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Gustaf Alstr\xf6mer is a Group Partner at Y Combinator, where he\u2019s worked with over 600 startups in his 6.5 years there. He\u2019s also a fellow Airbnb alumnus and even started the original Airbnb growth team. In today\u2019s podcast, Gustaf discusses common reasons startups fail and how he helps coach founders on avoiding these mistakes. He explains the attributes that the best founders tend to have, and signs that a company has potential. We also cover the growing space of climate tech, for which Gustaf has a huge passion and where he\u2019s already had an incredible impact. He shares some key areas of innovation and investment in climate tech, some notable companies he\u2019s helped fund, and where he sees potential going forward.

Find the full transcript here: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-working-with-600-yc

Where to find Gustaf Alstr\xf6mer:

\u2022 Twitter: https://twitter.com/gustaf

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustafalstromer/

Where to find Lenny:

\u2022 Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com

\u2022 Twitter: https://twitter.com/lennysan

\u2022 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/

Referenced:

\u2022 Airbnb tweet: https://twitter.com/gustaf/status/1580330162725347330

\u2022 Startups Are an Act of Desperation: https://blog.eladgil.com/p/startups-are-an-act-of-desperation

\u2022 The 18 Mistakes That Kill Startups: http://www.paulgraham.com/startupmistakes.html

\u2022 Do Things That Don\u2019t Scale: http://paulgraham.com/ds.html

\u2022 Marc Andreessen: https://a16z.com/author/marc-andreessen/

\u2022 How to Talk to Users: https://youtu.be/z1iF1c8w5Lg

\u2022 How to Get Your First Customers: https://youtu.be/hyYCn_kAngI

\u2022 Pachama: https://pachama.com/

\u2022 Request for Startups: Climate Tech: https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/rfs-climatetech

\u2022 Climate Draft: https://www.climatedraft.org/

\u2022 Seabound: https://www.seabound.co/

\u2022 Fleetzero: https://www.fleetzero.com/

\u2022 Unravel Carbon: https://www.unravelcarbon.com/

\u2022 CarbonChain: https://www.carbonchain.com/

\u2022 Sinai: https://www.sinaitechnologies.com/

\u2022 Enode: https://enode.com/

\u2022 Statiq: https://www.statiq.in/

\u2022 Heart Aerospace: https://heartaerospace.com/

\u2022 The 100% Solution: A Plan for Solving Climate Change: https://www.amazon.com/100-Solution-Solving-Climate-Change/dp/1612198384

\u2022 Without a Doubt: How to Go from Underrated to Unbeatable: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1982147903?tag=simonsayscom

\u2022 Emily in Paris on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81037371

\u2022 Everything Everywhere All at Once on Showtime: https://www.sho.com/titles/3493875/everything-everywhere-all-at-once

\u2022 How to Apply and Succeed at Y Combinator, by Dalton Caldwell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yiOcCPvyNE

\u2022 Y Combinator on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ycombinator

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Gustaf\u2019s background

(04:15) What made Airbnb so special

(07:21) How culture interviews and hiring founders contributed to Airbnb\u2019s success

(10:31) Motivations for starting companies

(13:17) Why Gustaf helps founders understand their motivations

(14:13) Reasons you should not start a company

(16:03) The magic that happens at YC office hours

(20:45) Why founders in coworking spaces should schedule time to talk\xa0

(21:36) Questions Gustaf asks founders

(22:26) Common reasons startups fail

(26:23) Getting over the fear of rejection\xa0

(27:57) The importance of solving for pain points and why you should watch users

(34:21) The value of having a technical co-founder

(37:42) How founders without technical expertise have succeeded

(40:46) Attributes of the most successful founders

(44:57) Why it\u2019s hard to predict success and how YC advises against failures

(46:59) Indications of potential for success

(50:03) Speed vs. quality

(51:11) Confidence vs. humility

(52:48) Execution and tactics vs. strategy

(54:36) Autocratic vs. collaborative-driven founders

(56:27) Why you should focus on product first

(59:03) The economic incentive for investing in climate tech

(1:02:16) The clean-tech bubble of 2008

(1:04:59) Why you don\u2019t need to be super-scientific to work in climate tech

(1:06:51) Areas of climate tech and promising companies

(1:12:27) What\u2019s going well in the climate-change space

(1:16:49) Lightning round

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.