By: Harj Taggar
VIDEO
You need to ask yourself 2 questions to know if you “Should you start a startup?”
Are you the kind of person who should be a founder?
If not now, how do you prepare to become one later?
There’s no clear test or archetype for a founder — successful founders come in all forms, but resilience is the single most important trait.
Media glorifies two archetypes:
The ruthless genius coder (e.g. Zuckerberg)
The charismatic visionary (e.g. Jobs)
Reality: there are many successful founders with very different profiles.Don’t disqualify yourself because you don’t fit the stereotype
Resilience > Confidence.
Confidence can be faked; resilience can’t.
The best founders endure rejection and keep iterating.
Example: Benchling (YC S12).
Early doubts: founders seemed too quiet, bad at sales.
Took 2 years to make first revenue.
Now worth $6B+.
Core insight: resilience outlasted every obstacle.
Your initial motivation doesn’t matter much. It evolves.Money is a fine motivation. It’s honest and can get you started.Curiosity is enough. The experience itself teaches if you’re built for it.Over time, lasting motivation comes from:
Genuine interest in the problem
Love for the people you’re working with
Most startups take at least a year before you know if they’re promising.
You may earn little to no salary during that time.
If you can’t handle that worst case, your anxiety will sabotage you.
The calculus differs by life stage:
Students: low downside — job offers can wait.Senior employees: higher risk — weigh carefully.
You’ll learn more in a year of startup life than anywhere else:
Sales, product, customer support — all at once.
It clarifies what kind of work you love.
Even failure accelerates your career trajectory.
Employers value ex-founders for initiative, leadership, and ownership.
Many successful YC companies hire ex-founders (e.g. Rippling hires ~50).
Career paths often look non-linear:
Nick Grandy: failed first startup → joined Airbnb → founded OutSchool ($3B)
An idea A co-founder
They often emerge together — through conversations.
Don’t treat them as separate searches.
Talk to people you love brainstorming with — people who make you sharper.
Discuss:
Products you admire or find broken.
Technologies that feel underrated.
Debate, iterate, and research between conversations.
Best place to meet co-founders: work at a startup.
You’ll see startup life firsthand.
Your colleagues will be more risk-tolerant.
If you’re in a FAANG job — consider joining a startup as an intermediate step.
When you say “It’d be cool if someone built X” — be that someone.
Build small prototypes. Launch something.
You’re not trying to build a unicorn — you’re learning to ship.
Non-technical? Learn to code enough to build v1.
You won’t get a magical “perfect traction” moment.
Judge by:
Are a few users obsessed with your product? (Paul Buchheit rule)
Do you love the process of building and learning?
Does your energy rise after side projects and drop after your day job?
Finding a co-founder you love working with is rare — if you do, jump.
Don’t overthink your motivation — curiosity is enough.
Be honest about what you can lose — handle the worst case.
Startup experience = learning accelerator, even if you fail.
Surround yourself with people who spark ideas.
Build side projects to practice resilience and shipping.
When you find the right co-founder → make the leap.
“Think less about how well your side projects are going,Harj Taggar, YC Group Partner
