My $200 million startup mistake: Peter Thiel asked and I said no
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- Опубліковано 3 чер 2024
- I was 23 and didn't know anything about startups. Peter Thiel offered me a big equity stake and a full year's salary to quit my stable job at Microsoft and join a startup he was starting. It wasn't even a risky decision. I still said no, and it cost me $200M.
When opportunity knocks, you should think about taking the risk. If you're good, it's often the only way you can actually get a larger piece of the kind of value you can create when making software. There are lots of good reasons to work at a big tech giant, but there are also downsides. We talk through those things.
Don't make my mistake. Make all new mistakes.
How to get rich: • STOP Chasing Money -- ...
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Turning $300K into $2B with Coinbase: • I funded Coinbase in 2...
00:00 Intro
00:32 How it went down
02:32 How to make what you're worth
03:26 Big company upside
03:50 How to avoid the downsides
04:27 Work at a startup or start yourself
EDIT NOTE: Google actually makes $1.6M annualized net revenue per employee per year, not profit. Apologies for the imprecision.
“If you don’t work on your dreams, someone will put you to work on theirs.”
What a quote! And so true. 03:25
Thanks for watching DJ Jack!
The Dream Chaser: If You Don't Build Your Dream, Someone Will Hire You to Help Build Theirs
Book by Tony Gaskins
It's something everyone should be thinking about. Great idea!
Jari Laakso Purchased!
I turned down Pied Piper :(
I turned down Re-Vine for Not-Vine :(
I invested in Sliceline and now my net worth is 15 pizzas
@@TrenBlack and how is pied piper?
@@TrenBlack Woah, you bros with Joma it seems...haha. You two doing well #BroMePatchup
Time heals, or was it staged ;)
@@TrenBlack I heard you make and buy your own pizza
LOL this is so relatable. "I think I'm going to get L60 next year" literally me. Thanks for the great content.
Lessons learned: start something new, and don't be afraid of not being "status-quo"
Hi Gary. We went to high school together. I am a software product manager and this is resonating with me. Thanks for the insight and sharing your story. It can be scary to walk away from a big tech company and go in a new direction that may or may not work out. Stories like the one you’re sharing can help inspire and give confidence to someone in a similar position to your 72k example.
Thanks for the note Dimas, and great to be back in touch!
@@GarryTan can @Dimas Guevara come and work for/with you on a project together?
Love that you are doing this, thanks for paying it forward.
Left Intel almost two years ago, best thing I could have ever done.
Congrats on new pastures!
Valuable lesson learned. Thanks for sharing Garry.
Your channel should have millions of subscribers. The value at which you provide information is absolutely incredible. Thank you so much!!!
Wow, thank you!
love the aesthetics! Very well crafted. it is videos like this that encourages people to be more start-up minded. On the other hand it will be very interesting if we can somehow get the stats on the conversation rate over say a year about how many % of people who watched the video switched to be more start-up centric e.g consuming more start-up related news, videos, etc
Thank you for sharing this Gary! Awesome content so far!
Considering this was back in 2004, I actually don’t blame you one bit. It’s a great point you made about concern over whether Google was even going to make money (considering it started as just a research paper in the ivory tower of academia). Back then, you still had to build and manage your own server farm (early FB days). People have it SO much easier these days with cloud computing. Hindsight is 20/20 and 10 years in the tech space can feel like 100 years in “normal” time lol. Who can predict 100 years from now?
PS. So glad to find your channel. Please share more as quality info in the VC/startup space is rare on YT and a real treat to learn. Notifications on!
Thanks for the thoughtful note. Hope we can get some real idea exchange going here.
Garry Tan Onwards and upwards! PS. Merry Christmas
Thank you for sharing your story, Garry. Forgive my hasty interruption, but Odi is a snake oil salesman. He preys on the weak, poor, and vulnerable by selling them outrageous ($2000+) courses. There's an amazing YT creator that is tackling the disturbing problems in the "Internet Guru" space. Odi is featured in this video: ua-cam.com/video/gVE2jsaavnA/v-deo.html. And here's a link to the channel: ua-cam.com/channels/FQMnBA3CS502aghlcr0_aw.html.
@@GarryTan Oof you're dealing with a Contrepreneur right there.
Mr Roland definitely has a legion of bots.
This was so insightful to watch.
Great content Garry.
You dropping so much gems.
Thank you.
I've just stumbled upon your channel, your content is great! Thank you Garry!
Gary, thanks again for another great video. After 15 years, I exited my career job to pursue entrepreneurship (startup). It's tough, but I'm not giving up. Your videos are among the few voices that keep me focus and trot forward. If I ever get to meet you, I'd like show you my mvps and vision. Who knows, you might like it, especially now, it helps limit workers and customers exposure to Covid-19.
Oh you can DM me on Instagram.
Thanks for the clarity
Thanks for sharing Gary!! Very insightful
This is a really good video. Thank you for the ideas!
Hi from the Philippines here love your videos I'm learning a lot. Thanks for Sharing you're one of my inspirations.
Thanks Gary, just discovered this channel. Looking forward to more insightful content.
