I get a lot of criticism for telling founders to focus first on making something great, instead of worrying about how to make money. And yet that is exactly what Google did. And Apple, for that matter. You'd think examples… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
Everyone by now presumably knows about the danger of premature optimization. I think we should be just as worried about premature design - designing too early what a program should do. — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
“I'm not saying there's no such thing as genius. But if you're trying to choose between two theories and one gives you an excuse… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
“This is a good plan for life in general. If you have two choices, choose the harder. If you're trying to decide whether to… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
“When I was a kid I was constantly being told to look at things from someone else’s point of view. What this always meant… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
You know your business model is broken when you're suing your customers. — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
“Hackers are unruly. That is the essence of hacking. And it is also the essence of Americanness. It is no accident that Silicon Valley… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
“We often like to think of World War II as a triumph of freedom over totalitarianism. We conveniently forget that the Soviet Union was… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
It's hard to say exactly what it is about face-to-face contact that makes deals happen, but whatever it is, it hasn't yet been duplicated… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
One startup I dream of funding is the one that kills the record companies. — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
“It’s easier to get people to fight for an idea. And whichever side wins, their ideas will also be considered to have triumphed, as… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
“Could civil liberties really be a cause, rather than just an effect? I think so. I think a society in which people can do… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
“A great programmer, on a roll, could create a million dollars worth of wealth in a couple weeks. A mediocre programmer over the same… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
We don't have to go that far to sell our beer because our immediate accounts sell so much. Places that sold 10 cases before,… — Paul Graham Copy Share Image
