User research

YouTube

Product design fundamentals for non-designer founders

Y Combinator September 19, 2018

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User research 8

MVP & prototyping 7

• Design is how something works, not just how it looks
• Removing one form field can lift signup conversion by 50%
• Customer support is your cheapest source of product intelligence

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Content marketing

YouTube

PR and content marketing for early-stage startups

Y Combinator September 19, 2018

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Content marketing 9

PR & media 9

• Press is not a scalable acquisition channel — content is.
• DIY your PR like BD: build reporter relationships yourself, never outsource early.
• Don't start content or PR until users aren't churning.

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Hiring & recruitment

YouTube

How to find, hire, and interview designers for your startup

Y Combinator September 19, 2018

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Hiring & recruitment 9

Outsourcing & delegation 6

Customer discovery 5

• A lone designer among 20 engineers is a retention risk by design.
• Skip portfolio beauty — communication skill is the real hiring filter.
• Post to 20 freelancers at once, then recruit the standout personally.

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Case studies

YouTube

YC Female Founders Conference: Talks and advice from six women building companies

Y Combinator September 17, 2018

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Case studies 9

Pitching investors 7

Customer discovery 7

• Why launching before you're ready almost always beats waiting
• How women consistently undersell the dream when fundraising — and how to fix it
• Kabam went from zero users to a billion-dollar exit by pivoting twice

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Fundraising & VC

YouTube

Crypto tokens, ICOs, and what founders need to know

Y Combinator September 14, 2018

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Fundraising & VC 8

Business models 7

Post-mortems 5

• Tokens solve trustlessness, not fundraising — most startups shouldn't ICO
• CoinList accepted 5 of 2,500+ inbound token sale requests
• Token investors have no formal tie to the company — misaligned incentives by design

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