinator Paul Graham n'a jamais dû négocier avec la CNES ou l'ANRT... Là tu apprends vraiment la patience entrepreneuriale !
@ycombinator What are the best techniques to get your first 1000 users?
@ycombinator yep those early grind days shape everything tbh
@ycombinator Founders gotta grind, no shortcuts to success
@ycombinator Doing things that don’t scale, but when it works, bam! Growth.
@ycombinator Don't worry about other #founders. Take care of your #Findings well if you can and let others do their work. @ycombinator - @GenAiPhilosophy
@ycombinator @grok can you explain Graham's theory and quote here
@ycombinator fuck off with your founders rubbish.