Before product/market fit, your only job that matters is to build a great product.

You can basically change everything in a startup but the market.

Here's a good rule of thumb: don't worry about a competitor at all, until they're actually beating you with a real shipped product.

At YC we have this public phrase, and it's relentlessly resourceful.

You have to find a small market in which you can get a monopoly and then quickly expand.

You don't get to make their decisions but you do get to choose the decision makers.

So you should always stay on top of people's vesting schedules.