The given piece is a series of undefined musical notes.

The video consists of a repeated musical phrase with the word "You" being sung.

The speaker is excited to see the audience, but cannot see them.

- The speaker is back in the Bay Area for 24 hours after living in England for a year.
- The speaker thanks women who have come forward about sexual harassment in Silicon Valley.
- The speaker wants more women founders of successful startups.
- The speaker discusses the difference between successful startups and massively successful startups.
- The speaker lists nine differences between successful and massively successful startups.
- Luck and timing are important factors for successful startups.
- Founders of massively successful startups are motivated by their interest in the company's work.
- Having a large market is crucial for a huge startup.
- Successful startup ideas often start out as seemingly bad ideas.
- Founders of massively successful startups are independent-minded and ambitious.
- Drive and determination are important qualities for founders of massively successful startups.

- The video discusses the qualities and actions that differentiate successful startups from those that become truly big.
- It emphasizes the importance of founders who are driven to work on their company as their life's work and are unwilling to be acquired.
- As a startup grows, founders must transition from focusing solely on the product to becoming effective managers.
- The video encourages individuals who identify with the qualities described to continue pursuing their entrepreneurial goals, as their success can inspire others, particularly women, to start their own companies.
- The speaker shares her personal journey of starting a failed startup and then successfully founding Poppy, a childcare service.

- The speaker's startup was running out of money and they tried various marketing campaigns and partnerships but it didn't work
- They felt like a failure and didn't know why they failed
- They started researching about starting a startup and came across Paul Graham's essays and learned about building what's missing, talking to users, and finding a niche audience
- They attended a conference and got inspired to try again
- They realized the problem of childcare was a big issue and decided to solve it by recreating a village-like experience using technology
- They used existing tools and free trials to build their app and started getting bookings
- They applied to YC but didn't get in, but focused on the positive feedback and continued growing their business
- They used a day planner and Excel to manage bookings and eventually outgrew them

- The speaker struggled to find a technical partner for their growing company, but eventually met someone who was a good fit.
- They hired their first employee and formed a team to build their platform.
- They faced financial challenges but were able to secure funding from YC and a seed VC firm.
- The company continued to grow and closed a seed round of over $2 million.
- The speaker emphasized the importance of passion, curiosity, and frustration in driving entrepreneurship.
- They advised talking to users and iterating on the product to solve problems.
- The speaker learned that funding is valuable for running experiments and reaching profitability or raising the next round.

- The speaker discusses the differences between successful startups and massively successful startups.
- Luck and timing play a role in successful startups.
- Founders of massively successful startups are motivated by their interest in the company's work.
- Having a large market is crucial for a huge startup.
- Successful startup ideas often start as seemingly bad ideas.
- Founders of massively successful startups are independent-minded and ambitious.
- Drive and determination are important qualities for founders of massively successful startups.
- The video encourages individuals to pursue their entrepreneurial goals and inspire others, particularly women, to start their own companies.
- The speaker shares their personal journey of starting a failed startup and successfully founding Poppy, a childcare service.
- They emphasize the importance of passion, curiosity, and frustration in driving entrepreneurship.
- Funding is valuable for running experiments and reaching profitability or raising the next round.

- The speaker discusses the importance of experiments in order to achieve profitability or raise funds
- Focus is emphasized as a challenge for founders, with the need to choose one important metric to consistently grow
- The speaker encourages founders to start and keep going, even in the face of adversity
- Finding support from a team and personal connections is crucial for success
- The speaker shares their journey as a female founder and the importance of more female representation in the industry
- The conversation then shifts to the speaker's experience in the beauty industry and the power of technology in democratizing beauty brands
- The speaker highlights the importance of customer feedback in product development and the value of conversations and opinions from various sources.

- Glossier is a beauty brand that combines editorial background with customer feedback to create products
- They value transparency and quality in their products
- Glossier has learned that beauty is subjective and there is no right or wrong opinion
- They have had to make tough decisions based on customer feedback, such as packaging choices
- Glossier aims to reinvent the traditional beauty experience by having a direct connection with customers and offering personalized experiences
- They have a showroom in New York that serves as a meeting place for women to connect
- Glossier is focused on scaling their intimate relationship with customers and creating a beauty lifestyle brand.

