#  @shiftj JC JC posts on X about if you, in the, yc, business the most. They currently have [-----] followers and [---] posts still getting attention that total [------] engagements in the last [--] hours. ### Engagements: [------] [#](/creator/twitter::1949876731957141504/interactions)  - [--] Week [----------] +21,686% - [--] Month [----------] +3,875% - [--] Months [----------] +38,204% ### Mentions: [--] [#](/creator/twitter::1949876731957141504/posts_active)  - [--] Week [--] +350% - [--] Month [--] -9.70% - [--] Months [---] +286% ### Followers: [-----] [#](/creator/twitter::1949876731957141504/followers)  - [--] Week [-----] +4.20% - [--] Month [-----] +12% - [--] Months [-----] +1,109% ### CreatorRank: [-------] [#](/creator/twitter::1949876731957141504/influencer_rank)  ### Social Influence **Social category influence** [finance](/list/finance) 13.08% [technology brands](/list/technology-brands) 8.41% [stocks](/list/stocks) 1.87% [social networks](/list/social-networks) 0.93% **Social topic influence** [if you](/topic/if-you) 16.82%, [in the](/topic/in-the) 13.08%, [yc](/topic/yc) #26, [business](/topic/business) 9.35%, [this is](/topic/this-is) 5.61%, [$1m](/topic/$1m) 5.61%, [the most](/topic/the-most) 5.61%, [build](/topic/build) 5.61%, [company](/topic/company) 5.61%, [openclaw](/topic/openclaw) #476 **Top accounts mentioned or mentioned by** [@madanchaolla](/creator/undefined) [@hthieblot](/creator/undefined) [@agazdecki](/creator/undefined) [@martingtobias](/creator/undefined) [@steipete](/creator/undefined) [@asmartbear](/creator/undefined) [@harrystebbings](/creator/undefined) [@thesalondon](/creator/undefined) [@alexcooldev](/creator/undefined) [@senkorasic](/creator/undefined) [@craigzliszt](/creator/undefined) [@neatprompts](/creator/undefined) [@vasuman](/creator/undefined) [@cormachayden](/creator/undefined) [@abhinavstwt](/creator/undefined) [@finke](/creator/undefined) [@hnshah](/creator/undefined) [@tkexpress11](/creator/undefined) [@forgebitz](/creator/undefined) [@gregisenberg](/creator/undefined) **Top assets mentioned** [Qualtrics International Inc. (XM)](/topic/$xm) ### Top Social Posts Top posts by engagements in the last [--] hours "The fundamentals of a good YC application never change. (deadline in [--] days) Here's a few: 1/ Clarity Accuracy Stop trying to over explain your startup. Try to simplify the hell out of it. Counter intuitive but simple gets funded. Complex gets blank stares. 2/ Big traction small amount of time Show real proof your thing is working preferably in a short amount of time. LOIs contracts revenue sign ups launches builds - anything that shows youre moving fast and making impact. Thats the type of founder that gets funded. 3/ Large TAM bottom up calculation. Investors want big markets. Preferably" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/2018718279221858336) 2026-02-03T16:08Z [----] followers, 53.5K engagements "Im not a YC Reviewer (whatever that is) but my DMs are full and cant help everyone so. To save my DMs heres a few themes I saw in the last round of reviews. Ive just reviewed another handful of YC applications heres a few more themes that stood out. 1/ Your traction is your story A lot of traction statements feel like an after thought. List of stale bullet points no story. This is your main story - own it. In the past X Ive just reviewed another handful of YC applications heres a few more themes that stood out. 1/ Your traction is your story A lot of traction statements feel like an after" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2019437622381416884) 2026-02-05T15:47Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Commitment is the #1 founder skill. The difference between a hobbyist and a founder is not ideas not a website and not incorporation docs. Its commitment. Its waking up and doing the hard thing for months. Its continuing to row while you're lost at sea. Its doing what it takes to get the job done" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/2020532983514677495) 2026-02-08T16:19Z [----] followers, 10.8K engagements "My feed is 80% Openclaw. Everything from wrappers and tools to dating apps. An entire ecosystem was born in just a few weeks. This speed feels unprecedented. Founders launching mere hours after dreaming up the idea - users the next day. Good founders are fast and this speed is impressive. Speed is the #2 founder skill. The difference between a good and great founder is in their speed. Their ability to build conviction quickly and act immediately after. To take the results and whip it into the next set of actions Some folks toil over decisions while others made Speed is the #2 founder skill." [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/2021597582783578413) 2026-02-11T14:49Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "YC partner once told me: Fear the right things. Dont agonize over advisors investors conferences followers or any of that small stuff - they dont make a noticeable difference in your success. Here are the [--] things you should fear: your product sucking no one wants to use it those who use dont pay those who pay dont stay So if youve got happy users paying you then youve got all the options in the world. If you dont Then rest doesnt matter the companys dead anyways. You don't need to be a YC company to be successful. But acting like one certainly helps. Characteristics of top YC founders: -" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2021955059228324354) 2026-02-12T14:30Z [----] followers, 61.2K engagements "Made a guest appearance in a 'founder accountability' group this week. I was amazed with how poorly it went. 1/ Why it went poorly They went around the table and talked about what they "accomplished". They talked about what they did the actions they took and the people they talked to. I didn't hear a single tangible outcome. 2/ Here's why that sucked Not a single person talked about outcomes. Todos action items conversations. None of that is actual progress - that's busy work. Even more dangerous if you're conflating the two. If you talk proudly about todos every week you'll miss the fact you" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2022779212986487052) 2026-02-14T21:05Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "A bit about me: YC Alum. Eng turned CEO. - I raised $3m in [--] days. - No decks. No board seats. - I built to $1m+ ARR - Turned it profitable - Now spinning off more companies Follow if you want unfiltered founder takes. The kind of stuff founders can't talk about" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/1950646487576449518) 2025-07-30T19:55Z [----] followers, 15K engagements "Sales. You sell customers investors potential hires. Hell. you even sell your mom so she stops worrying about you. Better put: If you can't sell you're pretty f*cked. -- Is that ROI or necessity As a founder what skill has the most ROI As a founder what skill has the most ROI" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/2023104185286512802) 2026-02-15T18:36Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Ive just reviewed another handful of YC applications heres a few more themes that stood out. 1/ Your traction is your story A lot of traction statements feel like an after thought. List of stale bullet points no story. This is your main story - own it. In the past X time weve done insert list of amazing things. Weve seen customers insert proof it works and even insert amazing customer validation. We got so many users we couldnt invited them fast enough. It should read like a founders who capturing wins left and right. Force a double take. 2/ Traction = Action Too many traction statements are" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/1987228352009412940) 2025-11-08T18:38Z [----] followers, 53K engagements "As a YC founder I've now watched [--] close friends build multi-billion dollar companies. Here's a few things that surprised me: 1/ it can be anyone There's nothing special about these guys. They're smart committed and work hard. But they're not geniuses. They just figured it out as they went. There's often a perception that unicorn founders are special cases or natural geniuses. In reality they struck on something and held on for dear life as it started to get it's own legs. 2/ growth creates spend not the other way around When you compare a unicorn to a slower growing company you realize" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2011090359179243591) 2026-01-13T14:58Z [----] followers, 114.3K engagements "Speed is the #2 founder skill. The difference between a good and great founder is in their speed. Their ability to build conviction quickly and act immediately after. To take the results and whip it into the next set of actions Some folks toil over decisions while others made them in the blink of an eye. While one waits for the perfect moment the other is already out there getting ahead. In this world the tortoise never win. Commitment is the #1 founder skill. The difference between a hobbyist and a founder is not ideas not a website and not incorporation docs. Its commitment. Its waking up" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/2021245149926523238) 2026-02-10T15:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "The most common pattern Ive seen in successful YC founders is speed. Its without a doubt the biggest tell. The craziest part Its only getting faster. The time between insight and action is unusually small borderline irresponsible. It seems chaotic at first until you realize it all compounds. Heres what it looks like: 1/ Turning a learning into a decision in hours not weeks. Hunting for learnings lessons and breadcrumbs of PMF. Aggressively turning those breadcrumbs into concrete decisions. Its not a passive search youre actively looking for things to act on. 2/ Turning a decision into action" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/2022347519574024480) 2026-02-13T16:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@MadanChaolla I did not but doesnt surprise me" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2023116700649230596) 2026-02-15T19:26Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "This past week Ive received dozens of DMs asking for YC application reviews. Theres a clear pattern between great applications and bad ones. 1/ Good applications use simple language. Bad applications use buzzwords. 2/ Good applications are easy to read. Bad applications are very dense. 3/ Good applications have impressive traction. Bad applications have little to none. 4/ Good applications make their product sound simple. Bad applications make their product sound complex" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/1986199396414107718) 2025-11-05T22:30Z [----] followers, 80.5K engagements "@MartinGTobias As an investor what are you coding" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2023104741149196717) 2026-02-15T18:38Z [----] followers, [--] engagements "@senkorasic If you asked me to choose between customer love and sales I wouldnt be able to Sales impossible without love. Love without sales and no one will know you. Openclaw has both @steipete has been on a sales roadshow the past few weeks" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2023121518532940067) 2026-02-15T19:45Z [----] followers, [--] engagements "If Openclaw is acquired will it be the fastest highest valuation exit. ever They don't even have a business model. Goes to show you - customer love is everything. Feels like OpenClaw will be acquired by OpenAI. Events around this has been quite interesting: @steipete calls his open source agent operating system Clawd works on it day and night for it clear tribute to Claude Clawd gets popular Claude strikes with lawyers Peter Feels like OpenClaw will be acquired by OpenAI. Events around this has been quite interesting: @steipete calls his open source agent operating system Clawd works on it" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2023098087259218156) 2026-02-15T18:12Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "At this point you can replace 'investor' with practically any other job. I just met up with a group of recent YC founders. The way they are using AI internally is mind boggling. I've never seen anything like it. If you're not using AI the world will soon be a tough place for you. https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2023098613392691699 https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2023098613392691699" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2023098613392691699) 2026-02-15T18:14Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@MadanChaolla Petes got a prev acq under his belt I dont think hell do it for the $$ but the extra reach. Well see" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2023122356454248845) 2026-02-15T19:48Z [----] followers, [--] engagements "If you can't make it with $500k you won't make it with $500m. Cash doesn't solve problems it only accelerates what's working or buys you time to figure it out. Big Raise = Success. We did YC W24 survived on $500k and still havent burned through it. Were now a team of [--]. If $500k cant get you to real signal the problem isnt capital. We did YC W24 survived on $500k and still havent burned through it. Were now a team of [--]. If $500k cant get you to real signal the problem isnt capital" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2023134469822267715) 2026-02-15T20:37Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "OpenClaw acquired by OpenAI. That was fast. Peter bootstrapped OpenClaw unprofitably at a $10-20k/mo loss. This was his second acquisition. First exit for $116m second undisclosed. Build something people want. Crazy things may happen. Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI to drive the next generation of personal agents. He is a genius with a lot of amazing ideas about the future of very smart agents interacting with each other to do very useful things for people. We expect this will quickly become core to our Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI to drive the next generation of personal agents." [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/2023167894256074848) 2026-02-15T22:49Z [----] followers, 58.5K engagements "@MadanChaolla I just wonder what this means for OpenClaw. I just started enjoying my setup" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/2023170168541847837) 2026-02-15T22:58Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "As someone whos done both Ive seen both sides. Neither is easier or harder than the other they are different. It also depends on what you mean by building. Sure building a startup with no money is harder. Building a billion dollar company is infinitely harder than bootstrapping to $1m though. Just depends I guess" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1983939066346250683) 2025-10-30T16:48Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@craigzLiszt A VC takes many bets while a founder bets everything" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1984763531116552319) 2025-11-01T23:24Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@neatprompts As a CEO i have endlesss open loops. Never thought about their relationship to my energy though. Ive always used priority and focus (allowing open loops to not bother me) but perhaps closing them out could work too. Worth a test I guess" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/1985033722794758599) 2025-11-02T17:18Z [----] followers, 24.1K engagements "I woke up reminiscing about the days I couldnt pay my rent. Most stressful and embarrassing time of my life. My gf had to front the bills thousands in debt and no tangible end in sight. I had a coach at the time and talked about closing shop. I was so stressed I walked in the snow for hours ruminating on the decision. Feel ill I was out there so long. I decided Id go down swinging. One day at a time until I couldnt do it anymore. A few more emails a few more calls a few more demos. Just keep going. We closed our first customer a few days later. Then the next one. Soon enough I had my pitch" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1985378073169232290) 2025-11-03T16:06Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@vasuman Meta swe will look you dead in the face and say their job is hard" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1985734606738637310) 2025-11-04T15:43Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "I think a lot of folks bashing the pivot dont really understand the bet thats going on here. Core competency is attention not necessarily product. And theyre damn good at attention. Its like bashing Mr. Beast for selling candy bars because. chocolate is saturated They sold $250m worth of chocolate but if you think its a chocolate company youve missed the point. The point is: how far can an attention-first company go And Im very interested to see what the answer is" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1986140914176409992) 2025-11-05T18:37Z [----] followers, 23.2K engagements "The thing to know about successful founders is that their story is always retrofitted. It's a modified history of what actually happened. They always start with an insight a turning point and the moment they knew they were going to be big. But what's missing from nearly every story is the heartache. The moments of self doubt. Staring in the mirror not knowing wtf to do. The countless times they were on the verge of quitting. Hell. even the ones who claim the illustrious 'lightbulb moment' never even had it - it just makes for a better story if they did. There's a thousand incentives to" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1986507311431708741) 2025-11-06T18:53Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@cormachayden_ I raised and scaled to millions with zero followers. Contrary to popular belief scrolling and posting isn't the best use of time" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1986509996054695997) 2025-11-06T19:04Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Everyone loves the idea of being a founder until. Youre on your 149th rejection. Friends calls it your little project Rent is due but youve got no money Your only user says not worth paying for You spent [--] year and got nowhere What did I miss" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1988634799280439599) 2025-11-12T15:47Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "PSA for first time founders: If you focus all your efforts on customer acquisition you'll eventually crack it. If your sole goal in the world was to find and close customers you'll do it. You'll build the right features you'll learn the right skills you'll drop your favorite parts of the product for the ones users actually want. The problem is usually in the form of 1/ Rigid thinking Let's be real. Your idea sucks. So does mine. It always does. There's no getting around that. You can't be too rigid with your idea or your product or you'll miss the gold mine right next to it. You've got to be" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1989351318146957713) 2025-11-14T15:14Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@asmartbear NRR is more important to me than ARR. when i see the $Xm in 12mo companies my first question is always 1) whats churn 2) whats NRR to understand the efficiency of that growth and how longstanding it will be" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1995184753914659196) 2025-11-30T17:34Z [----] followers, [--] engagements "The #1 YC Application mistake I see is trying to sound impressive in your one-liner. You fill the page with this and that hoping something lands. But at this stage Clarity cleverness. The first thing partners need to know is what youre building. If thats unclear the rest of your application doesnt make much sense. If you cant say what you do in a simple statement its probably too complicated. The fundamentals of a good YC application never change. (deadline in [--] days) Here's a few: 1/ Clarity Accuracy Stop trying to over explain your startup. Try to simplify the hell out of it. Counter" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/2019072782995488958) 2026-02-04T15:37Z [----] followers, 18.2K engagements "I caved yesterday. bought a mac studio. a beefy one to run local inference. had to see for myself what all the hype was about. Result: I've never seen the future so clearly before. cancelled my calls didn't sleep automated most of my morning rituals - and then some. daily standup kpi round up for sales customer slack summaries daily ideas for twitter posts weekly tee times to book weekly restaurants to try still hungry for more use cases. u have any https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2019180833614229837 https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2019180833614229837" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/2019180833614229837) 2026-02-04T22:46Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Its a mistake for founders to treat fundraising like milestones. Sprinting towards the next raise has killed more startups than its helped. Heres how it happens: 1/ If you hit xyz metric well invest Founders get excited. They gear the whole company towards that goal thinking its a guaranteed investment. 2/ You hit the metric Thats great but. Insert the next random milestone. The next excuse. The next reason they cant invest now but might later. Meanwhile you cant make payroll. I cant count how many personal friends ran straight into this trap. Its better to aim for profitability than the next" [X Link](https://x.com/anyuser/status/2019823430795948354) 2026-02-06T17:20Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@HarryStebbings You become unhinged in the process of becoming a decacorn founder. They may not all have started that way" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1950619492519911530) 2025-07-30T18:08Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@hthieblot Ive coached dozens of founders through the YC process (90% hit rate so far). Everyone struggles with a clear one liner and its painful to watch" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1950709211865940399) 2025-07-31T00:04Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@TheSalonDon Most successful founders I know dont play the game for money. They do it for freedom. I quit my job when I needed approval to take vacation. Fuck that" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1951043796927652228) 2025-07-31T22:14Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@TheSalonDon The irony is I take far less vacations I did back then. I just work where I want. When I want" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1951069343879668115) 2025-07-31T23:55Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@Abhinavstwt I dont care if you build in public. Not one bit. If youre a great engineer I will hire you. Full stop. No exceptions. Focus on your skills not your flash" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1951410424412287043) 2025-08-01T22:31Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@finke These are the worst people to brainstorm with. There are a thousand ways to shoot down an idea. Its not hard. My mom could do that. Figuring out how it could work Thats the hard part. Finding someone to dream with is far more fun. Far more helpful" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1951797205666554036) 2025-08-03T00:08Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@hthieblot Unfortunate reality is that this plays a big part in their decision making. Has nothing to do with odds of success. Especially working in big tech. Theres near zero correlation to the skills you need to be successful" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1951866409522217430) 2025-08-03T04:43Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@hthieblot I started as an intern. Within [--] years I helped them scale to millions of users as director of engineering. The quality of the person matters more than their title" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1952149977968550169) 2025-08-03T23:29Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@hthieblot Great founders know more about you than you might know about yourself. Youll see it in their sales process. They state the problems you have but couldnt verbalize. They predict the next words youre going to say. They obsess over this problem youre dealing with" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1952380523202117883) 2025-08-04T14:46Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@hthieblot A buddy of mine raised about $5m. Started flying first class. Rented a mansion as an Airbnb. Bought a car. Needless to say hes not in business anymore" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1952505891892441097) 2025-08-04T23:04Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@agazdecki Your job as a founder is to shamelessly sell* your product everyday. You sell to customers new hires investors. Hell. you sell to your mom so she stops worrying about you. Sell. Sell. Sell" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1952735138825314412) 2025-08-05T14:15Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "Cold outbound is my favorite way to start with an idea. - forces you to write your value - forces you to define your audience - teaches you EXACTLY what lands - gives you direct and honest feedback - its the hardest to crack. - So if you do. Youve know youve got something. - Its scalable once you crack it - Its not easily copied or replicated - Its a fully-owned channel This sh*t works" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1952809234187567234) 2025-08-05T19:09Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "The hardest part of being a founder is: - working hard not knowing if it will pay off. - nothings working but you cant stop. - debating if you suck or your idea does - the fact no one can tell you how to win - seeing others grow while you struggle - wondering if youre going to make it - that moment youve failed 5x in a row - insecurity that youre not cut out Ive raised millions grown to millions. These feelings never go away. Not fully. But one day youll pick your head up