Thanks and welcome
Very valuable tips! Thank you for sharing your experiences.
This video got me into startups. Freshman year of college I was just introduced to the computer science major and was looking for career advice when youtube algorithm recommended this video. Now 3 years later I gave up my return offer from Microsoft and moved out to SF to build a startup with my friends, thank you Garry for this video.
Dude these videos are legendary. I’m watching your stuff beyond YC app related things. Hope we can talk with you when the time is right!
Thank you for sharing your mistake. Most would feel too ashamed to even discuss it within close circles. Your story reminded me of Tim Cook's experience when joining Apple. He was working at Compaq, good position, good pay, but still left a plush job at one of the world's largest computer makers to join Apple, which was at the time on the verge of bankruptcy. He simply joined because he saw a visionary leader in Steve Jobs and decided to "go west".
Thanks for sharing your story! I breathed a sigh of relief when you mentioned that you eventually ended up joining Palantir as the 10th employee.
There are many paths!
Very valuable lesson. and nicely edited. Thanks and subbed.
Thanks for the sub!
You get few opportunities in life; when you do, recognize them as such and act swiftly and decisively. Thanks for the life lesson, what a crushing lesson indeed
It’s ok, it all works out if you are skilled and can make things
I'm a big fan of your channel! Thanks so much for sharing all your lessons. So highly appreciated.
Thank you!
Thanks, very inspirational, you have a good energy!
This is such an incredible story! You were always destined to have fantastic opportunities, Garry!
Thanks Jay!
Good insights and advice Garry., that we appreciate.
Thanks for watching!
One of the most HONEST videos on any platform
You got like an instant sub from my end. Cheers Mate. Those were some solid advices right there.
Thanks for the sub!
Thanks for sharing your experience Garry.
This is so important, especially for young people who dream of working in a big companies and who becomes demotivated when he does not reach this goal.
People should absolutely work at the best company they can get a job at, big co or not.
Man! Incredible video! You perfectly described the situation with such simple video. Thanks a lot!
Glad you liked it!
Thanks Gary for the lessons.
Thanks for sharing! 1:40 was hilarious
Just subscribed awesome content bro keep it up! 👍✌🏻
Inspiring !! Loved it 👍👍
After graduating from college 3 years ago I immediately became soft. I've spent so much time worrying about what mistakes id make that I never took any chances at all. I'm done with that. Thank you so much for your advice.
"Don't make my mistakes, make all new mistakes" Well damn. That was powerful.
Awesome vid man, I’m around 23 and pursuing finance, but it’s really interesting to hear about the startup space and ur journey for sure
Thanks Phil! There are a lot of good problems to solve out there.
Garry Tan definitely :) just discovered your channel, subscribed and will be sure to stay tuned! I’m based in Australia not the US (where startups / VC is way smaller) so it’s great to hear your perspective on it all!
Great story, Garry! Thanks for sharing. After co-founding two startups that have failed, I'm now working on launching my third startup. Cheers to trying to get it right. 🍻
Good luck on this one Arnold!
Thanks, Garry! I'll take all the luck I can get.
What a legend Peter Thiel is - to write that check takes big balls
I always really respected this about him. It was incredible conviction about the startup.
Balls of steels!
Great advice! Thanks, Garry!
great advice Garry Tan, Thank you !
This is powerful, just validated my recent decision 👌🏿👏🏿🙏🏿👍🏿 thank you!
Love this channel! I learned so much and it gave me a lot of perspective, I really appreciate it! Charity with your most valuable asset, knowledge of the tech industry!
So glad this was useful and helpful.
Great to hear this from an inspirational, thoughtful leader such as yourself. I am about to graduate college but I have also started an edtech startup marketplace.
Congrats on taking the plunge. The key thing is to keep making the product better and always ask what your customers want, and just deliver it. A tight loop on that will produce fruit.
Garry Tan what does initialized look for in a startup and at what stages do you guys cut the check. Agree we have 400 customers signed up for our funnel site as our site is being built.
Great story, and happy it turned out good for you.
It all works out
Thank you for sharing!!!
Your channel is a Gem !!
Your channel is awesome!
Thanks bro.
This really helped me.
Imma go subscribe now.
Hoping for great new content from you..
Thanks for the sub!
You know, Garry, I really loved the lessons you've highlighted, but also it's never too late to start a something new, so congrats still!
Great attitude!
Thanks for the insight, Great video.
Amazing content for startups!
Gary you earned a new subscriber. Love your channel. Yoi dropping gems
Amazing gyan. Thank you 👍🏻
No better school than the real world. Real life lessons make the best version of our future self.
Thanks for the advice.
very honest and important lesson for us
thanks
I thank you for this video bro. You know its like you were talking to me and telling me the mistakes i have done to this point.
Thanks
Thank you Said!
Thank god, I discovered your channel.
Great work just Subscribed I bet if you upload constantly you will be a big UA-camr
Trying to upload weekly
Nice video bud. I appreciate the honesty.
Thanks Jason!
Great video Garry!
This is gold! Getting all this great content for free it makes me feel like I'm stealing. Thank you!
