#137 - Startup School Podcast Preview with Kevin Hale

<p>Today’s episode is a preview of the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-school-by-y-combinator/id1436083034">Startup School podcast</a>.&nbsp;<br><br>We’re putting all the Startup School lectures on their own podcast feed. You can subscribe here:&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/startup-school-by-y-combinator/id1436083034">iTunes</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><a href="http://backtracks.fm/ycombinator/startup-school/feed">RSS</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>This is the first lecture from Startup School 2019. It’s <a href="https://twitter.com/ilikevests">Kevin Hale</a> on How to Evaluate Startup Ideas.<br><br>It’s also not too late to sign up for <a href="https://www.startupschool.org/">Startup School</a>. <br><br>The course just started and the deadline to sign up is August 4th. Select companies who complete the course will also receive 15,000 dollars in equity-free funding.<br><br>Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.<br><br>Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: <a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/">https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/</a><br><br>***<br><br><b>Topics</b><br><br>00:00 - Intro<br><br>00:42 - Why we're starting with evaluating ideas<br><br>2:07 - YC doesn't just fund companies with traction<br><br>3:31 - How can I predict if an investor will like my idea?<br><br>5:57 - A startup idea is a hypothesis<br><br>7:37 - The problem<br><br>11:37 - The solution<br><br>13:07 - The insight<br><br>14:42 - Founder's unfair advantage<br><br>15:42 - Market growing 20% a year<br><br>16:22 - Product 10x better<br><br>17:12- Acquisition model<br><br>18:37 - Monopoly<br><br>19:32 - Threshold belief<br><br>19:52- Miracle belief<br><br>20:42 - Example: YC<br><br>24:02 - Example: Wufoo<br></p>