- Glossier is considering expanding into different product categories based on customer demand
- They prioritize building a strong relationship with their customers through various engagement options
- Glossier has been conservative with their funding and focuses on saying no to opportunities that may not align with their long-term goals
- They have experienced significant growth through peer-to-peer recommendations rather than paid marketing
- Glossier aims to create an experiential retail environment that goes beyond just shopping
- The founder is energized by the shifting power dynamics in the beauty industry and the empowerment of women as authors of their own beauty choices
- Despite challenges, the founder remains confident in the company's mission and is constantly evolving as a CEO and manager
- Glossier places a strong emphasis on hiring and believes in taking big bets on people.

- The SVP of marketing, Ali Weiss, has been successful despite not having prior marketing experience
- Laura Behrens Wu, founder and CEO of Shipo, shares her story at a conference
- Laura started Shipo after dropping out of grad school and working at LendUp
- Shipo is an API that helps e-commerce companies with shipping
- Laura shares her fundraising story, including rejections and eventually raising $2 million
- She emphasizes the importance of being transparent and focused on key metrics in business growth.

- The speaker was able to secure 30 warm introductions to investors and drive the timeline of the fundraising process themselves
- Despite facing challenges, such as parting ways with a senior technical leader and dealing with a lawsuit during due diligence, they were able to build trust with investors
- The speaker emphasizes the importance of doing due diligence on prospective investors and being authentic, passionate, and honest while pitching
- They share a humorous story about a misunderstanding during a partner meeting at Kleiner Perkins
- The company has grown to 70 employees, 16,000 customers, and has tripled its business every year
- The speaker shares some learnings, including the importance of persistence, not defining self-worth by company success, being unapologetic about who you are, taking care of yourself, and asking for help
- The speaker also mentions the importance of building a company culture that aligns with your values and the significance of their relationship with their co-founder.

- The speaker emphasizes the importance of her relationship with her co-founder, Simon, and how he complements her skills.
- She discusses the challenges of being a female founder in a male-dominated industry.
- She shares her experiences of being underestimated and not taken seriously due to her gender.
- The speaker believes that it is important to create company cultures that women enjoy working in and to be role models for the next generation of female entrepreneurs.
- She concludes by encouraging the audience to follow their calling and make a difference in the industry.
- The next speaker, Padmashree Warrior, discusses her decision to join NIO and her focus on improving the user experience of autonomous electric vehicles.
- She highlights the importance of considering women's needs and preferences in car design, as they are a significant portion of the consumer market.

- The speaker discusses the importance of experiments, focus, and support for founders in achieving profitability or raising funds.
- The speaker shares their journey as a female founder and the need for more female representation in the industry.
- The speaker highlights the power of technology in democratizing beauty brands and the importance of customer feedback in product development.
- Glossier, a beauty brand, values transparency, quality, and a direct connection with customers.
- Glossier aims to create a personalized beauty experience, expand into different product categories, and prioritize building strong relationships with customers.
- Glossier has experienced significant growth through peer-to-peer recommendations and aims to create an experiential retail environment.
- The founder remains confident in the company's mission and emphasizes the importance of hiring and taking big bets on people.
- Laura Behrens Wu, founder and CEO of Shipo, shares her story of starting the company and emphasizes transparency and focus on key metrics in business growth.
- The speaker shares learnings and emphasizes the importance of persistence, self-care, and building a company culture that aligns with values.
- The speaker discusses the challenges of being a female founder and the importance of creating inclusive company cultures.
- The next speaker, Padmashree Warrior, focuses on improving the user experience of autonomous electric vehicles and considering women's needs and preferences in car design.

