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Top Must-Read Paul Graham Essays

Entrepreneur, computer scientist, and venture capitalist Paul Graham is one of the most interesting and brilliant minds to follow in the startup world. He co-founded the accelerator Y Combinator and Hacker News; he also backed up many successful startups that turned into successful tech companies (like Airbnb ).

Table of Contents

On Scalability

Actually startups take off because the founders make them take off. There may be a handful that just grew by themselves, but usually it takes some sort of push to get them going. A good metaphor would be the cranks that car engines had before they got electric starters. Once the engine was going, it would keep going, but there was a separate and laborious process to get it going.

paul graham top essays

On Startup Ideas

The very best startup ideas tend to have three things in common: they’re something the founders themselves want, that they themselves can build, and that few others realize are worth doing. Microsoft , Apple , Yahoo, Google , and Facebook all began this way.

how-to-get-startup-ideas

On Doing What You Love

There’s another sense of “not everyone can do work they love” that’s all too true, however. One has to make a living, and it’s hard to get paid for doing work you love. There are two routes to that destination:
The organic route: as you become more eminent, gradually to increase the parts of your job that you like at the expense of those you don’t. The two-job route: to work at things you don’t like to get money to work on things you do.

how-to-do-what-you-love

On Ramen Profitability

Ramen profitable means a startup makes just enough to pay the founders’ living expenses . This is a different form of profitability than startups have traditionally aimed for. Traditional profitability means a big bet is finally paying off, whereas the main importance of ramen profitability is that it buys you time. 

ramen-profitable-paul-graham

Read Next: Ramen Profitability , Profitability , Idea Generation .

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This is Amara Ventures' reading of Paul Graham's essays. At Amara, we rever Paul Graham and we strongly believe that his essays are a must-read for everyone in the world of tech and beyond. This podcast is divided into TWO segments. The first segment is a verbatim reading of a particular essay and the second segment is a discussion with a guest who helps us connect the core ideas of essay with the contemporary world of startups in India and the valley by sharing insightful stories and anecdotes. Visit www.amaraventres.co to know more.

Paul Graham Essays: Readalouds and Discussions with Amara Ventures Amara Ventures

  • 5.0 • 2 Ratings
  • MAR 15, 2021

Ep 4.2: Vivek Joshi discussing Good and Bad Procrastination by Paul Graham

Can procrastination be good? If yes, when? Can you afford to forget the 'small stuff' because you are focused on the bigger things?  But then doesn't God lie in the details?  This and much more is discussed in this fantastic discussion with Vivek Joshi on the ever-green essay by Paul Graham. Vivek Joshi is a seasoned entrepreneur and an avid investor who is interested in startups, stock markets and social change.  You can reach Vivek on Twitter at https://twitter.com/startupfundas.

  • MAR 14, 2021

Ep 4.1 Read aloud of 'Good and Bad Procrastination' by Paul Graham

Good and Bad Procrastination is a fantastic essay by Paul Graham written in 2005. Long before Tim Urban's TED talk - Inside the mind of a master Procrastinator came out, this is one essay that spoke of how procrastination plays a huge role in one's life.   Contrary to the common wisdom of staying organized and keeping a tab on the To-Do list, the essay makes a case for forgetting 'small stuff' if you can put your brain to better use. Harping on the difference between creativity and productivity, the essay is a must-hear for everyone.  The essay reading is done by Minal Desai of Amara Ventures, an angel investment firm in India. To know more about them visit www.amaraventures.co

  • MAR 3, 2021

Ep 3.2: Vivek Khare discussing Do Things That don't Scale to Investors by Paul Graham

Startups must have a DNA that lets them scale faster than a normal business. But what does that DNA comprise of? To understand that we have Vivek Khare ex-Naukri and a stellar investor (zomato, Vastra, Nivesh, etc) who shares many of his personal stories about founders' hustle Hear Vivek Khare answer this and much more in this enticing discussion with Minal Desai of Amara Ventures. You can connect with Vivek on Twitter @Vivekstartupguy and know more about Amara Ventures at www.amaraventures.co

  • MAR 2, 2021

Ep 3.1: Read-aloud of 'Do Things That Don't Scale' by Paul Graham

Written in 2013, Do Things that Don't Scale remains one of the topmost essays ever written by our beloved Paul Graham. It talks of how startup in its initial days must do things that seem impossible to scale but are extremely valuable to be done in the early days.  Drawing from examples of Airbnb and Stripe, Paul makes a compelling case for founders to focus on the user and simply do whatever it takes to delight them.  The essay reading is done by Minal Desai of Amara Ventures, an angel investment firm in India. To know more about them visit www.amaraventures.co