and realize they dont matter. You just have to keep moving" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1953094384653938695) 2025-08-06T14:02Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@alexcooldev Consistency is so hard because you get in your own way. Your brain wants progress. It wants dopamine. Consistency is boring. Find a way to grab small wins daily. Thats the key to staying in business. It worked for me and virtually every successful YC founder I know" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1953095233601966161) 2025-08-06T14:06Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "So. just watched non-SaaS non VC-backed boring business buddy sell his business for millions. We started at the same time. He took no investors. All that cash is his 100%. Multi million acquisition" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1953099144865755350) 2025-08-06T14:21Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@agazdecki God bless the solo founders. That's hard work. You don't need a cofounder but I'm very glad I have one. I couldn't sell build raise hire manage and support all by myself. I don't have that dog in me. I respect the hell out of whoever can" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1953149386973954561) 2025-08-06T17:41Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "If you just applied to YC the job isn't done yet. Between now and you're interview you're expected to make progress. Aim for 2x better numbers by the time your interview arrives. That will position you well" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1953562122505322909) 2025-08-07T21:01Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "The market is the biggest distinguishing factor Ive seen in virtually all YC founders. Ive met: - dumb dumbs who are the most successful - geniuses who are going out of business - hustlers who cant crack a deal Market is by far the biggest difference. Its the difference between getting stuck at $10k MRR vs. soaring to $5m ARR in the blink of an eye" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1953819529349673061) 2025-08-08T14:04Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "For those of you grinding realize this: - Ive tried to build many businesses - Ive quit on many businesses - Ive failed on many businesses By now every one of those businesses is a success. Built by another founder. I tried the wrong things and quit too early. But I never make the same mistake twice. Keep at it" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1954274737074454793) 2025-08-09T20:13Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "Ive coached dozens of YC founders with a 90% acceptance rate. Most applications fail because of two simple questions. Get them wrong and youre out. Get them right and youre in the game. Heres how to answer them (and what theyre really asking) 👇" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1954891235585327590) 2025-08-11T13:02Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Founders: You should have [--] pitches ready at all times. [--]. Pitch to investors [--]. Pitch to customers [--]. Pitch to friends and family [--]. Pitch to potential hires Each pitch is very different depending on the audience" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1955318376680587282) 2025-08-12T17:20Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "If youre pricing too low youre missing out on key insights. 💡 Pricing complaints = learnings. When someone complains about price its usually because they: Dont understand the value yet (fix messaging) Arent your target customer (fix targetting) Arent getting enough value for them (fix product)" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1955706127217234060) 2025-08-13T19:00Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "Heres what passion looks like to me: - waking up at 5am excited to get to work - so zoned in you forgot to eat lunch - needing to sleep but dont want to stop - finally sleeping and still dreaming about your project One of my favorite feelings. Anyone else" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1956037580161737118) 2025-08-14T16:57Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "Unpopular belief: You should not over explain your startup. The more you say the more you're giving away. The more you give away the more surface area in which you look weak. If given the chance VCs will peak under every rock. As an early stage startup you definitely don't want that" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1957533283064909863) 2025-08-18T20:01Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "Friday Wrap Up: - Did you accomplish what you set out to - What key lessons came from this week - What's going to make nexts week more impactful" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1958877323517739406) 2025-08-22T13:02Z [----] followers, [--] engagements "If you did NOT make it into YC don't worry. - It took us multiple attempts - Many many investors shot us down - Repeatedly told this will never work All part of the process" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1958922543131500622) 2025-08-22T16:01Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@agazdecki I never realized how many existential crisis I'd have to deal with as a founder. - Losing PMF - Star employee leaving - Investor pulling out - Market downturn - Ads doubling in price - .insert endless list" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1963265791136039378) 2025-09-03T15:40Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@hnshah As a product-founder myself this was the hardest thing to learn. The product did not scale us to $1m+. The distribution did. A great product is just table stakes" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1963660432272687108) 2025-09-04T17:48Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "There's a lot of my founder friends who became founders because they couldn't find a job. The lack of options is a surprising advantage for founders. They simply have no choice but to keep going" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1964418511641481594) 2025-09-06T20:00Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@asmartbear As a product person I was sad and humbled when I first learned this lesson. The truth is: the best product does not win the best distributed does. Having a great product can accelerate or detract from distribution but it cannot create it on its own" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1967734098048524602) 2025-09-15T23:35Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@tkexpress11 You should be interviewing them just as much as they interview you. Too many founders feel they are lucky to be have booked the call. In reality they should feel lucky to have met you" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1969073722406391825) 2025-09-19T16:18Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@forgebitz Marketing is always a zero sum game. Being the first is novel until it becomes spam. That's why so much startup advice is wrong the moment you hear it" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1970876200458600926) 2025-09-24T15:41Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "Ive always said: hard work is the easy part You think its hard to work [--] hour days No no. Thats the easy part. The hard part is second guessing yourself every hour. The hard part is not knowing if it will pay off. The hard part is knowing its probably a waste. The hard part is constantly failing. The hard part is watching everyone else progress. Theres a thousand harder things than [--] hour days. If thats all it took then every gym rat would be a billionaire" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1975169135563719145) 2025-10-06T11:59Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@MartinGTobias Frankly it sounds like his mistake was contradicting himself not his initial TAM calculation. One big problem with VCs is they ask for truth while funding exaggerators" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1976109658072023422) 2025-10-09T02:17Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@agazdecki Unfortunate truth: The best products dont win the best distributed do" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1976358377367404690) 2025-10-09T18:45Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@gregisenberg Engineer + Sales is a killer combo. You forward deploy yourself and crush 6-figure contracts" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1977034503605653541) 2025-10-11T15:32Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@chrishlad Half your competition never starts. The other half quits in the first [--] months. Not many left standing after a while. Its really a battle against yourself. Willingness to act. Willingness to keep failing in a public fashion. Until at some point it turns around" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1977519726374142089) 2025-10-12T23:40Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@pmitu very hot take: 9/10 startups fail because 9/10 founders don't have what it takes. I feel bad even writing it" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1978156666685145412) 2025-10-14T17:51Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "As a YC founder I have to respectfully disagree. This is true for folks who apply with only an idea and no traction. Theres not much else to base your claim on so of course background will play a larger role. That said if you bring a real business with growth traction and proof then background matters far less I personally had little to no pedigree when I was accepted I brought a real business instead. In either case you need to prove yourself (and yes sell yourself) thats the commonality" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1978183871528333537) 2025-10-14T19:39Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "Its substantially easier to give others advice. Theres no emotional ties no bias no fear. Things are simpler if youre talking about someone else. Ive found mental hacks like this to work quite well in many aspects. Even professional athletes often create alter egos they take on before a game. It helps separate yourself from the outcome lowering bias and emotions/fear so you can operate more objectively. Its not me doing this its Mike Pretty similar to this strategy" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1978226607782551694) 2025-10-14T22:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Sitting from the sidelines and judging someone who gave it their all is such a weak move. I took the same path as your friend. I raised millions scaled to millions and now own a profitable business with unlimited runway. The only thing that got in the way were friends like you - introducing doubt and judgement" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1979224291582579058) 2025-10-17T16:33Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Im constantly surprised with YC startups finding success even in the crowded areas. For example @emergentlabs in vibe coding apps. Making waves in a space that felt crowded. Are you sure we need contrarian bets Feels the market is so new you can compete even where it feels crowded" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1979325083744448838) 2025-10-17T23:14Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@awilkinson Is it a hustle The premise seems to be that VCs havent done the math but presumably they understand the full play and take the risk alongside the founder right Worst case is a 1x payback especially given the profitability of these companies" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1979558143614189597) 2025-10-18T14:40Z [----] followers, 34.7K engagements "@alexcooldev The market matters more than both of them. 10% product 10% marketing 80% market Great product terrible market = failure. Bad product great market = success. The market is like a tide. You can ride it. But you cant fight it" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1979574399008485780) 2025-10-18T15:44Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@drewlevinn As a YC founder it's a bit annoying to see credit taken like this but I also know tags like this help my team close more deals and open more opportunity so. love hate relationship. It's never about the titles or accolades anyways so not worth hating on it" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1980358971761500661) 2025-10-20T19:42Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "As a founder I absolutely hate pessimism especially when it comes to new ideas. So many people think theyre smart by finding ways to shoot down an idea. They dont realize thats the easy part. My mom can do that. Finding how it can work is more impressive. That takes true skill. Its also far more pleasurable to work with dreamers than pessimists" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1980476408704143412) 2025-10-21T03:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "After raising millions and scaling to millions