- NIO aims to develop a level 4 self-driving car by 2020, allowing both autonomous and manual driving capabilities.
- Level 5 fully autonomous vehicles may not be achievable until 2025 or 2030.
- Three factors must align for self-driving technology to succeed: mature and reliable technology, lower cost of technology, and changes in human behavior.
- The first 10-100 hires in a company are crucial for building a strong team and company culture.
- It is important to hire the right talent and avoid creating microcultures within the organization.
- Culture is essential and can be fostered through regular team activities and breaks.
- NIO operates as a global startup, with separate companies in China and the US, sharing resources and coordinating through clear roles and values.

- The speaker started working for Motorola and eventually became the chief technology officer.
- She moved to Silicon Valley in 2008 to become the CTO for Cisco.
- The speaker discusses the lack of diversity in the technical field, particularly for women engineers.
- She emphasizes the importance of speaking up and holding people accountable for inappropriate behavior.
- The speaker shares her personal experience of feeling pressure to conform to a certain image as a woman engineer, but encourages authenticity.
- She advises companies to have a pulse on their organization and address issues when they are raised.
- The speaker highlights the importance of personal accountability for the founder and CEO of a company.
- The interview concludes with a reminder of a partner panel and a Snapchat filter.

The video consists of a repetition of the word "You" set to a musical tune.

The video consists of a musical piece with no lyrics.

- Kirsty Nathoo, a partner at Y Combinator, introduces Aileen Lee, founder of Cowboy Ventures, a seed stage investment fund.
- Aileen is known for coining the term "unicorn" and gives advice to female founders about talking to investors.
- Kirsty is excited to chat with Aileen in front of the audience.

- Aileen Lee, founder of Cowboy Ventures, discusses her decision to start her own venture capital firm after leaving Kleiner Perkins.
- She wanted to focus on working hands-on with founders and portfolio companies, rather than spending time in internal meetings.
- Lee saw an opportunity in the seed stage category, as there were few well-respected brands known for providing hands-on help.
- At Cowboy Ventures, Lee helps founders with hiring, financial planning, customer introductions, positioning, and strategic messaging.
- She looks for founders with high integrity, intelligence, hustle, and a clear plan for utilizing funding.
- Lee acknowledges that it can be harder for women to raise money in a male-dominated industry and emphasizes the importance of storytelling in pitching to investors.
- She advises founders to focus on the mission and vision of their company, the market size, the problem they're solving, the team, the product, traction, and the financial and economic models.
- Lee encourages women to have confidence and take advantage of the growing support and openness in the industry to overcome the challenges they may face.

- The speaker believes that there is a growing awareness of the challenges faced by women in the industry and a need for change.
- There is a supportive ecosystem of people who can provide feedback and help improve pitches.
- It is important to use recent news as an opportunity for constructive change and to create inclusive and diverse cultures.
- More women investors are needed in the industry.
- Founders should network with other women entrepreneurs and do thorough reference checks on potential investors.
- The speaker encourages women to come forward and share their experiences to bring about change.
- The speaker's portfolio includes a mix of consumer-oriented and security/infrastructure companies.
- Seed investing is collaborative and involves multiple investors working together to support the company.
- Choosing the right Series A board member is crucial for the long-term success of the company.

- NIO aims to develop a level 4 self-driving car by 2020, while level 5 may take until 2025 or 2030.
- Three factors needed for self-driving technology: mature and reliable tech, lower costs, and changes in human behavior.
- The first hires in a company are crucial for building a strong team and culture.
- NIO operates globally with separate companies in China and the US.
- The speaker discusses lack of diversity in the tech field, emphasizes speaking up and accountability, and encourages authenticity.
- Aileen Lee, founder of Cowboy Ventures, gives advice to female founders about talking to investors.
- Lee focuses on hands-on work with founders and portfolio companies at Cowboy Ventures.
- She advises founders to focus on their mission, team, product, and financial models when pitching to investors.
- Lee encourages women to have confidence and take advantage of industry support and openness.
- There is a need for more women investors and a push for inclusive and diverse cultures in the industry.

- The speaker emphasizes the importance of developing a relationship of trust with a series A investor as a CEO.
- The speaker discusses the challenges women face when pitching to male venture capitalists (VCs) and the biases they encounter.
- Advice for women entrepreneurs includes being confident but not arrogant, knowing their numbers, and being good at follow-up.
- The speaker mentions that VC firms are more open to backing diverse entrepreneurs and the importance of attracting women founders.

