- The speaker is back in the Bay Area and thanks women who have spoken out about sexual harassment in Silicon Valley.
- Last year, the speaker discussed problems in startups and gave advice on how to avoid them.
- The speaker wants more women founders of successful startups and discusses what it takes to start a massively successful startup.
- Luck and timing play a role in the success of startups.
- Founders of successful startups are motivated by their passion for the company's mission, not just money or popularity.
- A huge market is necessary for a huge startup, but predicting market size is difficult.
- Successful startups often start with a simple and basic idea.
- Founders of successful startups need to be independent-minded, ambitious, and driven.
- Drive can be suppressed when someone has authority over you, but in a startup, no one has authority over you.

- No one has authority over you in a startup
- Founders of successful startups view it as their life's work and would never willingly sell it
- As a startup grows, founders need to transition into becoming managers
- Managing people and designing products are different skills, and it is rare to find someone who is great at both
- The path to creating a really big startup involves working on an idea that may not seem promising to others, but the founders believe in it and are committed to it
- The founders embrace the growth of their startup and are willing to adapt themselves to meet its needs
- The hope is that successful founders will inspire more women to start their own companies in the future

Jessica gave this talk at the 2017 Female Founders Conference.

Read more here: http://foundersatwork.posthaven.com/whats-different-about-unicorns

I can't see you but I'm so excited to see you.

This is actually my first time back in the Bay Area in more than a year.

I've been living in England for the past year with my family, and I just could not miss this day.

So here I am back for 24 hours, jet lag and all.

So hopefully I can deliver this OK in 1 piece.

Before I get started, I just would love to just take a moment to thank the women who've recently come forward so bravely, on the record, to speak out about the sexual harassment they've faced working in Silicon Valley.

Hopefully their actions will cause more women to speak up and help put an end to the discrimination and the harassment that we as women can face working in the startup community.

So last year, if you were here, you'll remember that I spoke about all the problems that can arise in a startup and how to avoid them.

And to be honest, I think last year's talk was the best general startup advice I could give you.

So if you haven't read it, please go to this link and read it.

And even if you have read it, it's worth a reread because these are the type of problems that can get you, even when you think you're already watching out for them.

Last year, I ended by saying that I want there to be more women founders of the big companies, of the So-called unicorns.

And these are the founders who make the most influential role models.

And role models are what we need most if we want to encourage more women to start their own companies.

In recent years, there's been an increase in the number of women who are starting startups and in the number of women who've raised significant seed in Series A rounds.

But now we've got to focus on the next target.

We need to have more women who are founding billion-dollar startups.

So that's what I'm going to talk about today.

What it takes to start a startup that's not merely successful, but is massively successful.

And I'm not saying everyone has to do this.

And if you do, you don't have to start a Google.

But if you do want to start a Google, what does it take?

What's the difference between a successful startup and a massively successful startup.

And fortunately, I've seen enough of both types at close hand that I can see patterns of differences.

So I've made a list of things that I think are different about the unicorns, and there are 9 of them.

I want to get this 1 out of the way from the very start.

In addition to having everything else that they need, the unicorns are lucky.

And 1 of the most important kinds of luck is timing.

The most successful founders have the right idea at the right time.

And you have less control over that than you might think, actually, because the best ideas are not deliberate.

They tend to grow organically out of the founders' lives.

However, while the most successful founders are all lucky, they're not merely lucky.

It's never like they have this great idea and then, boom, a few years later, they're a billionaire.

1 of the most noticeable difference between founders of the super successful startups and the moderately successful startups is their motives.

And in particular, the founders of the super successful startups never are in it mainly to get rich or to seem cool.

They're always fanatically interested in what the company is doing.

Incidentally, it's perfectly fine to start a startup, mainly for the money, but unless your motives change throughout the course of it, it probably won't wind up being 1 of the big ones.

There are multiple reasons why startups do better when the founders are truly interested in the idea.

They work harder because they love the work, and their enthusiasm is infectious.

They think longer term, And they're much harder for another company to capture with an acquisition offer because they don't actually want to quit.

So this 1 is going to sound really obvious.

