Founder interviews

YouTube

Werner Vogels on scaling Amazon, building AWS, and engineering culture

Y Combinator November 11, 2018

---

Founder interviews 9

Processes & SOPs 8

Culture building 6

• Shared databases killed Amazon's velocity — removing them created AWS.
• Working Backwards: write the press release before writing any code.
• Security built in from day one; retrofitting it later is a nightmare.

Read more →

Cash flow management

YouTube

Understanding cash flow through four chapters and seven levers

Bill Gallagher November 9, 2018

---

Cash flow management 10

Business operating systems 7

Valuation 6

• Profit is an opinion — cash is the only fact that matters
• Growing revenue can destroy cash when working capital costs exceed margin
• Seven levers, one-percent changes, four-times valuation multiplier effect

Read more →

Goal setting

YouTube

Sam Altman on focus, risk, and choosing what to work on

Y Combinator November 8, 2018

---

Goal setting 9

Productivity & habits 7

Resilience & grit 5

• Why feeling busy for a decade can mean zero real progress
• The deferred life plan almost never works — pick one thing now
• Long-term wasted potential is the real risk, not short-term failure

Read more →

SEO

YouTube

How to write title tags that increase click-through rate

Ahrefs November 7, 2018

---

SEO 8

Copywriting 8

• Pogo-sticking penalises clickbait — titles must match search intent
• One title can target multiple long-tail keywords without stuffing
• Going from sub-1% to 2% CTR can more than double page traffic

Read more →

Origin stories

Podcast

How Bernie Marcus Built Home Depot After Getting Fired at 49

Founders November 5, 2018

---

Origin stories 10

Vision & mission 7

Culture building 6

• Getting fired at 49 with no money sparked a $30B retail empire
• Ken Langone's minority stock tactic gave him leverage over a hostile conglomerate
• Obsessing over customers beats focusing on competitors or career politics

Read more →