YC
Building a Startup is About Solving a Problem - Avni Patel Thompson of Poppy
@ Y Combinator
09/22/17
Takeaways
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
I started Poppy not because I'm an expert in child care, but because I wanted to solve the anxiety I felt about who was taking care of my daughters.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
I realized that many parents are struggling with child care and that the caregivers deserve more recognition and opportunities.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
After shutting down my first startup, I was inspired to try again and set a goal to be on stage at the Female Founders Conference in 2017.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
I learned that instead of following my passion, I should focus on building what's missing by talking to users and understanding their needs.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
The biggest problem I found was that parents were missing their village, which is essential for raising children, especially when juggling careers.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
I approximated the experience of connecting parents with caregivers using SMS, which allowed me to create a solution without needing a programmer.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
I started with a simple tech stack using free tools to test my idea, which led to my first bookings and rapid growth in my service.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
When I applied to Y Combinator, I didn't have high hopes, but I believed in my idea and was invited for an interview, which was a turning point for me.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
Despite initial rejection from Y Combinator, I focused on their encouragement to reapply, which motivated me to improve my startup. I set myself the goal to grow by 10 to 20% every single week, pretending as if I got into Y Combinator.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
When you're starting out, ask yourself if it's passion, curiosity, or frustration driving you.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
The only way to succeed is by talking to your users and iterating your way forward.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
Building a startup is not about building a product; it's about solving a problem.
AP
Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
You need to pick one important metric for your company and focus on growing it consistently.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
Find your people and build your own village to create the space you need to be a founder.
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Avni Patel Thompson
09/22/17
@ Y Combinator
The world needs more female founders; if you set a goal and keep going, you'll figure it out.