Just trying to help with what I messed up!
@@GarryTan but you still a billionaire Garry
Thanks for making this video!
My pleasure!
Good quality videos, good quality advice
Love the advice here!
As an entrepreneur myself I agree with a lot of the points. But just to note that the product you build at big companies is worth a lot not necessarily because of the product itself but usually because of the current scale of the company distributing it.
Yeah you're right, instant scale is a big deal. But it's also a reason why people who work at big companies always underestimate how hard it is to get lots of users.
Man, you are awesome, I am 30 and really thinking about changing my career. I am tired of building something that I don't care about.
I want to make something, as you said in another video, that you help billions of people. And see my work changing lives.
I will move to another country surround myself with the best and make it happen.
That’s some great advice right there, thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Really loving this Garry. I certainly don’t expect a sub back. Just learned so much lying on my bed in Africa.
Guess we motherland babies are here.
Mwaniki Mwaniki For the motherland brother ✊🏾
Just graduated. I got a job at a big e-commerce company for 7 months and using that money to fund my app (MVP prototype) in a 32+ billion market estimated to be 80 billion in 2025 (info from different sources). Can’t wait! I’m sincerely thankful for you to share your knowledge.
The big thing is to get initial users and try to get growth!
Thank you so much! I love your content!
Glad you enjoy it!
“Don’t make my mistake, make all new mistake?” . I subscribed
Haha thanks for watching
instantly subscribed! great video
Awesome, thank you!
great video, love the approach you took to share the valuable experience!!! There are great insight and after losing a million USD, I have the maturity to understand what you are conveying. Thank you so much and keep up the amazing sharing.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you, I am just 19 years old and your advice will help me to sustain my entrepreneurial mindset. Love from India
That's awesome. It will be very useful later.
It’s funny how I just started reading Zero To One a couple of days ago and you just mentioned Peter Thiel
Thanks for your video
Thank you for watching!
Gary I really like your humble attitude money or not, best to you sir
quick and easy. subbed.
Thanks for the sub!
All of the learnings I had by working for startup.
My head exploded when you dropped the numbers on profit per employee for the Tech Giants. Absolutely stunning. Slowly, many folks now realize that equity is what is important versus a great pay package.
Well, it's all tech privilege to be honest. I feel lucky as hell to have interest in computers. But now it's also important to figure out how to make new ventures and pay it forward.
Excellent video. Shared it as a Post to my Chinese subscribers.
Thanks for that!
Thank you for sharing this....it was great but there's a lot of life choices that are really unquantifiable...just luck sometimes.
Absolutely!
You turned out that check?! Jesus! Lol. You were out of your mind I would have taken that in a heart beat!!! Glad it all worked out. Great content man keep it up
Haha, well, when you're young, you don't know much sometimes.
What's most important about a startup, is the ability to have more diverse, approaches and creativity enter a market without being honed by established thinking. For breakthroughs to occur at a more rapid pace, these incubators are a necessity. Eventually all new ideas get commodities by larger corporates, but they never would have evolved any other way.
John Peterson yes Paul Graham talks about how you must find new markets through things that sometimes look like toys. Airbnb for instance started as Airbedandbreakfast.com and they required both breakfast and an air bed.
Great message!
Thanks Ayush!
Good advice bro. You seem like a genuine guy
Thanks, just another human on the planet over here
I have started my own startup - I need to share this video with my friends. In Ukraine, there is a strong culture of working in a big company, not working in the startup - people don't believe that this equity could be valuable - no good examples.
It’s tricky, because most startups fail. I guess the trick is to not be “most startups.”
That's actually good advice Garry
Love from Connecticut ❤️New subscribers
Thanks for subbing!
You have good insights. I subscribe.
Thanks and welcome!
How am I only hearing about this now!? You’re WAY TOO humble
I said similarly crazy shitake to Peter. He listened.
UA-cam added another layer to the neural net in the recommendation engine. Also just stumbling upon this now.
Thank u for this Gary. Now I can use this video as a practical reference to talk my friends who I wish to make my cofounders out of this rat race😅😁. Already shared with all my peers😉 Tnx again
You are not the only one. I am sure that has happened to hundreds of people, maybe even thousands...something also happened to me years ago, turning down a call, related to barracuda software or some other stuff on multiple occasions, later the companies were sold off for like a couple million etc...My old boss will never let me forget it. 'You could be retired now!"
If you don't work on your dreams, someone will put you to work on theirs.
--> That's true. But instead, why not use people who work on their dreams. Palantir IPOed recently. Buy the stock if you still believe in the company.
It's not enough to believe. You must believe and be right. :-)
This was an awesome video! I'm still building my technical skills, and intend to start an aerospace company developing an alternative to rocket propulsion within the next year.
SpaceX lowered the cost of access to space by a factor of ten and it massively changed the launch and satellite market. That 10X reduction took us from governments only to well funded startups doing stuff in space. Unfortunately, rockets are unlikely to get another 10X cheaper, that's asking a lot.
I want to bring the cost down by another 10X ($300/kg).