#142 - Startup School Week 1 Recap: Kevin Hale and Eric Migicovsky

<p>We've cut down the first week of <a href="https://www.startupschool.org/">Startup School</a> lectures to be even shorter and combined them into one podcast. <br><br>First, a lecture from <a href="https://twitter.com/ilikevests">Kevin Hale</a>. Kevin is a YC partner and a cofounder of Wufoo. His lecture is about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOtCl5PU8F0">How to Evaluate Startup Ideas</a>.<br><br>Then, a lecture from <a href="https://twitter.com/ericmigi">Eric Migicovsky</a>. Eric is a YC partner and the founder of Pebble. His lecture is about <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT4Ig2uqjTc">How to Talk to Users</a>.<br><br>Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.<br><br>Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: <a href="https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/">https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/</a><br><br>***<br><br><b>Topics<br><br></b>00:00 - Intro<br><br>00:43 - Kevin Hale on How to Evaluate Startup Ideas<br><br>2:04 - How can I predict if an investor will like my idea?<br><br>2:50 - A startup idea is a hypothesis<br><br>5:44 - Problem<br><br>6:59 - Solution<br><br>8:16 - Insight<br><br>8:57 - Unfair advantages<br><br>13:45 - Two beliefs about startups<br><br>15:19 - Eric Migicovsky on How to Talk to Users<br><br>17:36 - Three common errors people make when talking to users<br><br>20:20 - Five questions to ask in a user interview<br><br>20:28 - What's the hardest part about doing the thing you're trying to solve?<br><br>21:02 - Tell me about the last time that you encountered this problem<br><br>21:22 - Why was this hard?<br><br>23:08 - What, if anything, have you done to try to solve this problem?<br><br>24:10 - What don't you love about the solutions you've already tried?<br><br>25:21 - Three stages in which talking to users is extremely beneficial<br><br>26:07 - Idea stage<br><br>30:40 - Prototype stage<br><br>33:41 - Iterating towards product market fit</p>