- Raising seed funding was difficult for the founders, rating it a 9 out of 10 in terms of difficulty.
- They had a prototype and early customers but not much else when they first raised money.
- They talked to many investors and focused on finding those who believed in their product and mission.
- They practiced pitching to other founders and received feedback to improve their pitch.
- They learned to focus on the market size and economic benefits of their business to resonate with investors.
- They made mistakes in their pitches but learned from them and evolved their messaging.
- They faced challenges pitching a period product to investors who were not their target users.
- They focused on building a strong business that spoke for itself and ignored investors who were not interested.
- One founder used food to illustrate their business concept and create a connection with investors.
- They asked investors what metrics they wanted to see and adjusted their pitch accordingly.
- Seed investors provided guidance on relevant KPIs for future fundraising rounds.
- The industry and expectations around fundraising have changed since they started their company in 2011.

- The expectations for companies at each round of financing have increased over time, with the median for Series A now close to $10 million.
- In the early stages, the focus is on vision, market opportunity, and team, while later stages require showing true product-market fit and a proven business model.
- The percentage of women getting funded is still low, especially in the angel rounds, but as companies gain traction and show metrics, gender bias becomes less of an issue.
- Preparation and knowledge of key metrics are crucial for successful fundraising, especially at the Series A stage.
- Researching and identifying investors with expertise in the relevant industry is important, as well as leveraging personal connections and introductions.
- Fundraising can be time-consuming and challenging, but with a larger team, it becomes easier to balance fundraising and company operations.
- Becoming profitable before seeking funding can speed up the fundraising process and provide leverage.

- The speakers discuss the fundraising process and the importance of work-life balance for founders.
- They emphasize the need for founders to seek advice and support from other founders.
- The next speaker, Morgan DeBond, is introduced as the founder of Blavity, a media company for black millennials.
- Morgan shares her background and the original vision for Blavity, which is to create products and experiences that celebrate black people.

Blavity, a digital media company, was created to fill the gap in black media that was moving too slowly and not adapting to digital platforms. It started as an email newsletter curating videos but later switched to a blog format due to higher traffic. The company focused on empowering creators and building a community from the ground up. They raised funding by overcoming barriers and selling their vision to investors. Blavity now has its own website and content management system, with 50% of its content generated by the community.

- The speaker believed that their business was worth over $234 million, but some people disagreed initially.
- They bootstrapped for a year, living in San Francisco with a small unpaid team.
- The first round of funding went towards paying for expenses and hiring people who were already working for free.
- The speaker's job has changed to focus on hiring, removing barriers for their team, and storytelling.
- The company, Blavity, is a media company and lifestyle brand that includes conferences, websites, and an acquired company focused on black Hollywood.
- The company experiments and tests new ideas based on numbers and traction.
- The long-term vision for Blavity is to be a brand that represents positive energy and impression around black people.
- The company is considering expanding into the music industry.
- The speaker advises founders to have a big vision and not wait for validation or permission.
- They also encourage female founders, especially black female founders, to not ask for permission and to pursue their goals.

- The speaker emphasizes the importance of building trust with a series A investor as a CEO.
- Women entrepreneurs face challenges when pitching to male venture capitalists and encounter biases.
- Advice for women entrepreneurs includes being confident, knowing their numbers, and following up.
- VC firms are more open to backing diverse entrepreneurs and attracting women founders.
- Raising seed funding was difficult for the founders, but they focused on finding investors who believed in their product and mission.
- They learned from mistakes in their pitches and adjusted their messaging.
- The expectations for companies at each round of financing have increased over time.
- The percentage of women getting funded is still low, but as companies gain traction and show metrics, gender bias becomes less of an issue.
- Preparation and knowledge of key metrics are crucial for successful fundraising.
- Fundraising can be time-consuming, but with a larger team, it becomes easier to balance fundraising and company operations.
- Becoming profitable before seeking funding can speed up the fundraising process.
- Seeking advice and support from other founders is important for founders.
- Blavity, a digital media company, was created to fill the gap in black media and has expanded to include conferences and websites.
- The company focuses on empowering creators and building a community.
- The long-term vision for Blavity is to be a brand that represents positive energy and impression around black people.
- The speaker advises founders to have a big vision and pursue their goals without waiting for validation or permission.

