Andy

me: give me ~500 rows of raw data from the db you have access to engineer: let me create PR that creates an internal page to generate it, but if you want sorting, i need to ship another PR

one of the most wholesome moments you experience as a founder is when you decide to use a customer’s product too, and realize you both genuinely love using each other’s products

Last Friday, we teamed up with Lyra and @mercury to host a dinner for founders in the YC S26 batch. Super excited about what everyone is building and huge thanks to everyone who came out!

overheard from intern convo: “I don’t think that’s the right question to ask, the right question to ask is…” 🥹

@yo_puaaa yes! wrote by a YC founder (i just found out today)

@andywang Good book

Here’s the truth most founders don’t want to hear: Talking to literally anyone except potential users to validate your idea is wrong. I've worked in banking and capital markets for almost a decade and have scaled 3 different VC-backed startups as the Head of Finance. I've now been building @finta for 3+ years to automate accounting, simplify taxes, and get clarity on finances. I often get founders who are building in the same space reaching out to me to get my opinion on what they're building. And every time, I have the same response... "Don't talk to me unless you think I could be your user." Whatever feedback I give you, whether it's about how hard this space is or how much potential it has will just mislead you. You don't want to make decisions based on what I said, because I'm not your user and, at least right now, I won't pay for or use your product. And you definitely shouldn't ask VCs, "industry experts," or anyone else who still isn't your potential user. I do think I understand the psychology behind this, though. It's really hard to get your ICP to respond, and maybe you've been iterating without any feedback for a long time and just need a quick win from anyone. But feedback from someone who gives it to you easily isn't worth much. You have to face the hard problem, not run away from it, and talk to actual users. And if your real ICP doesn't respond to you or doesn't care about the problem you're solving, that could potentially be a form of feedback in and of itself. Or... maybe you already don't think it's a good idea to build in the space, and you're just trying to find an external justification to stop and pivot. Like, "I spoke with a VC, a domain expert, or someone knowledgeable in the space, and they said it's really hard and not worth it." If that's the case, you should just pivot! Building a startup is hard. It's not supposed to be easy. For founders out there still iterating to find who their users are or doing user validation, keep going. But don't shy away from anything painful or hard, because that's usually what separates something worth building from something anyone can copy. If I'm a potential ICP for any founders out there and can be of help, reach out anytime. And if you haven't read The Mom Test yet, you should!

@architabc 22 is too old to flex

@andywang archit 22 pro larper

putting your age as the first thing in your headline/intro is cringe

@faizan10114 💀

@andywang wasn't a typo 😅

so much notion hate right now 🥲

@faizan10114 just jk and of course, just thought your typo was funny

@andywang I think the hate is towards idiots 😅. Love notion.

@faizan10114 wait, typo or intentional? 🤯

@andywang anyone makes more progress than an idiot with notion.

anyone with direction makes more progress than an idiot in motion

@scottastevenson I think that's the reaction you should've expected Otherwise craft / taste (or whatever you call it) can be commoditized

This tweet is making people mad. That’s the barrier that prevents great creative work. Aligning to efficiency so deeply that you get offended by divergent thinking.

deleted another old feature that wasn't useful and is in the way clean is the #1 word customers say to describe Finta

it's easier than ever to build and start a company it's harder than ever to say no and focus

@anaeem152 It’s a must

@andywang the double meat carried that whole schedule

I get asked, “What does your typical day look like?” a lot as a founder... It’s hard to answer because every day is different Today was probably one of the more typical days: - 8am: rode new bike to work - 8:30am: team standup - 9am: called California tax board to get customer their refund - 9–11am: customer support and fix bugs - 11am: demoed an upcoming feature and got feedback to iterate on - 11:30am: debrief on roadmap big bets - 12pm: chipotle for lunch (double meat) - 1pm: customer onboarding calls - 2–5pm: customer support + bug fixes + unblock teammates - 5–6pm: interns asked for mid term feedback - 6–10pm: cohosted an event for YC founders and bumped into customers - 10-10:30pm: walk dog with wife - 10:30–11:45pm: shipped a feature - 12am: make this post and sleep before 1am

@andrewqu Dota 2

how has there not been a new: - 100% mechanical - 100% strategy - ~0% luck game since starcraft2?