I've learned that. Talent doesn't matter. Intelligence doesn't matter. Long hours don't matter. What matters is your ability to keep moving when everything looks grim. Being able to stop yourself from quitting. That's the thing that matters. You'll figure the rest out over time" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1981482214450987131) 2025-10-23T22:05Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@HarryStebbings Finally a VC speaking some sense. Not sure whats happened recently but the focus on $2m in [--] days has been disappointing to say the least. Bad incentives for founders when you create targets like this" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1982122360418283749) 2025-10-25T16:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@austinxwalker How to pitch your startup: show a large amount of traction in a small amount of time. Pair that with a bottom up calculation of TAM which equates to $5B+" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1982124191353565207) 2025-10-25T16:36Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "YC applications open. We were rejected the 1st time accepted the 2nd. Theres a method to the madness. Some basics: High traction short amount of time Clear writing use data to support extremely clear one-liner extremely clear unique insight bottom up TAM calculation Most importantly: dont worry if you dont get in. Revenue is still the only thing that matters. YC should not make or break your company. Applications for the YC Winter [----] batch are now open Apply by November 10: https://t.co/gNl84El3BS https://t.co/H9yEOuCwR5 Applications for the YC Winter [----] batch are now open Apply by" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1983183897199247825) 2025-10-28T14:47Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@julianweisser Ive probably met thousands of founders at this point. The most successful ones always have something wrong with them. Some form of chip on their shoulder" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1983334684777218400) 2025-10-29T00:46Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "Anything that creates founder wealth increases the number of people who attempt to be founders and as a result increases innovation. More wealthy founders = more innovation Even seeing that story of open ai has just spurred a new wave of founders inspired to give a shot. This is a subtle but important driving force of innovation. That + available capital" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1983939486632300679) 2025-10-30T16:50Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "YC tries to filter out tire kickers. The startup tourists who arent serious. Hell. they do it so well they boot good founders in the process. So dont be a tourist. Bring speed traction and proof of dedication. And let that shine through" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1984292437658120235) 2025-10-31T16:12Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "@bhalligan [--]. Things dont get more comfortable as time goes on. If they do something is wrong. [--]. Youre responsible for every decision and seldom have enough data to make it" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1984346006755115101) 2025-10-31T19:45Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Things that surprise first-time Founders and CEOs that werent on Brians list. [--]. Youre scared shitless but have to stand up and convey confidence [--]. Youre often expected to know the answer but youve got no clue [--]. Every problem eventually becomes your problem. [--]. You only get the hardest unsolvable problems. [--]. You have to fire people you like even if you wont want to. [--]. PMF is not forever. Once found you must fight to keep it. [--]. The feeling that your company will fail doesnt ever go away not fully at least. [--]. You fail so often you grow numb to it [--]. Your failures have direct impact on" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1984350104074264640) 2025-10-31T20:01Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Did we not see this coming Its a hype cycle company. Cheating helped create a hype factory but at some point they need a real product. Thought theyd produce something better than another note taker though. i love to see different ways of company build so I was rooting for them. Guess thats what you get from an influencer-run company. Great at hype poor at product. Lets see how it plays out they may surprise us even still" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1984702634130096457) 2025-11-01T19:22Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "PSA for first time founders: this life is harder than anyone lets on. Ive raised millions scaled millions. Heres what I wish I knew this before starting my first company. This is what to expect" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1984779555094282401) 2025-11-02T00:28Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "I love the intent of what youre saying here but $1m business is still in its risky infancy. Unfortunately its difficult to coast a business as well often leading to degradation in company performance. Which leads me back to $1m being in a risky zone since its not much to work with especially if revenue declines. The main reason is in order to work less save a lot invest like hell and retire - youll likely need a team to keep the engine running (depends on the business of course). So with all that $1m doesnt leave you much to work with. TLDR; I love what youre sayin but a few gotchas mixed in" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1985031936709161417) 2025-11-02T17:11Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "@jaynitx A massive thing I teach founders is the danger of hustle culture. Shutting out friends staying in zoning in too hard. Youll wake up successful lonely and more depressed than you started" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1985032498095735293) 2025-11-02T17:13Z [----] followers, 13.4K engagements "I hate when people misconstrue working hard vs progress. Putting in more hours is easy. Youre not a hero by working through your Sunday. Best performers rest. (I learned this the hard way)" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1985118431675642081) 2025-11-02T22:54Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "As a founder Im always surprised to see the hype around $10k/mo. Its a very risky position without much room for error or margin to hire support. Even at $1m theres not much buffer. Folks think its $10k/mo and youve made it not realizing how difficult that stage really is. As you said at that point you havent even figured out the basics" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1985387351309529379) 2025-11-03T16:43Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Ive coached dozens of YC founders through the application process (90% hit rate). Biggest mistake is being too complex trying to sound impressive. Its not. Its better to focus on: [--]. Clarity Accuracy. Extremely clear one-liner. [--]. Traction. Big traction small amount of time. [--]. Clear proof points. Use data not verbose explanations" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1985422445998993520) 2025-11-03T19:02Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "As a YC founder I read this and think - this is why so many YC companies succeed. These are the most common company killers. YC does a good job of teaching them. YC founders do a good job of avoiding them. Simply put: these lessons helps us stay alive long enough to figure sh*t out. Great write up" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1986108538465489345) 2025-11-05T16:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "A couple good rules of thumb for YC and fundraising in general: [--]. Clarity Accuracy Stop trying to over explain your startup. Try to simplify the hell out of it. Counter intuitive but simple gets funded. Complex gets blank stares. [--]. Big traction small amount of time Show real proof your thing is working preferably in a short amount of time. LOIs contracts revenue sign ups launches builds - anything that shows youre moving fast and making impact. Thats the type of founder that gets funded. [--]. Large TAM bottom up calculation. Investors want big markets. Preferably $5B+ but that bar gets" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1986199398557360454) 2025-11-05T22:30Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "The trick is to find a great CTO. My CTO pushes our sales team to sell first. Yes even if it doesnt exist. He gets mad if we dont. Because he knows theres no point in building if it hasnt been validated. Getting some sales is a quick and easy way to prove what needs to be build. Then - the minute we sell - hes on a rampage to deliver but not a moment before. More founder should act like our CTO" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1986468262935511521) 2025-11-06T16:18Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "You know how people say lock in for [--] months it will change your life I locked in for [--] years. No weekends. No breaks. Just worked. Does that sound impressive to you Because it sounds incredibly stupid to me. It was an immature way of working that was very clearly unsustainable. 1st time founders: Hustle Grind Repeat founders: Rest. Gain clarity. Theres a reason for this. [--]. You burn out [--]. You make terrible decisions [--]. You lose friends family and the good stuff of life. When this happens you suffer. When you suffer your business suffers. Often times it feels more comfortable to put your" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1987201675569078755) 2025-11-08T16:52Z [----] followers, 11.6K engagements "For those of you who don't know me here's a bit about me. Hint: I'm not a YC application reviewer whatever that is. A bit about me: YC Alum. Eng turned CEO. - I raised $3m in [--] days. - No decks. No board seats. - I built to $1m+ ARR - Turned it profitable - Now spinning off more companies Follow if you want unfiltered founder takes. The kind of stuff founders can't talk about. A bit about me: YC Alum. Eng turned CEO. - I raised $3m in [--] days. - No decks. No board seats. - I built to $1m+ ARR - Turned it profitable - Now spinning off more companies Follow if you want unfiltered founder" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1988292202058178747) 2025-11-11T17:06Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "Of all the problems founders have I find the internal ones to be the toughest. Its not the competition or market shifts. Its not finding investors or PMF. Its those moments where you doubt yourself. should I pivot or keep going am I wasting my time everyones ahead of me Im not sure its going to work out These thoughts are the hardest. They come up more frequently than youd like they come in your darkest moments and no matter what stage youre at they still linger. Its those moments that feel so utterly useless but you have to keep going. Where you feel defeated but have to get up and rally the" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1988363655189262433) 2025-11-11T21:50Z [----] followers, [----] engagements "A buddy of mine was on his last investor meeting after [--] rejections. I asked him to explain his business to me. My response: dude any investor would be lucky to be on the cap table. Stop being so timid and act like it. He closed the investor the very next day. You have to go in with the right mentality" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1989064719844667432) 2025-11-13T20:15Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "As an engineer turned founder/CEO the most valuable skill I learned was sales. It helps with every aspect of the business. Customers investors hires - everything. I would not have a business if i never learned to sell. So send the email book a call and learn to sell. If you can crack it sky is the limit. #1 skill you could possibly learn" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1989066821627167019) 2025-11-13T20:24Z [----] followers, [---] engagements "Good founders have an uncanny ability to figure it out. Backs up against a wall seemingly insurmountable challenge on the brink of death. Yet. somehow they survive. Some call it luck but I dont. Ive seen it too many times to think luck was the reason. For instance: a buddy of mine has been one month from death for the past [--] months. At the beginning of every month theres not enough cash to run payroll yet payrolls gone out every time. Hes raised money sold one off deals and pulled moves I never would have thought of. Just today he closed a $1m contract that converts to $10m at the end of the" [X Link](https://x.com/shiftj/status/1989072347941466218) 2025-11-13T20:46Z [----] followers, [---] engagements Limited data mode. Full metrics available with subscription: lunarcrush.com/pricing
@shiftj JC
JC posts on X about if you, in the, yc, business the most. They currently have [-----] followers and [---] posts still getting attention that total [------] engagements in the last [--] hours.
