YC
Jessica Livingston - What's Different about "Unicorns"
@ Y Combinator
07/25/17
Takeaways
JL
Jessica Livingston
07/25/17
@ Y Combinator
I want there to be more women founders of the big companies, the so-called unicorns, because these founders serve as the most influential role models for encouraging more women to start their own companies.
JL
Jessica Livingston
07/25/17
@ Y Combinator
In recent years, there's been an increase in the number of women starting startups and raising significant seed and series A rounds, but we need to focus on having more women founding billion-dollar startups.
JL
Jessica Livingston
07/25/17
@ Y Combinator
To create a massively successful startup, you need to have a huge market and make something that a lot of people will pay for or that people will pay a lot for.
JL
Jessica Livingston
07/25/17
@ Y Combinator
The founders of most successful startups often don't realize early on how big they're going to get; they work on something they themselves want and hope that many others will want it too.
JL
Jessica Livingston
07/25/17
@ Y Combinator
Most of the really big startup ideas seemed dubious at first, and you need to be independent-minded and not care what others think to work on these initially unpromising ideas.
JL
Jessica Livingston
07/25/17
@ Y Combinator
Founders of really huge startups are exceptionally driven and often see their company as their life's work, making them unwilling to sell or be acquired.
JL
Jessica Livingston
07/25/17
@ Y Combinator
As a startup grows, the founder must transition from focusing solely on the product to also managing the company, which requires different skills.
JL
Jessica Livingston
07/25/17
@ Y Combinator
The most common path for really big startups involves founders working on ideas that seem unpromising at first but blossom into something significant, driven by their commitment and vision.
JL
Jessica Livingston
07/25/17
@ Y Combinator
I hope to encourage women in the audience to keep going, as their success will inspire more women to start their own companies, contributing to a long-term change in the startup landscape.