  • FEB 21, 2021

Ep 2.2: Sanjay Mehta discussing A Hacker's Guide to Investors by Paul Graham

The Indian startup ecosystem is growing at a frantic pace. And Sanjay Mehta of 100x is one of the handful of people who are shaping it.  But what is it to raise money and approach investors in today's day and age? How much time does it take to raise money?  What do investors look for in startups? Hear Sanjay Mehta answer this and much more in this enticing discussion with Minal Desai of Amara Ventures.  You can connect with Sanjay on Twitter @mehtasanjay and know more about Amara Ventures at www.amaraventures.co 

Ep 2.1: Readaloud of A Hacker's Guide to Investors by Paul Graham

Written in 2007, this is mecca of guides to investors by none other than our beloved Paul Graham. The expansive essays lists down 23 things a founder should keep in mind when approaching investors. The timeless advice shared by Paul is as relevant today as it was then and if you are a founder starting out to raise funds, this is a MUST hear essay.  The essay reading is done by Minal Desai of Amara Ventures, an angel investment firm in India. To know more about them visit www.amaraventures.co

  • © Amara Ventures

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Summaries of Paul Graham's essays

See the originals here .

  • After The Ladder
  • An Alternative Theory of Unions
  • Cities and Ambition
  • How to Do What You Love
  • How to Get Startup Ideas
  • How to Make Wealth
  • How to Start a Startup
  • Inequality and Risk
  • Is It Worth Being Wise?
  • It's Charisma, Stupid
  • Schlep Blindness
  • Startup = Growth
  • Taste for Makers
  • The Age of the Essay
  • The Python Paradox
  • Two Kinds of Judgement
  • Undergraduation
  • What You Can't Say
  • What You'll Wish You'd Known
  • Why Nerds are Unpopular
  • Why Smart People Have Bad Ideas
  • Why Startup Hubs Work
  • Writing and Speaking

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  1. Paul Graham

  2. Four Favorites with Stephen Graham

  3. What To Do If You Can't Find Investors

  4. Billy Graham: Choices

  5. Paul Graham on Most Important Trait of Founders

  6. Paul Graham's Startup Success Advice

COMMENTS

  1. Essays

    The Top Idea in Your Mind : How to Lose Time and Money : Organic Startup Ideas: Apple's Mistake: What Startups Are Really Like: Persuade xor Discover : Post-Medium Publishing: The List of N Things: The Anatomy of Determination : What Kate Saw in Silicon Valley : The Trouble with the Segway: Ramen Profitable: Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule ...

  2. Essays by Paul Graham

    A student's guide to startups. Paul Graham. The pros and cons of starting a startup in (or soon after) college. Pros: stamina, poverty, rootlessness, colleagues, ignorance. Cons: building stuff that looks like class projects.

  3. Top Must-Read Paul Graham Essays

    Top Must-Read Paul Graham Essays - FourWeekMBA. Business / By Gennaro Cuofano / December 13, 2020. Entrepreneur, computer scientist, and venture capitalist Paul Graham is one of the most interesting and brilliant minds to follow in the startup world. He co-founded the accelerator Y Combinator and Hacker News; he also backed up many successful ...

  4. The Age of the Essay

    This idea (along with the PhD, the department, and indeed the whole concept of the modern university) was imported from Germany in the late 19th century. Beginning at Johns Hopkins in 1876, the new model spread rapidly. Writing was one of the casualties. Colleges had long taught English composition.

  5. I read and summarized all of Paul Graham's 200+ essays

    P.S Been spending the last few hours reading through Paul Graham 101 and loving it! My favourite insights so far are: See startups as a path to wealth over a small period of time. E.g 4x years, so need to work hard in 4 years, rather than work slowly in a 40 year job.

  6. The Top Idea in Your Mind

    The tricky part is, you can only control it indirectly. [ 1] I think most people have one top idea in their mind at any given time. That's the idea their thoughts will drift toward when they're allowed to drift freely. And this idea will thus tend to get all the benefit of that type of thinking, while others are starved of it.

