Y Combinator Startup Podcast
00:08:30 · Francois Chaubard
You need an innate curiosity about people. You need to think from your user's perspective constantly, and you only get that perspective by listening. Whether you're selling into an IT department, an intern, or a procurement officer, or a consumer, you must empathize with them. As Dale Carnegie once wrote, you can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get others interested in you. This is exactly how sales and product development work. To summarize, the most common piece of feedback I give to academics turn founders is this. Get out of your office, get on a flight, and go meet with your users where they live and work. Validate your assumptions. Will people actually pay you for this? Because that is exactly what your competition is doing, and if you don't do it, they will beat you to it. It will be uncomfortable, but it is entirely necessary. If you want to quiet your academic brain and start growing your founder brain, I highly recommend reading Spin Selling, High Output Management, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and How to Win Friends and Influence People. I'll leave you with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi. If you want to change the world, start with yourself. You already have the intelligence. The only question left is, do you have the will?