To be a huge startup, you have to have a huge market.

You have to make something that a lot of people will pay for or that people will pay a lot for.

And this is 1 place luck actually has a very big effect because market sizes are impossible to predict.

For example, the Airbnbs didn't know how many people would want to stay in other people's homes.

All they knew was that enough would to make it an idea that was worth working on.

The founders of most successful startups never realize early on how big they're going to get.

So our advice at Y Combinator is not even to try to hit a big market early on.

Since you can't predict these things, it's better just to work on something you yourself want and then hope that there are lots more people like you.

When you describe the biggest startups, most all of them are doing something very basic.

I mean, these are all things you could explain in a few words to a five-year-old.

However, don't use this as a test for what to work on, because ideas often start out less general.

At first, Facebook wasn't where everyone's friends were.

They were where a couple thousand Harvard students were.

A site for a couple thousand students at 1 college doesn't sound like a very promising idea, does it?

It may seem promising now because we all know how the story turned out, but at the time it did not.

Almost all the really big startup ideas seemed dubious at first.

I know exactly how Airbnb's idea seemed at first because I was 1 of the people whose job it was to judge it.

And I didn't think much of it at the time, to be perfectly honest.

And it's not just that these ideas don't seem as big at first as they eventually turn out to be.

You need to be a certain type of person who can work on 1 of these bad ideas that eventually turns into a good 1.

It's now kind of part of the conventional picture of a successful founder to be a maverick and that part of the conventional picture is accurate.

I really I can't think of 1 that I would describe as a conformist.

You also have to be ambitious, because what happens with these initially unpromising ideas is that they blossom into terrifyingly big ones.

You start a site for college students and pretty soon you realize you could sign up the whole world if you wanted to.

And at this point, most people's reaction is fear.

Signing up the whole world seems like a lot of work, and it also seems like a valuable prize, and you have to fight to win those.

The fear of big ideas prevents most people from even realizing they could start a site for college students and turn that into a site for the whole world.

But a few people are more excited than afraid when this happens.

Another thing I notice about the founders of the really huge startups is that I would not want to stand between something they wanted and them.

All 100% of them have exceptional, exceptional drive.

But it's not always straightforward to tell how driven someone is.

Drive can be suppressed when someone else has authority over you, like in most schools or in a job.

And in these situations, people who are really driven may even read as less promising than people who are merely obedient.

So not only is it hard for me to tell how driven someone is, people often can't even tell themselves.

You can tell after they start a startup, though.

No 1 has authority over you in a startup.

Most people find the authority vacuum uncomfortable, but a few people expand into it.

And those few people think, this is what life is supposed to be like.

You have to be driven to work on this particular company.

In all the really huge startups, the company is at least 1 of the founders' life's work.

So they'd never willingly be acquired, for example.

If you sell your life's work, then what are you going to do?

Early on, starting a startup is all about the product.

But that changes as a startup gets really big.

A founder who wants to keep running the company has to become a manager.

You don't have to have management ability initially.

There's plenty of empirical evidence to show that you can learn this on the job.

But you have to be able to learn it, and you probably even have to like it.

Designing cool products and managing people are really different things.

Most people who like building things dislike the idea of being a manager.

It's a rare person who can be great at both.

But you have to be if you want to create 1 of the really big startups.

Those are the 9 things, as far as I can tell, that are the differences between startups that are merely successful and the ones that become really big.

When you put them all together, they make a story of how a unicorn happens.

The founders work on something their experience shows them that the world needs.

It wouldn't seem like a promising idea to most people, but the founders work on it anyway, partly because they understand the promise of the idea a little bit better, and partly just because they think it's cool.

They work on the idea and they realize they've become even bigger than they had realized.

Instead of shrinking from this realization, they embrace it eagerly.

And they realize this is what they want to do with their lives.

And they're so committed to the company that they're willing to morph themselves into whatever the company needs.

There's a lot of variety in startups, but this is the most common path for the really big ones.

So remember, you don't have to start a startup, and if you do, It doesn't have to be a unicorn, but if you do, this is probably what it's gonna look like, an unpromising idea that blossoms into a frighteningly big 1 and driven founders who see the opportunity and run with it.