  7. Paul Graham (programmer)

    Paul Graham (/ ɡ r æ m /; born 1964) is an English-American computer scientist, essayist, entrepreneur, investor, and author.He is best known for his work on the programming language Lisp, his former startup Viaweb (later renamed Yahoo! Store), co-founding the influential startup accelerator and seed capital firm Y Combinator, his essays, and Hacker News. ...

  8. My Favorites List of Paul Graham's Essays. : r/ycombinator

    Hey Everyone, Hope you're doing well. I wanted to share my favorite essays of Paul Graham. I believe listening and reading advice from experienced people is a way of encoding success into your brain. In a sense, our brains let us code almost anything. Counterintuitively, reading does not seem like a part of this encoding because we forgot ...

  9. Paul Graham Essays

    Read Paul Graham's essays while saving your progress and view ratings.

  10. Paul Graham Essays: Readalouds and Discussions with Amara ...

    This is Amara Ventures' reading of Paul Graham's essays. At Amara, we rever Paul Graham and we strongly believe that his essays are a must-read for everyone in the world of tech and beyond. This podcast is divided into TWO segments. The first segment is a verbatim reading of a particular essay and. the second segment is a discussion with a ...

  11. Top essays by Paul Graham

    Top essays by Paul Graham (massivetimesaver.com) 25 points by alexjv89 on Apr 24, 2018 ... Same here. I find that essay enormously helpful for evaluating one's current living situation and planning your future. Also, it provides a great way for explaining to others why you live where you live. ... I often disagreed with Paul (especially on ...

  12. I read and summarized all of Paul Graham's 200+ essays

    "Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another" - G.K. Chesterton Here we discuss The Great Books and other art forms, share best practices for pursuing a Classical Education and help others to understand the immense value of a traditional Liberal Arts education.

  13. What You Can't Say

    The most important thing is to be able to think what you want, not to say what you want. And if you feel you have to say everything you think, it may inhibit you from thinking improper thoughts. I think it's better to follow the opposite policy. Draw a sharp line between your thoughts and your speech.

  14. Paul Graham Essays

    Paul Graham's essays are a collection of thought-provoking writings that span a broad spectrum of topics. He shares insights and wisdom on entrepreneurship, startups, programming, and life itself.

  15. Paul Graham Essay Summaries

    It's Charisma, Stupid. Schlep Blindness. Startup = Growth. Taste for Makers. The Age of the Essay. The Python Paradox. Two Kinds of Judgement. Undergraduation. What You Can't Say.

  16. Paul Graham On High School. Hands down, Paul Graham's essay on the

    Hands down, Paul Graham's essay on the social dynamics of High Schoolis easily one of the best pieces of writing I've ever come across. After reading Hackers and Painters (a collection of Paul…

  17. Flag of Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast, Russia : r/vexillology

    596K subscribers in the vexillology community. A subreddit for those who enjoy learning about flags, their place in society past and present, and…

  18. Elektrostal

    In 1938, it was granted town status. [citation needed]Administrative and municipal status. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as Elektrostal City Under Oblast Jurisdiction—an administrative unit with the status equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, Elektrostal City Under Oblast Jurisdiction is incorporated as Elektrostal Urban Okrug.

  19. The Best Essay

    The Best Essay. March 2024. Despite its title this isn't meant to be the best essay. My goal here is to figure out what the best essay would be like. It would be well-written, but you can write well about any topic. What made it special would be what it was about. Obviously some topics would be better than others.

  20. Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast, Russia

    Elektrostal Geography. Geographic Information regarding City of Elektrostal. Elektrostal Geographical coordinates. Latitude: 55.8, Longitude: 38.45. 55° 48′ 0″ North, 38° 27′ 0″ East. Elektrostal Area. 4,951 hectares. 49.51 km² (19.12 sq mi) Elektrostal Altitude.

  21. How to Work Hard

    There are three ingredients in great work: natural ability, practice, and effort. You can do pretty well with just two, but to do the best work you need all three: you need great natural ability and to have practiced a lot and to be trying very hard. [ 1]

  22. New & Custom Home Builders in Elektrostal'

    Search 1,121 Elektrostal' new & custom home builders to find the best custom home builder for your project. See the top reviewed local custom home builders in Elektrostal', Moscow Oblast, Russia on Houzz.

  23. How to Write Usefully

    The answer is, the first component of importance: the number of people who care about what you write. If you narrow the topic sufficiently, you can probably find something you're an expert on. Write about that to start with. If you only have ten readers who care, that's fine. You're helping them, and you're writing.