Jessica Livingston

Principles are our summary of their public statements.

• Solve for the founder's loneliness

  Strategy

  Investing in batches provides founders with a peer group, turning a lonely journey into a collaborative one.

  Supporting quotes

  • “I was one of those kids that you just couldn't get anything past. If something seemed off or out of character, I noticed and made inquiries.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Prioritize Founder Well-being Over Squeezing

  Integrity

  Long-term success and a healthy community come from being benevolent to founders, even when a startup is failing, rather than squeezing them for small gains.

  Supporting quotes

  • “I looked at qualities of the applicants my cofounders couldn't see. Did they seem earnest? Were they determined? Were they flexible-minded?”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Do things that don't scale

  Customers

  In the early stages, founders should provide an extraordinary level of service to their first users that would be impossible to maintain at a larger scale.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Don't pay attention to the mainstream's opinion of what you're doing - whether it's your skills, your idea or whatever . Unless they're your users, their opinion does not matter.”

    “Find a cofounder with complementary skills, but the same moral compass as you . Paul and I had the perfect combination of skills to start something like YC.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Anticipate future market shifts

  Strategy

  Instead of chasing current trends, founders should build solutions for where the market will be in several years.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

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