And I'm hoping that there are some of you in this audience who hear this description and think to themselves, oh my gosh, it's like she's describing me.

The People on the path to becoming huge don't usually realize it themselves early on.

But I'm hoping if I can encourage even a few of you to keep going, then when you're successful, your example will encourage more new women to start their own companies.

And yes, this is a very long-term plan, but after all, it's my life's work.


Speaker 0: Hi everyone. I can't see you but I'm so excited to see you. This is actually my first time back in the Bay Area in more than a year. I've been living in England for the past year with my family, and I just could not miss this day. So here I am back for 24 hours, jet lag and all.

So hopefully I can deliver this OK in 1 piece. Before I get started, I just would love to just take a moment to thank the women who've recently come forward so bravely, on the record, to speak out about the sexual harassment they've faced working in Silicon Valley. I just cannot thank them enough. They're my heroes. Hopefully their actions will cause more women to speak up and help put an end to the discrimination and the harassment that we as women can face working in the startup community.

So 1 more round of applause. That was so awesome. All right, Where am I here? All right, here we go. So last year, if you were here, you'll remember that I spoke about all the problems that can arise in a startup and how to avoid them.

And to be honest, I think last year's talk was the best general startup advice I could give you. So if you haven't read it, please go to this link and read it. And even if you have read it, it's worth a reread because these are the type of problems that can get you, even when you think you're already watching out for them. So there's the link. Last year, I ended by saying that I want there to be more women founders of the big companies, of the So-called unicorns.

And these are the founders who make the most influential role models. And role models are what we need most if we want to encourage more women to start their own companies. In recent years, there's been an increase in the number of women who are starting startups and in the number of women who've raised significant seed in Series A rounds. And this is good. But now we've got to focus on the next target.

We need to have more women who are founding billion-dollar startups. So that's what I'm going to talk about today. What it takes to start a startup that's not merely successful, but is massively successful. And I'm not saying everyone has to do this. You don't have to start a startup.

And if you do, you don't have to start a Google. But if you do want to start a Google, what does it take? What's the difference between a successful startup and a massively successful startup. And fortunately, I've seen enough of both types at close hand that I can see patterns of differences. So I've made a list of things that I think are different about the unicorns, and there are 9 of them.

I want to get this 1 out of the way from the very start. In addition to having everything else that they need, the unicorns are lucky. And 1 of the most important kinds of luck is timing. The most successful founders have the right idea at the right time. And you have less control over that than you might think, actually, because the best ideas are not deliberate.

They tend to grow organically out of the founders' lives. However, while the most successful founders are all lucky, they're not merely lucky. It's never like they have this great idea and then, boom, a few years later, they're a billionaire. Far, far from that. 1 of the most noticeable difference between founders of the super successful startups and the moderately successful startups is their motives.

And in particular, the founders of the super successful startups never are in it mainly to get rich or to seem cool. They're always fanatically interested in what the company is doing. Incidentally, it's perfectly fine to start a startup, mainly for the money, but unless your motives change throughout the course of it, it probably won't wind up being 1 of the big ones. There are multiple reasons why startups do better when the founders are truly interested in the idea. They work harder because they love the work, and their enthusiasm is infectious.

They think longer term, And they're much harder for another company to capture with an acquisition offer because they don't actually want to quit. So this 1 is going to sound really obvious. To be a huge startup, you have to have a huge market. You have to make something that a lot of people will pay for or that people will pay a lot for. And this is 1 place luck actually has a very big effect because market sizes are impossible to predict.

For example, the Airbnbs didn't know how many people would want to stay in other people's homes. All they knew was that enough would to make it an idea that was worth working on. The founders of most successful startups never realize early on how big they're going to get. So our advice at Y Combinator is not even to try to hit a big market early on. Since you can't predict these things, it's better just to work on something you yourself want and then hope that there are lots more people like you.

When you describe the biggest startups, most all of them are doing something very basic. Google is how you find information. Facebook is where your friends are. Uber gives you rides. Airbnb gives you somewhere to sleep.