- Diane introduces herself and expresses her excitement to be speaking to a room full of female founders.
- She shares her experience as a co-founder and CEO of three successful startups, including V Extreme, VMware, and Bebop.
- Diane discusses her background in technology and her accomplishments in the industry.
- She draws parallels between sailing and building a company, emphasizing the importance of observation, adaptability, decision-making, and teamwork.
- Diane shares lessons she learned from each of her startups, including the importance of alignment among founders, designing innovations that are easy to integrate, not letting setbacks deter creativity, and fostering a positive corporate culture.

- The speaker discusses their experience as a co-founder and the challenges they faced in building a successful enterprise startup.
- They emphasize the importance of perseverance and having the right people in the right roles.
- The speaker highlights the value of creating value for customers and partners.
- They share their belief that the process of building a company is more important than the end result.
- The speaker also shares their experience with starting VMware and the challenges they faced during the dot-com era.
- They discuss the early stages of VMware, including fundraising and securing investors.
- The speaker mentions their decision to continue working on VMware after the birth of their child and the support they had from their mother.

- The speaker brought her daughter with her everywhere, including on business trips
- She felt it was a mistake to sell her previous company, VMware, and wishes she had stayed
- She joined the boards of Intuit and Google after leaving VMware
- Being on these boards, she found that the common factor was the people involved
- In 2012, she started Bebop, a company focused on improving enterprise software
- She sold Bebop to Google because she saw the potential in combining Bebop's technology with Google's AI and machine learning capabilities

- The speaker discusses the benefits of using cloud technology and how it is revolutionizing the enterprise.
- They emphasize the importance of security and the ability to constantly monitor and respond to threats in the cloud.
- The speaker also mentions the potential for advanced technologies and innovation that can be achieved with cloud scalability.
- In terms of advice for first-time founders, they highlight the importance of selecting a board of directors that can provide support and expertise.
- The speaker shares their experience of selecting board members based on their unique skills and the value they can bring to the company.
- The panel of women partners at Y Combinator introduce themselves and answer questions about industry experience for founders and the percentage of female co-founders in applications.

- Currently, only 13% of founders applying to YC are women, but the goal is to have closer to 50% representation.
- Only about 22-23% of companies funded by YC have a female founder, and there are very few female-only teams.
- YC does invest in non-technical founders and solo founders, despite common myths.
- Women play a central role in every decision at YC.
- YC also funds later stage companies through the Continuity Fund.
- Advice for moms starting a company includes outsourcing tasks and not waiting for the "perfect time" to start.

- The speakers discuss the challenges of balancing a side project with other responsibilities, such as being pregnant.
- They suggest that going full-time on a side project should be considered when it is gaining traction and when financial concerns can be managed.
- The speakers advise being transparent with investors about personal circumstances and not hiding any potential distractions.
- They share their experiences with mentorship and the importance of learning from colleagues and advocates.
- The video ends with a request for all the women at YC to come on stage for a group photo.

- Diane, a successful entrepreneur, shares her experience and insights with a room full of female founders.
- She discusses the importance of observation, adaptability, decision-making, and teamwork in building a company.
- Diane shares lessons learned from her startups, including the importance of alignment among founders and fostering a positive corporate culture.
- She emphasizes the value of perseverance, having the right people in the right roles, and creating value for customers and partners.
- Diane discusses her experience with starting VMware and the challenges faced during the dot-com era.
- She highlights the benefits of using cloud technology and the potential for advanced technologies and innovation.
- The panel of women partners at Y Combinator discuss the low representation of female founders and provide advice for moms starting a company.
- They emphasize the importance of mentorship and learning from colleagues and advocates.

The speaker quickly addresses the audience and invites them to come on stage.

- The speaker invites the audience to come on stage.