Engagements: [------] #
- [--] Week [----------] +21,686%
- [--] Month [----------] +3,875%
- [--] Months [----------] +38,204%
Mentions: [--] #
- [--] Week [--] +350%
- [--] Month [--] -9.70%
- [--] Months [---] +286%
Followers: [-----] #
- [--] Week [-----] +4.20%
- [--] Month [-----] +12%
- [--] Months [-----] +1,109%
CreatorRank: [-------] #
Social Influence
Social category influence finance 13.08% technology brands 8.41% stocks 1.87% social networks 0.93%
Social topic influence if you 16.82%, in the 13.08%, yc #26, business 9.35%, this is 5.61%, $1m 5.61%, the most 5.61%, build 5.61%, company 5.61%, openclaw #476
Top accounts mentioned or mentioned by @madanchaolla @hthieblot @agazdecki @martingtobias @steipete @asmartbear @harrystebbings @thesalondon @alexcooldev @senkorasic @craigzliszt @neatprompts @vasuman @cormachayden @abhinavstwt @finke @hnshah @tkexpress11 @forgebitz @gregisenberg
Top assets mentioned Qualtrics International Inc. (XM)
Top Social Posts
Top posts by engagements in the last [--] hours
"The fundamentals of a good YC application never change. (deadline in [--] days) Here's a few: 1/ Clarity Accuracy Stop trying to over explain your startup. Try to simplify the hell out of it. Counter intuitive but simple gets funded. Complex gets blank stares. 2/ Big traction small amount of time Show real proof your thing is working preferably in a short amount of time. LOIs contracts revenue sign ups launches builds - anything that shows youre moving fast and making impact. Thats the type of founder that gets funded. 3/ Large TAM bottom up calculation. Investors want big markets. Preferably"
X Link 2026-02-03T16:08Z [----] followers, 53.5K engagements
"Im not a YC Reviewer (whatever that is) but my DMs are full and cant help everyone so. To save my DMs heres a few themes I saw in the last round of reviews. Ive just reviewed another handful of YC applications heres a few more themes that stood out. 1/ Your traction is your story A lot of traction statements feel like an after thought. List of stale bullet points no story. This is your main story - own it. In the past X Ive just reviewed another handful of YC applications heres a few more themes that stood out. 1/ Your traction is your story A lot of traction statements feel like an after"
X Link 2026-02-05T15:47Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Commitment is the #1 founder skill. The difference between a hobbyist and a founder is not ideas not a website and not incorporation docs. Its commitment. Its waking up and doing the hard thing for months. Its continuing to row while you're lost at sea. Its doing what it takes to get the job done"
X Link 2026-02-08T16:19Z [----] followers, 10.8K engagements
"My feed is 80% Openclaw. Everything from wrappers and tools to dating apps. An entire ecosystem was born in just a few weeks. This speed feels unprecedented. Founders launching mere hours after dreaming up the idea - users the next day. Good founders are fast and this speed is impressive. Speed is the #2 founder skill. The difference between a good and great founder is in their speed. Their ability to build conviction quickly and act immediately after. To take the results and whip it into the next set of actions Some folks toil over decisions while others made Speed is the #2 founder skill."
X Link 2026-02-11T14:49Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"YC partner once told me: Fear the right things. Dont agonize over advisors investors conferences followers or any of that small stuff - they dont make a noticeable difference in your success. Here are the [--] things you should fear: your product sucking no one wants to use it those who use dont pay those who pay dont stay So if youve got happy users paying you then youve got all the options in the world. If you dont Then rest doesnt matter the companys dead anyways. You don't need to be a YC company to be successful. But acting like one certainly helps. Characteristics of top YC founders: -"
X Link 2026-02-12T14:30Z [----] followers, 61.2K engagements
"Made a guest appearance in a 'founder accountability' group this week. I was amazed with how poorly it went. 1/ Why it went poorly They went around the table and talked about what they "accomplished". They talked about what they did the actions they took and the people they talked to. I didn't hear a single tangible outcome. 2/ Here's why that sucked Not a single person talked about outcomes. Todos action items conversations. None of that is actual progress - that's busy work. Even more dangerous if you're conflating the two. If you talk proudly about todos every week you'll miss the fact you"
X Link 2026-02-14T21:05Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"A bit about me: YC Alum. Eng turned CEO. - I raised $3m in [--] days. - No decks. No board seats. - I built to $1m+ ARR - Turned it profitable - Now spinning off more companies Follow if you want unfiltered founder takes. The kind of stuff founders can't talk about"
X Link 2025-07-30T19:55Z [----] followers, 15K engagements
"Sales. You sell customers investors potential hires. Hell. you even sell your mom so she stops worrying about you. Better put: If you can't sell you're pretty f*cked. -- Is that ROI or necessity As a founder what skill has the most ROI As a founder what skill has the most ROI"
X Link 2026-02-15T18:36Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Ive just reviewed another handful of YC applications heres a few more themes that stood out. 1/ Your traction is your story A lot of traction statements feel like an after thought. List of stale bullet points no story. This is your main story - own it. In the past X time weve done insert list of amazing things. Weve seen customers insert proof it works and even insert amazing customer validation. We got so many users we couldnt invited them fast enough. It should read like a founders who capturing wins left and right. Force a double take. 2/ Traction = Action Too many traction statements are"
X Link 2025-11-08T18:38Z [----] followers, 53K engagements
"As a YC founder I've now watched [--] close friends build multi-billion dollar companies. Here's a few things that surprised me: 1/ it can be anyone There's nothing special about these guys. They're smart committed and work hard. But they're not geniuses. They just figured it out as they went. There's often a perception that unicorn founders are special cases or natural geniuses. In reality they struck on something and held on for dear life as it started to get it's own legs. 2/ growth creates spend not the other way around When you compare a unicorn to a slower growing company you realize"
X Link 2026-01-13T14:58Z [----] followers, 114.3K engagements
"Speed is the #2 founder skill. The difference between a good and great founder is in their speed. Their ability to build conviction quickly and act immediately after. To take the results and whip it into the next set of actions Some folks toil over decisions while others made them in the blink of an eye. While one waits for the perfect moment the other is already out there getting ahead. In this world the tortoise never win. Commitment is the #1 founder skill. The difference between a hobbyist and a founder is not ideas not a website and not incorporation docs. Its commitment. Its waking up"
X Link 2026-02-10T15:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"The most common pattern Ive seen in successful YC founders is speed. Its without a doubt the biggest tell. The craziest part Its only getting faster. The time between insight and action is unusually small borderline irresponsible. It seems chaotic at first until you realize it all compounds. Heres what it looks like: 1/ Turning a learning into a decision in hours not weeks. Hunting for learnings lessons and breadcrumbs of PMF. Aggressively turning those breadcrumbs into concrete decisions. Its not a passive search youre actively looking for things to act on. 2/ Turning a decision into action"
X Link 2026-02-13T16:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@MadanChaolla I did not but doesnt surprise me"
X Link 2026-02-15T19:26Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"This past week Ive received dozens of DMs asking for YC application reviews. Theres a clear pattern between great applications and bad ones. 1/ Good applications use simple language. Bad applications use buzzwords. 2/ Good applications are easy to read. Bad applications are very dense. 3/ Good applications have impressive traction. Bad applications have little to none. 4/ Good applications make their product sound simple. Bad applications make their product sound complex"
X Link 2025-11-05T22:30Z [----] followers, 80.5K engagements
"@MartinGTobias As an investor what are you coding"
X Link 2026-02-15T18:38Z [----] followers, [--] engagements
"@senkorasic If you asked me to choose between customer love and sales I wouldnt be able to Sales impossible without love. Love without sales and no one will know you. Openclaw has both @steipete has been on a sales roadshow the past few weeks"
X Link 2026-02-15T19:45Z [----] followers, [--] engagements
"If Openclaw is acquired will it be the fastest highest valuation exit. ever They don't even have a business model. Goes to show you - customer love is everything. Feels like OpenClaw will be acquired by OpenAI. Events around this has been quite interesting: @steipete calls his open source agent operating system Clawd works on it day and night for it clear tribute to Claude Clawd gets popular Claude strikes with lawyers Peter Feels like OpenClaw will be acquired by OpenAI. Events around this has been quite interesting: @steipete calls his open source agent operating system Clawd works on it"
X Link 2026-02-15T18:12Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"At this point you can replace 'investor' with practically any other job. I just met up with a group of recent YC founders. The way they are using AI internally is mind boggling. I've never seen anything like it. If you're not using AI the world will soon be a tough place for you. https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2023098613392691699 https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2023098613392691699"
X Link 2026-02-15T18:14Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@MadanChaolla Petes got a prev acq under his belt I dont think hell do it for the $$ but the extra reach. Well see"
X Link 2026-02-15T19:48Z [----] followers, [--] engagements
"If you can't make it with $500k you won't make it with $500m. Cash doesn't solve problems it only accelerates what's working or buys you time to figure it out. Big Raise = Success. We did YC W24 survived on $500k and still havent burned through it. Were now a team of [--]. If $500k cant get you to real signal the problem isnt capital. We did YC W24 survived on $500k and still havent burned through it. Were now a team of [--]. If $500k cant get you to real signal the problem isnt capital"
X Link 2026-02-15T20:37Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"OpenClaw acquired by OpenAI. That was fast. Peter bootstrapped OpenClaw unprofitably at a $10-20k/mo loss. This was his second acquisition. First exit for $116m second undisclosed. Build something people want. Crazy things may happen. Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI to drive the next generation of personal agents. He is a genius with a lot of amazing ideas about the future of very smart agents interacting with each other to do very useful things for people. We expect this will quickly become core to our Peter Steinberger is joining OpenAI to drive the next generation of personal agents."