I mean, these are all things you could explain in a few words to a five-year-old. However, don't use this as a test for what to work on, because ideas often start out less general. At first, Facebook wasn't where everyone's friends were. They were where a couple thousand Harvard students were. A site for a couple thousand students at 1 college doesn't sound like a very promising idea, does it?

It may seem promising now because we all know how the story turned out, but at the time it did not. Almost all the really big startup ideas seemed dubious at first. I know exactly how Airbnb's idea seemed at first because I was 1 of the people whose job it was to judge it. And I didn't think much of it at the time, to be perfectly honest. And it's not just that these ideas don't seem as big at first as they eventually turn out to be.

They seem to most people like bad ideas. You need to be a certain type of person who can work on 1 of these bad ideas that eventually turns into a good 1. You need to be independent minded. You cannot care what other people think. It's now kind of part of the conventional picture of a successful founder to be a maverick and that part of the conventional picture is accurate.

I really I can't think of 1 that I would describe as a conformist. You also have to be ambitious, because what happens with these initially unpromising ideas is that they blossom into terrifyingly big ones. You start a site for college students and pretty soon you realize you could sign up the whole world if you wanted to. And at this point, most people's reaction is fear. Signing up the whole world seems like a lot of work, and it also seems like a valuable prize, and you have to fight to win those.

The fear of big ideas prevents most people from even realizing they could start a site for college students and turn that into a site for the whole world. But a few people are more excited than afraid when this happens. Another thing I notice about the founders of the really huge startups is that I would not want to stand between something they wanted and them. All 100% of them have exceptional, exceptional drive. But it's not always straightforward to tell how driven someone is.

Drive can be suppressed when someone else has authority over you, like in most schools or in a job. And in these situations, people who are really driven may even read as less promising than people who are merely obedient. So not only is it hard for me to tell how driven someone is, people often can't even tell themselves. You can tell after they start a startup, though. No 1 has authority over you in a startup.

Most people find the authority vacuum uncomfortable, but a few people expand into it. And those few people think, this is what life is supposed to be like. Drive by itself is not enough though. You have to be driven to work on this particular company. In all the really huge startups, the company is at least 1 of the founders' life's work.

So they'd never willingly be acquired, for example. If you sell your life's work, then what are you going to do? Early on, starting a startup is all about the product. But that changes as a startup gets really big. A founder who wants to keep running the company has to become a manager.

You don't have to have management ability initially. There's plenty of empirical evidence to show that you can learn this on the job. But you have to be able to learn it, and you probably even have to like it. Designing cool products and managing people are really different things. Most people who like building things dislike the idea of being a manager.

Probably know some people like that. It's a rare person who can be great at both. But you have to be if you want to create 1 of the really big startups. Those are the 9 things, as far as I can tell, that are the differences between startups that are merely successful and the ones that become really big. But they're not just a list.

When you put them all together, they make a story of how a unicorn happens. The founders work on something their experience shows them that the world needs. It wouldn't seem like a promising idea to most people, but the founders work on it anyway, partly because they understand the promise of the idea a little bit better, and partly just because they think it's cool. They work on the idea and they realize they've become even bigger than they had realized. Instead of shrinking from this realization, they embrace it eagerly.

And they realize this is what they want to do with their lives. And they're so committed to the company that they're willing to morph themselves into whatever the company needs. There's a lot of variety in startups, but this is the most common path for the really big ones. So remember, you don't have to start a startup, and if you do, It doesn't have to be a unicorn, but if you do, this is probably what it's gonna look like, an unpromising idea that blossoms into a frighteningly big 1 and driven founders who see the opportunity and run with it. And I'm hoping that there are some of you in this audience who hear this description and think to themselves, oh my gosh, it's like she's describing me.

The People on the path to becoming huge don't usually realize it themselves early on. But I'm hoping if I can encourage even a few of you to keep going, then when you're successful, your example will encourage more new women to start their own companies. And yes, this is a very long-term plan, but after all, it's my life's work. So, thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You

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Jessica Livingston - What's Different about "Unicorns"