... how much time you should be spending on hiring? The answer is 0 or 25 percent.

A board member of mine used to say sales fix everything in a startup, and that is really true.

A small communication breakdown is enough for everyone to be working on slightly different things. And then you loose focus.

Execution gets divided into two key questions: 1) can you figure out what to do and 2) can you get it done.

If you compromise in the first five, ten hires it might kill the company.

The most common post YC failure case for the companies we fund, is they're incredibly focussed during YC on their company... and after they start doing a lot of other things. They advise companies, they go to conferences, whatever.

If you can just learn to think about the market first, you will have a big leg up on most people starting startups.