X Link 2026-02-15T22:49Z [----] followers, 58.5K engagements
"@MadanChaolla I just wonder what this means for OpenClaw. I just started enjoying my setup"
X Link 2026-02-15T22:58Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"As someone whos done both Ive seen both sides. Neither is easier or harder than the other they are different. It also depends on what you mean by building. Sure building a startup with no money is harder. Building a billion dollar company is infinitely harder than bootstrapping to $1m though. Just depends I guess"
X Link 2025-10-30T16:48Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@craigzLiszt A VC takes many bets while a founder bets everything"
X Link 2025-11-01T23:24Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@neatprompts As a CEO i have endlesss open loops. Never thought about their relationship to my energy though. Ive always used priority and focus (allowing open loops to not bother me) but perhaps closing them out could work too. Worth a test I guess"
X Link 2025-11-02T17:18Z [----] followers, 24.1K engagements
"I woke up reminiscing about the days I couldnt pay my rent. Most stressful and embarrassing time of my life. My gf had to front the bills thousands in debt and no tangible end in sight. I had a coach at the time and talked about closing shop. I was so stressed I walked in the snow for hours ruminating on the decision. Feel ill I was out there so long. I decided Id go down swinging. One day at a time until I couldnt do it anymore. A few more emails a few more calls a few more demos. Just keep going. We closed our first customer a few days later. Then the next one. Soon enough I had my pitch"
X Link 2025-11-03T16:06Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@vasuman Meta swe will look you dead in the face and say their job is hard"
X Link 2025-11-04T15:43Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"I think a lot of folks bashing the pivot dont really understand the bet thats going on here. Core competency is attention not necessarily product. And theyre damn good at attention. Its like bashing Mr. Beast for selling candy bars because. chocolate is saturated They sold $250m worth of chocolate but if you think its a chocolate company youve missed the point. The point is: how far can an attention-first company go And Im very interested to see what the answer is"
X Link 2025-11-05T18:37Z [----] followers, 23.2K engagements
"The thing to know about successful founders is that their story is always retrofitted. It's a modified history of what actually happened. They always start with an insight a turning point and the moment they knew they were going to be big. But what's missing from nearly every story is the heartache. The moments of self doubt. Staring in the mirror not knowing wtf to do. The countless times they were on the verge of quitting. Hell. even the ones who claim the illustrious 'lightbulb moment' never even had it - it just makes for a better story if they did. There's a thousand incentives to"
X Link 2025-11-06T18:53Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@cormachayden_ I raised and scaled to millions with zero followers. Contrary to popular belief scrolling and posting isn't the best use of time"
X Link 2025-11-06T19:04Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Everyone loves the idea of being a founder until. Youre on your 149th rejection. Friends calls it your little project Rent is due but youve got no money Your only user says not worth paying for You spent [--] year and got nowhere What did I miss"
X Link 2025-11-12T15:47Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"PSA for first time founders: If you focus all your efforts on customer acquisition you'll eventually crack it. If your sole goal in the world was to find and close customers you'll do it. You'll build the right features you'll learn the right skills you'll drop your favorite parts of the product for the ones users actually want. The problem is usually in the form of 1/ Rigid thinking Let's be real. Your idea sucks. So does mine. It always does. There's no getting around that. You can't be too rigid with your idea or your product or you'll miss the gold mine right next to it. You've got to be"
X Link 2025-11-14T15:14Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@asmartbear NRR is more important to me than ARR. when i see the $Xm in 12mo companies my first question is always 1) whats churn 2) whats NRR to understand the efficiency of that growth and how longstanding it will be"
X Link 2025-11-30T17:34Z [----] followers, [--] engagements
"The #1 YC Application mistake I see is trying to sound impressive in your one-liner. You fill the page with this and that hoping something lands. But at this stage Clarity cleverness. The first thing partners need to know is what youre building. If thats unclear the rest of your application doesnt make much sense. If you cant say what you do in a simple statement its probably too complicated. The fundamentals of a good YC application never change. (deadline in [--] days) Here's a few: 1/ Clarity Accuracy Stop trying to over explain your startup. Try to simplify the hell out of it. Counter"
X Link 2026-02-04T15:37Z [----] followers, 18.2K engagements
"I caved yesterday. bought a mac studio. a beefy one to run local inference. had to see for myself what all the hype was about. Result: I've never seen the future so clearly before. cancelled my calls didn't sleep automated most of my morning rituals - and then some. daily standup kpi round up for sales customer slack summaries daily ideas for twitter posts weekly tee times to book weekly restaurants to try still hungry for more use cases. u have any https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2019180833614229837 https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2019180833614229837"
X Link 2026-02-04T22:46Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Its a mistake for founders to treat fundraising like milestones. Sprinting towards the next raise has killed more startups than its helped. Heres how it happens: 1/ If you hit xyz metric well invest Founders get excited. They gear the whole company towards that goal thinking its a guaranteed investment. 2/ You hit the metric Thats great but. Insert the next random milestone. The next excuse. The next reason they cant invest now but might later. Meanwhile you cant make payroll. I cant count how many personal friends ran straight into this trap. Its better to aim for profitability than the next"
X Link 2026-02-06T17:20Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@HarryStebbings You become unhinged in the process of becoming a decacorn founder. They may not all have started that way"
X Link 2025-07-30T18:08Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@hthieblot Ive coached dozens of founders through the YC process (90% hit rate so far). Everyone struggles with a clear one liner and its painful to watch"
X Link 2025-07-31T00:04Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@TheSalonDon Most successful founders I know dont play the game for money. They do it for freedom. I quit my job when I needed approval to take vacation. Fuck that"
X Link 2025-07-31T22:14Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@TheSalonDon The irony is I take far less vacations I did back then. I just work where I want. When I want"
X Link 2025-07-31T23:55Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@Abhinavstwt I dont care if you build in public. Not one bit. If youre a great engineer I will hire you. Full stop. No exceptions. Focus on your skills not your flash"
X Link 2025-08-01T22:31Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@finke These are the worst people to brainstorm with. There are a thousand ways to shoot down an idea. Its not hard. My mom could do that. Figuring out how it could work Thats the hard part. Finding someone to dream with is far more fun. Far more helpful"
X Link 2025-08-03T00:08Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@hthieblot Unfortunate reality is that this plays a big part in their decision making. Has nothing to do with odds of success. Especially working in big tech. Theres near zero correlation to the skills you need to be successful"
X Link 2025-08-03T04:43Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@hthieblot I started as an intern. Within [--] years I helped them scale to millions of users as director of engineering. The quality of the person matters more than their title"
X Link 2025-08-03T23:29Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@hthieblot Great founders know more about you than you might know about yourself. Youll see it in their sales process. They state the problems you have but couldnt verbalize. They predict the next words youre going to say. They obsess over this problem youre dealing with"
X Link 2025-08-04T14:46Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@hthieblot A buddy of mine raised about $5m. Started flying first class. Rented a mansion as an Airbnb. Bought a car. Needless to say hes not in business anymore"
X Link 2025-08-04T23:04Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@agazdecki Your job as a founder is to shamelessly sell* your product everyday. You sell to customers new hires investors. Hell. you sell to your mom so she stops worrying about you. Sell. Sell. Sell"
X Link 2025-08-05T14:15Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"Cold outbound is my favorite way to start with an idea. - forces you to write your value - forces you to define your audience - teaches you EXACTLY what lands - gives you direct and honest feedback - its the hardest to crack. - So if you do. Youve know youve got something. - Its scalable once you crack it - Its not easily copied or replicated - Its a fully-owned channel This sh*t works"
X Link 2025-08-05T19:09Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"The hardest part of being a founder is: - working hard not knowing if it will pay off. - nothings working but you cant stop. - debating if you suck or your idea does - the fact no one can tell you how to win - seeing others grow while you struggle - wondering if youre going to make it - that moment youve failed 5x in a row - insecurity that youre not cut out Ive raised millions grown to millions. These feelings never go away. Not fully. But one day youll pick your head up and realize they dont matter. You just have to keep moving"
X Link 2025-08-06T14:02Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@alexcooldev Consistency is so hard because you get in your own way. Your brain wants progress. It wants dopamine. Consistency is boring. Find a way to grab small wins daily. Thats the key to staying in business. It worked for me and virtually every successful YC founder I know"
