Alvin Lai

As many have found Paul Graham's articles too lengthy, here's an executive summary of salient points for you, which would also serve as a reminder for myself.

From Paul Graham, Hiring is Obselete

Market Rate

1. Undergrads can start successful companies
2. It's cheap to start a startup
3. Undergrads are undervalued
   • Tend to be evaluated to the "mean" - not too high
4. Especially productive 22 year old
   • Bypass company, go directly to users
   • Company only acting as a proxy economically
   • Can opt to be valued directly to users
     • Start your own company
5. Market is more discerning than any employer
   • Completely undiscriminating
     • No one knows you're a dog on the Internet
6. Both purchaser and startup owner can benefit from acquisitions

Product Development

1. Big companies stifle product development as they have their own agenda
2. Disruptive technology are developed by disruptive people who:
   • have no power
   • are outnumbered and outmaneuvered by yes-men
   • have comparatively little influence
3. Big companies build only 1 of each thing.
   • Many alternatives but cannot diversify
4. Bigger incentives for startups - they work harder
5. Startup personnel are forced to do everything - they learn things, understand and improve things.
6. Startups can get things done faster - no bureaucracy

Trend

1. Trend of acquiring startups (at an earlier stage) increasing.
   • Pay 1/20, guess 1/20 as well
2. Fusion of simultaneous recruiting and product development.
   • More efficient together - people are more committed working on their own stuff
3. Already have good teams that can work well internally with each other

Investors

1. Companies getting cheaper to start
   • Hackers don't have to depend on employers
2. Pumping more money != quality code produced quicker
3. A good sales force is worth its money, but getting irrelevant with the internet.
   • Anything genuinely good will spread by word of mouth
4. Investor placed business guys
   • Likely placed as COOs instead of CEOs

The Open Cage

1. Economic cage is open Quick prod yourself you caged animal!
2. Route to success is to build something valuable
   • You can do better on your own
3. Younger, should take more risks

Risk

1. Risk and reward are always proportionate
2. Young, have the time to invest
   • Have time to take insane career risks
3. Stability is going to cost you
   • People pay more for stability on the market
4. Riskier career moves pay more on average
   • Less in demand
   • Not much competition
   • Huge prizes at stake
5. 90% failure rate of startups
   • Fail, but get smarter
6. What better time to do a startup at 23?

The Man is the Customer

1. Why are undergrads conservative?
   • Spent too much time in institutions - familiarity, monotonous comfort
2. End of school - fulcrum of life
   • Transform from net consumer to net producer
3. You're steering
   • Stand back and understand what's going on, rather than doing something default
4. What customers want - more important than employers
   • Customers give $ to employers to give you

Grad School

1. Connected with other smart people
2. More time to work on your own stuff
3. Tolerant advisor
4. Try startups first. If fails, tanks fast.

Experience

1. Experience not intrinsically valuable
   • It changes something quicker in the brain
2. Startup requirements
   • Good people
   • Make something users want (experience changes this)
   • Don't spend too much money
3. Go find some users and see what they need
   • Don't sit around making up priori theories
4. Successful startups do something specific AND solve some problems people already know they have
5. The "thing" that experience changes
   • Learn that you need to solve somebody's problems
6. Employees are proxies for users where risk is pooled
7. You can go figure out what people want yourself
   • You're young - don't need to pool risk too

The article has warned you. Don't drop out of school. But be alert lest you miss opportunities.