One of the pieces of advice that we give at YC is: try to work together on a project rather than just doing an interview.

... fire fast when it's not working. It's better for the company, it's also better for the employee.

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

A lot of people treat choosing their cofounder with even less importance than they put on hiring. Don't do this.

... you can think about that for everyone you hire: will I bet the future of this company on this single hire? And that's a tough bar.

You only get points when you make something the market wants. So if you work really hard on the wrong things, no one will care.

Wait to start a startup until you come up with an idea that you feel compelled to explore.