#87 - Elad Gil

Jul 27, 2018 43 min

About this episode

<a href="https://twitter.com/eladgil">Elad Gil</a> is an entrepreneur, operator, and investor. He cofounded <a href="https://www.color.com/">Color Genomics</a> and Mixer Labs. Worked at Google and Twitter. And has invested in companies including Airbnb, Coinbase, and Stripe. He just released the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/High-Growth-Handbook-Elad-Gil/dp/1732265100/">High Growth Handbook</a>, which is a guide to scaling startups published by <a href="http://press.stripe.com/">Stripe Press</a>. It contains tactical advice on key issues for post product-market fit companies such as the role of the CEO, hiring executives, late stage fundraising, M&A, and other topics. It also includes interviews with people in tech, including Sam Altman, President of YC Group. You can find the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/High-Growth-Handbook-Elad-Gil/dp/1732265100/">High Growth Handbook on Amazon</a>. The YC podcast is hosted by <a href="https://twitter.com/craigcannon">Craig Cannon</a>. We're accepting applications from startups for the Winter 2019 funding cycle. <a href="http://ycombinator.com/apply">Apply here</a>. *** Topics 01:04 - Why should an entrepreneur read the High Growth Handbook? 5:35 - On Marc Andreessen's comment, "The companies that charge more tend to grow faster." 6:50 - Myths about startups 7:50 - Leon Coe asks - What types of businesses do you avoid investing in? 9:20 - Things to just say 'no' to 12:40 - Companies that may be too early 14:52 - On Naval Ravikant's comment, "The most successful class of people in silicon valley on a consistent basis are either the venture capitalists, or people who are very good at identifying companies that have just hit product/market fit. They have the background, expertise, and references that those companies really want to help them scale." 17:41 - On Claire Hughes Johnson's "Guide to Working with Claire" 19:40 - Masud Hossain asks - How did most of the companies you interviewed get their first 10 customers? 20:55 - Masud Hossain asks - Is content really king? 22:50 - Narayan Mallapur asks - Where do founders make the most mistakes? Is it on hiring? What steps should they take to avoid these pitfalls 24:55 - Brianne Kimmel asks - What are some lessons learned in highly regulated sectors? When should you hire a General Counsel? How do you prioritize public policy and lobbying efforts? 29:05 - Media cycles 30:55 - Marius Chawa asks - What are the top three things a startup "must" achieve before VC firms would line up to fund them? 34:45 - Taylor Caforio asks - My company is at our early MVP stage. What is he best way to find a balance between giving our earliest customers the 6 star treatment while also having swift and exponential growth in the back of our minds. 36:54 - Tanmay Khandelwal asks - When you are sprinting in growth stage, how do you predict engineers required and hire accordingly? 38:41 - TD Bryant II asks - When your organization is experiencing exponential growth, how do you choose which functions to outsource vs build/hire? 41:50 - Andrew Pikul asks - Who is your favorite Dragon Ball (Z/GT/Super) villain?

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