ShopTalk Blog

There are two types of people in the world: those that put other people into categories and those that don't. While returning to Wheeler Auditorium after lunch on Saturday, I made a comment that put me firmly in the former category. I had noticed a pattern among the speakers at Startup School. Some speakers had apparently figured out a formula for success, and emphatically encouraged us to repeat that formula. Other speakers were quick to point out that they were merely reviewing their experience, which may or may not apply to audience members, because every startup faces unique challenges.

Jamie's response to my observation was that the speakers' values were evident in their talks. Hackers value precision and accuracy. Great hackers have to be precise and accurate, because computers do what you write, not what you intend. Salesmen value confidence. To close a sale and get paid (which is, as we learned, the absolute greatest expression of love), customers have to be pretty convinced that you're right. That's not going to happen if you're not confident. Why should I believe you if you don't seem to believe yourself?

This classification reminded me of one of my favorite math jokes (from Wikipedia):

An astronomer, a physicist and a mathematician are on a train in Scotland. The astronomer looks out of the window, sees a black sheep standing in a field, and remarks, "How odd. Scottish sheep are black." "No, no, no!" says the physicist. "Only some Scottish sheep are black." The mathematician rolls his eyes at his companions' muddled thinking and says, "In Scotland, there is at least one sheep, at least one side of which looks black."

You could probably substitute a salesman, a VC, and a hacker into this joke and it would still work.

Jason Fried was the most conspicuous salesman of the bunch. He spoke almost entirely in absolutes. He raised his voice. He was defiant and confident. He paced around the stage to bolster his stage presence. And if that wasn't enough to convince you that he was right, he threw in a slew of curse words. It's hard to argue with that.

Paul Buchheit stood on the other end of the spectrum. One of his early slides literally said this:

Limited Life Experiences + Over-generalization = Advice

He was relatively timid, yet funny and insightful. He looked at problems from multiple angles. He discounted his own opinion frequently. He offered options, but didn't make any demands.

Technology entrepreneurs need to be half hacker and half salesman. When you're writing code you have to be intimately familiar with the limitations and weaknesses of your product. When you're selling, however, your product is suddenly limitless and indestructible. When you're working on strategies for your startup you need to consider multiple scenarios and outcomes. When you're talking to the press, you only discuss one possible outcome: unmitigated success.

Since Startup School is attended mostly by hackers, I felt a little insulted by Jason Fried's lack of intellectual honesty. I had to wonder if he had deluded himself or if he was trying to delude the audience. I appreciated many of his one-liners and the entertainment he provided, but I felt much more comfortable listening to Paul Buchheit's humble and honest approach.

Mark Zuckerberg is an interesting specimen. At Startup School 2007, he took the stage after Mitch Kapor. Mitch had just given a fantastic talk based on his stellar track record in the industry over the last three decades. Mark got on stage and arrogantly contradicted much of what Mitch had just said. Of course, Mark wouldn't know that, because he couldn't be bothered to sit through Mitch's talk and even showed up late for his own. Brad Fitzpatrick refers to LiveJournal as his "accidental success". In 2007, that attitude was completely absent from Mark's talk. The guy was obviously drinking his own Kool Aid. I lost a lot of respect for him that day. This year, however, he managed to gain a lot back. He attended the entire conference (and even participated in other talks from the crowd ;) ). He was much more humble and honest. He recognized the achievements of others and the viability of a variety of approaches. His first line was, "These are my people," putting himself on an equal playing field with all the hackers in attendance. I only wish he had responded to rms's question about taking PR lessons, because it seems like he's making a concerted effort in this area, and it's paying off. Good on you, Mark.

Salesmanship holds an important place at Startup School. It's likely the facet of entrepreneurship that attendees need to work on most. I appreciated Jason Fried for giving us a great example of how it's done well. I think most attendees are grounded enough to know that there is no silver bullet and that each talk should be consumed as the opinion of the speaker and not as absolute truth. From the variety of styles, experiences, and opinions, we can formulate an approach that works best for us. Thank you, Y Combinator, for putting on a terrific conference again this year, and for teaching this hacker how to become an entrepreneur.