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I can't see you but I'm so excited to see you.

This is actually my first time back in the Bay Area in more than a year.

I've been living in England for the past year with my family and I just could not miss this day.

So here I am back for 24 hours, jet lag and all.

So hopefully I can deliver this okay in 1 piece.

Before I get started, I just would love to just take a moment to thank the women who've recently come forward so bravely on the record to speak out about the sexual harassment they've faced working in Silicon Valley.

Hopefully their actions will cause more women to speak up and help put an end to the discrimination and the harassment that we as women can face working in the startup community.

So last year, if you were here, you'll remember that I spoke about all the problems that can arise in a startup and how to avoid them.

And to be honest, I think last year's talk was the best general startup advice I could give you.

So if you haven't read it, please go to this link and read it, and even if you have read it, it's worth a reread because these are the type of problems that can get you even when you think you're already watching out for them.

Last year I ended by saying that I want there to be more women founders of the big companies, of the so-called unicorns.

And these are the founders who make the most influential role models.

And role models are what we need most if we want to encourage more women to start their own companies.

In recent years, there's been an increase in the number of women who are starting startups and in the number of women who've raised significant seed in Series A rounds, and this is good.

But now we've got to focus on the next target.

We need to have more women who are founding billion-dollar startups.

So that's what I'm going to talk about today.

What it takes to start a startup that's not merely successful, but is massively successful.

And I'm not saying everyone has to do this.

And if you do, you don't have to start a Google.

But if you do want to start a Google, what does it take?

What's the difference between a successful startup and a massively successful startup?

And fortunately, I've seen enough of both types at close hand that I can see patterns of differences.

So I've made a list of things that I think are different about the unicorns, and there are 9 of them.

I want to get this 1 out of the way from the very start.

In addition to having everything else that they need, the unicorns are lucky.

And 1 of the most important kinds of luck is timing.

The most successful founders have the right idea at the right time.

And you have less control over that than you might think, actually, because The best ideas are not deliberate.

They tend to grow organically out of the founders' lives.

However, while the most successful founders are all lucky, they're not merely lucky.

It's never like They have this great idea and then, boom, a few years later, they're a billionaire.

1 of the most noticeable difference between founders of the super successful startups and the moderately successful startups is their motives.

And In particular, the founders of the super successful start-ups never are in it mainly to get rich or to seem cool.

They're always fanatically interested in what the company is doing.

Incidentally, it's perfectly fine to start a startup, mainly for the money, but unless your motives change throughout the course of it, it probably won't wind up being 1 of the big ones.

There are multiple reasons why startups do better when the founders are truly interested in the idea.

They work harder because they love the work.

And they're much harder for another company to capture with an acquisition offer, because they don't actually want to quit.

So this 1 is going to sound really obvious.

To be a huge startup, you have to have a huge market.

You have to make something that a lot of people will pay for or that people will pay a lot for.

And this is 1 place luck actually has a very big effect, because market sizes are impossible to predict.

For example, the Airbnbs didn't know how many people would want to stay in other people's homes.

All they knew was that enough would to make it an idea that was worth working on.

The founders of most successful startups never realize early on how big they're going to get.

So our advice at Y Combinator is not even to try to hit a big market early on.

Since you can't predict these things, it's better just to work on something you yourself want and then hope that there are lots more people like you.

When you describe the biggest startups, Most all of them are doing something very basic.

I mean, these are all things you could explain in a few words to a five-year-old.

However, don't use this as a test for what to work on, because ideas often start out less general.

At first, Facebook wasn't where everyone's friends were.

They were where a couple thousand Harvard students were.

A site for a couple thousand students at 1 college doesn't sound like a very promising idea, does it?

It may seem promising now because We all know how the story turned out.

Almost all the really big startup ideas seemed dubious at first.

I know exactly how Airbnb's idea seemed at first because I was 1 of the people whose job it was to judge it.

And I didn't think much of it at the time, to be perfectly honest.

And it's not just that these ideas don't seem as big at first as they eventually turn out to be.

