Austin

Founder & CEO, CDX Data | Sofia's Dad | Electronic Music Producer & Performer

[Dr. Dominic Ng @DrDominicNg]

https://t.co/eLRaPDCF3O

[signüll @signulll]

if you’re a venture backed founder, you should be 100x more ambitious & risk seeking than you think you should be.

i’ve unfortunately made this mistake constantly. your brain naturally wants to take the next logical step & you obviously fight that instinct because you have to. so naturally you end up at like 10x.

but 10x is still more than likely extrapolation of existing trends. if you want to end up somewhere genuinely far ahead you have to think 100x while still making sure what you’re up to is familiar & relatable. very difficult multi dimensional problem all around.

[Austin @athompson2043]

If you can avoid the politics X is absolutely the most beneficial social media platform to my business.

[Jason ✨👾SaaStr.Ai✨ Lemkin @jasonlk]

Very few downsides to getting to know the CEOs of your competitors

- They could buy you someday, or vice-versa
- Deesclates later tensions
- Helps you focus on the bigger prize
- Share a little, learn a little

[Paul Mit @pmitu]

Before coding, ask yourself these questions:

- who are your customers?
- what are they trying to achieve?
- what are their their problems?
- what is the #1 problem your product solves?
- how will you get your first 10 users?
- and the next 100?

Then start coding

Thank me later

[Tim Ferriss @tferriss]

“I never think about exits. We need to focus on the product. Do we have a product that everyone wants to use? If you solve that, everything else follows.”
— Kevin Ryan

Listen to my interview with Kevin Ryan: https://t.co/Rkx0ujduqE

[Austin @athompson2043]

@manxlab Earth

[YC Insights. @YCInsight]

YC PMF timeline data

Founders talking to users 10+ times per week:
→ Find PMF on average in 6 months

Founders talking to users 2 to 4 times per week:
→ Find PMF in 12 to 18 months

Founders talking to users fewer than twice per week: → Often pivot multiple times or never find it

User conversation frequency is the most predictive variable for PMF timeline, not market size or team credentials.

[Austin @athompson2043]

@tferriss This quote should be printed and put in every room in my house. Life saving.

[Tim Ferriss @tferriss]

“Do as little as needed, not as much as possible.”
— Henk Kraaijenhof

[Austin @athompson2043]

@pmitu Done!

[Peter Kazanjy @Kazanjy]

Founders: Revenue outcomes are downstream of calendar allocation.

Not founder IQ. Not the deck. Not the pitch.

If pipe gen and deal advancement aren't on the calendar this week, they aren't happening this week.

[DAN KOE @thedankoe]

If you want to make the most progress you've ever made in your life, you need to be alone. You need an extended period of isolation, not influenced by friends or media, spent building your future. You need space to learn, think, experiment, and fail.

Give yourself 6 months. Focus solely on the development of your mind, body, spirit, and finances. This is how you get ahead of most people.

[Soul Notes @SoulNotes43]

“Be calm enough to avoid war, and prepared enough to finish it.”

— Sun Tzu

[Peter Kazanjy @Kazanjy]

Founders: Here's how to structure pilots that actually close:

- Max 30 days
- 3 mandatory training sessions
- Weekly usage metrics reviews
- 2 required use cases completed
- Success criteria defined up front

Charge 25% of annual fee for the pilot.

No more endless trials.

[Tibo @tibo_maker]

a YC partner who closed millions in founder-led sales just laid out her 8 rules for cold email

[Moral Philosophy @ML_Philosophy]

"A good man without strength is hoping that evil has mercy."

— Sun Tzu

[Tesla Semi @tesla_semi]

Semi is here

Today, we're launching high volume production

[Peter Kazanjy @Kazanjy]

Founders: The most powerful sales narratives follow a simple pattern:

Problem → Pain → Current Solutions → Why They Fail → What Changed → New Solution → Proof

Each part builds naturally on the last.

[Tim Wijaya @itsTimWijaya]

I talked ~20 YC founders after Demo Day and learned a brutal lesson about fundraising:

Startups that raised the most ($5-10m) often have ZERO traction but fresh, insightful, and huge-if-true ideas.

Startups that fail to raise ($1-3m), often have TONS of traction, but their ideas are boring and incremental.

Traction is seen as a bad thing, because it signals you're in a competitive market with a clear incumbent/winner.

When talking to VCs, it's much easier to sell a dream than to justify numbers.