X Link 2025-08-06T14:06Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"So. just watched non-SaaS non VC-backed boring business buddy sell his business for millions. We started at the same time. He took no investors. All that cash is his 100%. Multi million acquisition"
X Link 2025-08-06T14:21Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@agazdecki God bless the solo founders. That's hard work. You don't need a cofounder but I'm very glad I have one. I couldn't sell build raise hire manage and support all by myself. I don't have that dog in me. I respect the hell out of whoever can"
X Link 2025-08-06T17:41Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"If you just applied to YC the job isn't done yet. Between now and you're interview you're expected to make progress. Aim for 2x better numbers by the time your interview arrives. That will position you well"
X Link 2025-08-07T21:01Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"The market is the biggest distinguishing factor Ive seen in virtually all YC founders. Ive met: - dumb dumbs who are the most successful - geniuses who are going out of business - hustlers who cant crack a deal Market is by far the biggest difference. Its the difference between getting stuck at $10k MRR vs. soaring to $5m ARR in the blink of an eye"
X Link 2025-08-08T14:04Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"For those of you grinding realize this: - Ive tried to build many businesses - Ive quit on many businesses - Ive failed on many businesses By now every one of those businesses is a success. Built by another founder. I tried the wrong things and quit too early. But I never make the same mistake twice. Keep at it"
X Link 2025-08-09T20:13Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"Ive coached dozens of YC founders with a 90% acceptance rate. Most applications fail because of two simple questions. Get them wrong and youre out. Get them right and youre in the game. Heres how to answer them (and what theyre really asking) 👇"
X Link 2025-08-11T13:02Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Founders: You should have [--] pitches ready at all times. [--]. Pitch to investors [--]. Pitch to customers [--]. Pitch to friends and family [--]. Pitch to potential hires Each pitch is very different depending on the audience"
X Link 2025-08-12T17:20Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"If youre pricing too low youre missing out on key insights. 💡 Pricing complaints = learnings. When someone complains about price its usually because they: Dont understand the value yet (fix messaging) Arent your target customer (fix targetting) Arent getting enough value for them (fix product)"
X Link 2025-08-13T19:00Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"Heres what passion looks like to me: - waking up at 5am excited to get to work - so zoned in you forgot to eat lunch - needing to sleep but dont want to stop - finally sleeping and still dreaming about your project One of my favorite feelings. Anyone else"
X Link 2025-08-14T16:57Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"Unpopular belief: You should not over explain your startup. The more you say the more you're giving away. The more you give away the more surface area in which you look weak. If given the chance VCs will peak under every rock. As an early stage startup you definitely don't want that"
X Link 2025-08-18T20:01Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"Friday Wrap Up: - Did you accomplish what you set out to - What key lessons came from this week - What's going to make nexts week more impactful"
X Link 2025-08-22T13:02Z [----] followers, [--] engagements
"If you did NOT make it into YC don't worry. - It took us multiple attempts - Many many investors shot us down - Repeatedly told this will never work All part of the process"
X Link 2025-08-22T16:01Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@agazdecki I never realized how many existential crisis I'd have to deal with as a founder. - Losing PMF - Star employee leaving - Investor pulling out - Market downturn - Ads doubling in price - .insert endless list"
X Link 2025-09-03T15:40Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@hnshah As a product-founder myself this was the hardest thing to learn. The product did not scale us to $1m+. The distribution did. A great product is just table stakes"
X Link 2025-09-04T17:48Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"There's a lot of my founder friends who became founders because they couldn't find a job. The lack of options is a surprising advantage for founders. They simply have no choice but to keep going"
X Link 2025-09-06T20:00Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@asmartbear As a product person I was sad and humbled when I first learned this lesson. The truth is: the best product does not win the best distributed does. Having a great product can accelerate or detract from distribution but it cannot create it on its own"
X Link 2025-09-15T23:35Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@tkexpress11 You should be interviewing them just as much as they interview you. Too many founders feel they are lucky to be have booked the call. In reality they should feel lucky to have met you"
X Link 2025-09-19T16:18Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@forgebitz Marketing is always a zero sum game. Being the first is novel until it becomes spam. That's why so much startup advice is wrong the moment you hear it"
X Link 2025-09-24T15:41Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"Ive always said: hard work is the easy part You think its hard to work [--] hour days No no. Thats the easy part. The hard part is second guessing yourself every hour. The hard part is not knowing if it will pay off. The hard part is knowing its probably a waste. The hard part is constantly failing. The hard part is watching everyone else progress. Theres a thousand harder things than [--] hour days. If thats all it took then every gym rat would be a billionaire"
X Link 2025-10-06T11:59Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@MartinGTobias Frankly it sounds like his mistake was contradicting himself not his initial TAM calculation. One big problem with VCs is they ask for truth while funding exaggerators"
X Link 2025-10-09T02:17Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@agazdecki Unfortunate truth: The best products dont win the best distributed do"
X Link 2025-10-09T18:45Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@gregisenberg Engineer + Sales is a killer combo. You forward deploy yourself and crush 6-figure contracts"
X Link 2025-10-11T15:32Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@chrishlad Half your competition never starts. The other half quits in the first [--] months. Not many left standing after a while. Its really a battle against yourself. Willingness to act. Willingness to keep failing in a public fashion. Until at some point it turns around"
X Link 2025-10-12T23:40Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@pmitu very hot take: 9/10 startups fail because 9/10 founders don't have what it takes. I feel bad even writing it"
X Link 2025-10-14T17:51Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"As a YC founder I have to respectfully disagree. This is true for folks who apply with only an idea and no traction. Theres not much else to base your claim on so of course background will play a larger role. That said if you bring a real business with growth traction and proof then background matters far less I personally had little to no pedigree when I was accepted I brought a real business instead. In either case you need to prove yourself (and yes sell yourself) thats the commonality"
X Link 2025-10-14T19:39Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"Its substantially easier to give others advice. Theres no emotional ties no bias no fear. Things are simpler if youre talking about someone else. Ive found mental hacks like this to work quite well in many aspects. Even professional athletes often create alter egos they take on before a game. It helps separate yourself from the outcome lowering bias and emotions/fear so you can operate more objectively. Its not me doing this its Mike Pretty similar to this strategy"
X Link 2025-10-14T22:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Sitting from the sidelines and judging someone who gave it their all is such a weak move. I took the same path as your friend. I raised millions scaled to millions and now own a profitable business with unlimited runway. The only thing that got in the way were friends like you - introducing doubt and judgement"
X Link 2025-10-17T16:33Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Im constantly surprised with YC startups finding success even in the crowded areas. For example @emergentlabs in vibe coding apps. Making waves in a space that felt crowded. Are you sure we need contrarian bets Feels the market is so new you can compete even where it feels crowded"
X Link 2025-10-17T23:14Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@awilkinson Is it a hustle The premise seems to be that VCs havent done the math but presumably they understand the full play and take the risk alongside the founder right Worst case is a 1x payback especially given the profitability of these companies"
X Link 2025-10-18T14:40Z [----] followers, 34.7K engagements
"@alexcooldev The market matters more than both of them. 10% product 10% marketing 80% market Great product terrible market = failure. Bad product great market = success. The market is like a tide. You can ride it. But you cant fight it"
X Link 2025-10-18T15:44Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@drewlevinn As a YC founder it's a bit annoying to see credit taken like this but I also know tags like this help my team close more deals and open more opportunity so. love hate relationship. It's never about the titles or accolades anyways so not worth hating on it"
X Link 2025-10-20T19:42Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"As a founder I absolutely hate pessimism especially when it comes to new ideas. So many people think theyre smart by finding ways to shoot down an idea. They dont realize thats the easy part. My mom can do that. Finding how it can work is more impressive. That takes true skill. Its also far more pleasurable to work with dreamers than pessimists"
X Link 2025-10-21T03:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"After raising millions and scaling to millions I've learned that. Talent doesn't matter. Intelligence doesn't matter. Long hours don't matter. What matters is your ability to keep moving when everything looks grim. Being able to stop yourself from quitting. That's the thing that matters. You'll figure the rest out over time"
X Link 2025-10-23T22:05Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@HarryStebbings Finally a VC speaking some sense. Not sure whats happened recently but the focus on $2m in [--] days has been disappointing to say the least. Bad incentives for founders when you create targets like this"
