Facts for Startup Founders

Specially curated for the AWS Impact Accelerator

Danny Sheridan

May 19, 2022

Howdy-

I’ve hand-picked five facts that are most relevant to founders building a startup. Good luck as you go out and solve a problem that someone else cares about. Small teams have an unfair advantage: focus. I am often reminded of a quote from the co-founder of Y Combinator

“When you have an idea for a startup, ask yourself: who wants this right now? Who wants this so much that they’ll use it even when it’s a crappy version 1 made by a two-person startup they’ve never heard of?” – Paul Graham of Y Combinator

Find inspiration and ideas worth sharing in the five facts listed below!
- Danny Sheridan, founder & author of Fact of the Day 1

Fact of the Day 1

January 17: Focus on the inputs, measure the outputs

Source: Sketchplanations, AMZN 2009 Letter to Shareholders Published: December 2021, April 2010 Focus on the inputs, measure the outputs “Senior leaders that are new to Amazon are often surprised by how little time we spend discussing actual financial results or debating projected financial outputs... We believe that…

2 years ago · 20 likes · Danny Sheridan

Fact of the Day 1

January 11: YCombinator’s Motto

Today’s fact is sponsored by TrueUp: Founded by an ex-AWS product leader, TrueUp scans 400,000+ open tech jobs from all top startups, unicorns, and big tech and sends you weekly updates of the ones most relevant to you. Sign up for free. If you would like to sponsor…

2 years ago · 5 likes · Danny Sheridan

Fact of the Day 1

November 17: Thoughts on Work-Life Balance

Source: Ev Williams Published: December 2012 Thoughts on Work-Life Balance “Take care of yourself: When you don’t sleep, eat crap, don’t exercise, and are living off adrenaline for too long, your performance suffers. Your decisions suffer. Your company suffers…

2 years ago · 16 likes · Danny Sheridan

Fact of the Day 1

October 11: A guide to great 1:1s

Source: Jessica Powell Published: August 2020 A guide to great 1:1s 1:1s are a vital component of any successful employee-manager relationship. But too often, they aren't well thought out. Startup founder and former Google VP Jessica Powell believes that…

2 years ago · 14 likes · 2 comments · Danny Sheridan

Fact of the Day 1

October 18: Five balls of life

Source: Mark Turner Published: May 2015 Five balls of life “Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the air.” “You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four Balls – Fa…

2 years ago · 30 likes · 4 comments · Danny Sheridan

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