Paul Graham

Principles are our summary of their public statements.

• Bias toward creation over criticism

  Mindset

  It is better to build something new, even if it feels awkward, than to make sophisticated observations about what others have already built.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source What to Do  (opens in a new tab)

• Distinctive design signals brand

  Brand

  When products look identical due to minimalism, creating a unique visual identity allows customers to signal their choice of brand to others.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Brand Age  (opens in a new tab)

• The Morris Technique

  Writing

  Do not say anything unless you are certain it is worth hearing, and be willing to delete entire paragraphs or essays that do not meet this standard.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Useful writing makes claims that are as strong as they can be made without becoming false.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Normalize Ambitious Goals

  Mindset

  Surround yourself with a community where starting a company is considered a normal or even fashionable career choice to sustain morale.

  Supporting quotes

  • “The problem is not that most towns kill startups. It's that death is the default for startups, and most towns don't save them.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Account for the Meta-Check Cost

  Management

  Every new rule or approval process added to an organization carries a hidden cost in time, money, and lost opportunities. Leaders must require an explanation of these costs whenever a new check is proposed.

  Supporting quotes

  • “the real costs are the ones you never hear about: the company that would be the best supplier, but doesn't bid because they can't spare the effort to get verified.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Avoid being a bottleneck

  Management

  Imposing arbitrary delays on product updates forces developers to ship buggy, outdated versions. A platform succeeds by enabling speed, not by obstructing the natural flow of improvement.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Apple's Mistake  (opens in a new tab)

• Prioritize people over initial ideas

  Hiring

  Since the future is hard to predict, focus on surrounding yourself with earnest and independent-minded people who are likely to discover what's next.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source How to Be an Expert in a Changing World  (opens in a new tab)

• Distinguish Theory From Practice

  Decisions

  One must judge a system by its actual outcomes and error rates rather than its theoretical or moral justifications.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Real Reason to End the Death Penalty  (opens in a new tab)

• Beware of Institutional Incentives

  Management

  People in organizations often prioritize looking effective or meeting pressure over finding the truth, leading to systemic failures.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Real Reason to End the Death Penalty  (opens in a new tab)

• Overcome Schlep Blindness

  Mindset

  Do not let the unconscious fear of tedious or difficult tasks prevent you from seeing great business opportunities.

  Source Schlep Blindness  (opens in a new tab)

• Use social pressure as fuel

  Mindset

  Founders are driven more by the fear of looking bad in front of peers than by the abstract goal of wealth.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source A Student's Guide to Startups  (opens in a new tab)

• Approach big ideas obliquely

  Mindset

  The most ambitious ideas are often so intimidating that the subconscious filters them out. Founders should start with a smaller, manageable version of a big vision to avoid being paralyzed by fear.

  Supporting quotes

  • “It means these ideas are invisible to most people who try to think of startup ideas, because their subconscious filters them out. Even the most ambitious people are probably best off approaching them obliquely.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Prioritize speed and utility

  Strategy

  Users are often willing to switch to a new service simply because it is faster or solves a specific pain point like a cluttered UI. Performance alone can be a significant competitive advantage against slow incumbents.

  Supporting quotes

  • “It means these ideas are invisible to most people who try to think of startup ideas, because their subconscious filters them out. Even the most ambitious people are probably best off approaching them obliquely.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Use alien truth as a heuristic

  Mindset

  When evaluating the importance of a concept, ask if it would be recognizable or useful to an intelligent alien species to filter out parochial noise.

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Alien Truth  (opens in a new tab)

• Increase visibility of bad habits

  Mindset

  To break a habit, one must eliminate the ability to 'slip' into it unconsciously by creating physical or mental alarms.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Addictive things have to be treated as if they were sentient adversaries - as if there were a little man in your head always cooking up the most plausible arguments”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Don't Over-Analyze Randomness

  Mindset

  Avoid creating elaborate narratives for outcomes that are actually driven by a single dominant factor or random noise.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source It's Charisma, Stupid  (opens in a new tab)

• Recognize Conformist Aggression

  Management

  Aggressively conventional people often enforce rules not for the greater good, but to punish dissent and compete for moral superiority.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Four Quadrants of Conformism  (opens in a new tab)

• Distinguish measurement from reality

  Strategy

  One must recognize that tests and metrics are often poor proxies for the qualities they are supposed to measure.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Lesson to Unlearn  (opens in a new tab)

• Fill the funding gap

  Strategy

  There is a massive opportunity in providing mid-sized seed funding to promising startups that still have things to figure out.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Why There Aren't More Googles  (opens in a new tab)

• Avoid Appearance Compensation

  Management

  Be wary when energy shifts from doing the work to looking like the work is being done. Elaborate reports and presentations often signal a lack of real progress.

  Supporting quotes

  • “The effort that goes into looking productive is not merely wasted, but actually makes organizations less productive.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.