X Link 2025-10-25T16:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@austinxwalker How to pitch your startup: show a large amount of traction in a small amount of time. Pair that with a bottom up calculation of TAM which equates to $5B+"
X Link 2025-10-25T16:36Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"YC applications open. We were rejected the 1st time accepted the 2nd. Theres a method to the madness. Some basics: High traction short amount of time Clear writing use data to support extremely clear one-liner extremely clear unique insight bottom up TAM calculation Most importantly: dont worry if you dont get in. Revenue is still the only thing that matters. YC should not make or break your company. Applications for the YC Winter [----] batch are now open Apply by November 10: https://t.co/gNl84El3BS https://t.co/H9yEOuCwR5 Applications for the YC Winter [----] batch are now open Apply by"
X Link 2025-10-28T14:47Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@julianweisser Ive probably met thousands of founders at this point. The most successful ones always have something wrong with them. Some form of chip on their shoulder"
X Link 2025-10-29T00:46Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"Anything that creates founder wealth increases the number of people who attempt to be founders and as a result increases innovation. More wealthy founders = more innovation Even seeing that story of open ai has just spurred a new wave of founders inspired to give a shot. This is a subtle but important driving force of innovation. That + available capital"
X Link 2025-10-30T16:50Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"YC tries to filter out tire kickers. The startup tourists who arent serious. Hell. they do it so well they boot good founders in the process. So dont be a tourist. Bring speed traction and proof of dedication. And let that shine through"
X Link 2025-10-31T16:12Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"@bhalligan [--]. Things dont get more comfortable as time goes on. If they do something is wrong. [--]. Youre responsible for every decision and seldom have enough data to make it"
X Link 2025-10-31T19:45Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Things that surprise first-time Founders and CEOs that werent on Brians list. [--]. Youre scared shitless but have to stand up and convey confidence [--]. Youre often expected to know the answer but youve got no clue [--]. Every problem eventually becomes your problem. [--]. You only get the hardest unsolvable problems. [--]. You have to fire people you like even if you wont want to. [--]. PMF is not forever. Once found you must fight to keep it. [--]. The feeling that your company will fail doesnt ever go away not fully at least. [--]. You fail so often you grow numb to it [--]. Your failures have direct impact on"
X Link 2025-10-31T20:01Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Did we not see this coming Its a hype cycle company. Cheating helped create a hype factory but at some point they need a real product. Thought theyd produce something better than another note taker though. i love to see different ways of company build so I was rooting for them. Guess thats what you get from an influencer-run company. Great at hype poor at product. Lets see how it plays out they may surprise us even still"
X Link 2025-11-01T19:22Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"PSA for first time founders: this life is harder than anyone lets on. Ive raised millions scaled millions. Heres what I wish I knew this before starting my first company. This is what to expect"
X Link 2025-11-02T00:28Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"I love the intent of what youre saying here but $1m business is still in its risky infancy. Unfortunately its difficult to coast a business as well often leading to degradation in company performance. Which leads me back to $1m being in a risky zone since its not much to work with especially if revenue declines. The main reason is in order to work less save a lot invest like hell and retire - youll likely need a team to keep the engine running (depends on the business of course). So with all that $1m doesnt leave you much to work with. TLDR; I love what youre sayin but a few gotchas mixed in"
X Link 2025-11-02T17:11Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"@jaynitx A massive thing I teach founders is the danger of hustle culture. Shutting out friends staying in zoning in too hard. Youll wake up successful lonely and more depressed than you started"
X Link 2025-11-02T17:13Z [----] followers, 13.4K engagements
"I hate when people misconstrue working hard vs progress. Putting in more hours is easy. Youre not a hero by working through your Sunday. Best performers rest. (I learned this the hard way)"
X Link 2025-11-02T22:54Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"As a founder Im always surprised to see the hype around $10k/mo. Its a very risky position without much room for error or margin to hire support. Even at $1m theres not much buffer. Folks think its $10k/mo and youve made it not realizing how difficult that stage really is. As you said at that point you havent even figured out the basics"
X Link 2025-11-03T16:43Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Ive coached dozens of YC founders through the application process (90% hit rate). Biggest mistake is being too complex trying to sound impressive. Its not. Its better to focus on: [--]. Clarity Accuracy. Extremely clear one-liner. [--]. Traction. Big traction small amount of time. [--]. Clear proof points. Use data not verbose explanations"
X Link 2025-11-03T19:02Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"As a YC founder I read this and think - this is why so many YC companies succeed. These are the most common company killers. YC does a good job of teaching them. YC founders do a good job of avoiding them. Simply put: these lessons helps us stay alive long enough to figure sh*t out. Great write up"
X Link 2025-11-05T16:29Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"A couple good rules of thumb for YC and fundraising in general: [--]. Clarity Accuracy Stop trying to over explain your startup. Try to simplify the hell out of it. Counter intuitive but simple gets funded. Complex gets blank stares. [--]. Big traction small amount of time Show real proof your thing is working preferably in a short amount of time. LOIs contracts revenue sign ups launches builds - anything that shows youre moving fast and making impact. Thats the type of founder that gets funded. [--]. Large TAM bottom up calculation. Investors want big markets. Preferably $5B+ but that bar gets"
X Link 2025-11-05T22:30Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"The trick is to find a great CTO. My CTO pushes our sales team to sell first. Yes even if it doesnt exist. He gets mad if we dont. Because he knows theres no point in building if it hasnt been validated. Getting some sales is a quick and easy way to prove what needs to be build. Then - the minute we sell - hes on a rampage to deliver but not a moment before. More founder should act like our CTO"
X Link 2025-11-06T16:18Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"You know how people say lock in for [--] months it will change your life I locked in for [--] years. No weekends. No breaks. Just worked. Does that sound impressive to you Because it sounds incredibly stupid to me. It was an immature way of working that was very clearly unsustainable. 1st time founders: Hustle Grind Repeat founders: Rest. Gain clarity. Theres a reason for this. [--]. You burn out [--]. You make terrible decisions [--]. You lose friends family and the good stuff of life. When this happens you suffer. When you suffer your business suffers. Often times it feels more comfortable to put your"
X Link 2025-11-08T16:52Z [----] followers, 11.6K engagements
"For those of you who don't know me here's a bit about me. Hint: I'm not a YC application reviewer whatever that is. A bit about me: YC Alum. Eng turned CEO. - I raised $3m in [--] days. - No decks. No board seats. - I built to $1m+ ARR - Turned it profitable - Now spinning off more companies Follow if you want unfiltered founder takes. The kind of stuff founders can't talk about. A bit about me: YC Alum. Eng turned CEO. - I raised $3m in [--] days. - No decks. No board seats. - I built to $1m+ ARR - Turned it profitable - Now spinning off more companies Follow if you want unfiltered founder"
X Link 2025-11-11T17:06Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"Of all the problems founders have I find the internal ones to be the toughest. Its not the competition or market shifts. Its not finding investors or PMF. Its those moments where you doubt yourself. should I pivot or keep going am I wasting my time everyones ahead of me Im not sure its going to work out These thoughts are the hardest. They come up more frequently than youd like they come in your darkest moments and no matter what stage youre at they still linger. Its those moments that feel so utterly useless but you have to keep going. Where you feel defeated but have to get up and rally the"
X Link 2025-11-11T21:50Z [----] followers, [----] engagements
"A buddy of mine was on his last investor meeting after [--] rejections. I asked him to explain his business to me. My response: dude any investor would be lucky to be on the cap table. Stop being so timid and act like it. He closed the investor the very next day. You have to go in with the right mentality"
X Link 2025-11-13T20:15Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"As an engineer turned founder/CEO the most valuable skill I learned was sales. It helps with every aspect of the business. Customers investors hires - everything. I would not have a business if i never learned to sell. So send the email book a call and learn to sell. If you can crack it sky is the limit. #1 skill you could possibly learn"
X Link 2025-11-13T20:24Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
"Good founders have an uncanny ability to figure it out. Backs up against a wall seemingly insurmountable challenge on the brink of death. Yet. somehow they survive. Some call it luck but I dont. Ive seen it too many times to think luck was the reason. For instance: a buddy of mine has been one month from death for the past [--] months. At the beginning of every month theres not enough cash to run payroll yet payrolls gone out every time. Hes raised money sold one off deals and pulled moves I never would have thought of. Just today he closed a $1m contract that converts to $10m at the end of the"
X Link 2025-11-13T20:46Z [----] followers, [---] engagements
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