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Avoiding Startup Death Spiral {w/ #cs183s skills}

by Larry Chiang on December 17, 2015

By Larry Chiang

Have you ever met a smart athlete?
A student athlete this is both a great athlete and a great student. Well, at Stanford there is another statistical anomaly: the CS major who sells.

Yup, a computer science major that doubles as a salesperson.

Unofficial Austin (@UnofficialATX)
CS Majors That Sell and Have Sales Skills Avoid “Startup Death Spiral”: youtu.be/hkM6kkszxo0?a via @YouTube

Practice Sales = Selling Something That You Did Not Code or Make #CS183s

{Pattern to avoid: The supermajority of time, a founder will be ‘selling’ something near and dear to their heart, for the first time. Whoa, don’t do that because it’ll be like your virginal time GONE WRONG}

Instead, practice selling on something that does not matter. Like getting an old person at the airport or hotel Taxi line to download Uber. Yes, learn to do a Collison Bros installation… (more on that below)

Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
Selling Something That You Did Not Code or Make #CS183s; Lec 1; Video 1

Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
#CS183s; Lec 1; Video 2. This hashtag #cs183s is an extrapolation of what other #cs183‘s hinted at but didn’t explain

Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
#CS183s; Lec 1; Video 3. This hashtag #cs183s is not something you’re going to get college credit for…

Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
#CS183s; Lec 1; Video 4. Right now the most advanced startup theory is “Sell it first. Then code it”

Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
#CS183s; Lec 1; Video 5. Baby steps in selling

Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
#CS183s; Lec 1; Video 6. Baby step = Generate one lead for Revel Systems. Cold email the co-founder lisa@RevelSystems.com


Video 7 has a lot of content. 

Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
The importance = Professor Blank’s “startup death spiral” {INTRO}
bit.ly/sblank710
#CS183s; Lec 1; Solving Startup Death Spiral

 

 
Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
Professor Blank “startup death spiral”
Part I
bit.ly/sblank711
#CS183s; Lec 1; Video 7. Solves “Startup Death Spiral”
 


Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
Professor Blank “startup death spiral”
Part II
bit.ly/sblank712
#CS183s; Lec 1; Video 7. Solves “Startup Death Spiral”

 
Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
Professor Blank “startup death spiral”
Part III
bit.ly/sblank713
#CS183s; Lec 1; Video 7. Solves “Startup Death Spiral”

Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
There IS NO PART iv!
There is no Part Four.
There is no part 4!!
#CS183s; Lec 1; Video 8. Solving Startup Death Spiral (aka ‘no part 4!’)

I have asked Professor Blank five times for the Part 4. There is no solution yet. There is no part 4 yet so let us use this piece as Professor Blank’s part 4.

Larry Chiang (@LarryChiang)
#CS183s; Lec 1; Video 9. What Paul Graham and Peter Thiel Hint At… BUT DON’T EXPLAIN

See Lec 3 #cs183 for PG’s dangling sales participle.
See Lec 5 for Peter’s dangling I’m-not-explaining-sales principles; #cs183b

HOMEWORK: Practice selling by doing the “Collison Bros installation”
Take their computer and install the Uber app.
Many older people cannot find the App store.
Take their iPhone 6 can download UBER.
Location: At a nice hotel near whereever you live.
Location: at the airport. THey have ‘Don’t accept rides from solicitors’ signs up because solicitors successfully sell people in Taxi lines. Sell those people in Taxi lines and Uber.

 
 

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