Paul Graham discusses starting a company in Japan as an agency before deciding to build an enterprise product alone and almost running out of money before getting accepted to Y Combinator (YC). YC accepts startups, provides funding and mentorship, and connects them to investors. The best parts of YC are its branding, strong alumni network, and opportunities for investor connections and mentorship. Working at 500startups offers opportunities to meet people, form partnerships, impress customers, and work in a creative environment. When selling globally, companies should create a global image, listen to international customers, localize early, and use multi-lingual content marketing. Hiring globally requires networking, luck, and a willingness to experiment.

2. Paul Graham

3. My Japanese Startup
• Started as an agency
• Decided to build an enterprise product by
myself
• Almost ran out of money
• Got into YC

4. Robert Morris Trevor Blackwell Jessica Livingston Paul Graham Paul Bucheit Harj Taggar
Partner Partner Partner Partner Partner Venture Partner
Professor, MIT CEO, Anybots Author, Founders at Work Author, On Lisp Creator, GMail, AdSense
Founder, Viaweb Founder, Viaweb Founder, FriendFeed
Since 2005,Y Combinator has funded over 200 startups. The network of YC alumni is over 500 people.

5. How YC Works
• Application + Interview
• Accepted = Move to SV
• Investment
• Weekly Dinners
• Mentorship
• Network
• Demo Day
• Investors

6. The Best Parts of YC
• Branding
• Network
• Office Hours
• Investor Connections

7. Christine Tsai Dave McClure Enrique Allen
500startups is a $30 Million Venture fund created by Dave McClure to
invest in startups with disruptive business models built on data, design and distribution.

8. Working at 500startups
• Meet lots of new people
• Make partnerships
• Impress customers :-)
• Creative working environment

9. Selling to People Around the
World
• Create an global image from the very
beginning
• Listen to people in other countries
• Build what they want
• Localize early
• Create multi-lingual content marketing
strategy

10. Hiring People Globally
• Network
• Luck
• Willingness to experiment