You need to be a certain type of person who can work on 1 of these bad ideas that eventually turns into a good 1.

It's now kind of part of the conventional picture of a successful founder to be a maverick.

And that part of the conventional picture is accurate.

I really I can't think of 1 that I would describe as a conformist.

You also have to be ambitious, because what happens with these initially unpromising ideas is that they blossom into terrifyingly big ones.

You start a site for college students and pretty soon you realize you could sign up the whole world if you wanted to.

And at this point, most people's reaction is fear.

Signing up the whole world seems like a lot of work.

The fear of big ideas prevents most people from even realizing they could start a site for college students and turn that into a site for the whole world.

But a few people are more excited than afraid when this happens.

Another thing I notice about the founders of the really huge start-ups is that I would not want to stand between something they wanted and them.

All 100 per cent of them have exceptional, exceptional drive.

But it's not always straightforward to tell how driven someone is.

Drive can be suppressed when someone else has authority over you, like in most schools or in a job.

And in these situations, people who are really driven may even read as less promising than people who are merely obedient.

So not only is it hard for me to tell how driven someone is, people often can't even tell themselves.

You can tell after they start a startup, though.

No 1 has authority over you in a startup.

Most people find the authority vacuum uncomfortable, but a few people expand into it.

And those few people think, ah, this is what life is supposed to be like.

You have to be driven to work on this particular company.

In all the really huge startups, the company is at least 1 of the founders' life's work.

So they'd never willingly be acquired, for example.

If you sell your life's work, then what are you going to do?

Early on, starting a startup is all about the product.

But that changes as a startup gets really big.

A founder who wants to keep running the company has to become a manager.

You don't have to have management ability initially.

There's plenty of empirical evidence to show that you can learn this on the job.

But you have to be able to learn it, and you probably even have to like it.

Designing cool products and managing people are really different things.

Most people who like building things dislike the idea of being a manager.

It's a rare person who can be great at both.

But you have to be if you want to create 1 of the really big startups.

Those are the 9 things as far as I can tell that are the differences between startups that are merely successful and the ones that become really big.

When you put them all together, they make a story of how a unicorn happens.

The founders work on something their experience shows them that the world needs.

It wouldn't seem like a promising idea to most people, but the founders work on it anyway, partly because they understand the promise of the idea a little bit better, and partly just because they think it's cool.

They work on the idea, and they realize they've become even bigger than they had realized.

Instead of shrinking from this realization, They embrace it eagerly.

And they realize this is what they want to do with their lives.

And they're so committed to the company that they're willing to morph themselves into whatever the company needs.

There's a lot of variety in startups, but this is the most common path for the really big ones.

So remember, you don't have to start a startup, and if you do, it doesn't have to be a unicorn.

But if you do, this is probably what it's going to look like.

An unpromising idea that blossoms into a frighteningly big 1 and driven founders who see the opportunity and run with it.

And I'm hoping that there are some of you in this audience who hear this description and think to themselves, oh my gosh, it's like she's describing me.

The people on the path to becoming huge don't usually realize it themselves early on.

But I'm hoping if I can encourage even a few of you to keep going, then when you're successful, your example will encourage more new women to start their own companies.

And yes, this is a very long-term plan, but after all, it's my life's work.

Again, I'm just so happy you're all here today and so excited to hear the talks.

The next speaker I'd like to introduce is Avni Patel-Thompson.

So she went through Y Combinator in the winter of 2006, and she is here to tell us all about her story.

We're building the modern village by connecting vetted caregivers to families when they need childcare.

I started Poppy not because I'm an expert in the field or because I have a deep passion for childcare.

The older is my daughter, Saya, and the younger is my daughter, Aria.

I was so tired of feeling panicked and anxious every time I wasn't a thousand percent sure of who was taking care of my girls.

And I couldn't believe that so many of us are dealing with this every single week.

And then I couldn't believe that all the people, all the amazing people that are taking care of our kids, they need more recognition and opportunities.

We're serving thousands of families in Seattle right now, and it's an incredible thing to be a part of, especially because Poppy almost didn't exist.

1 of the reasons I'm so excited to be here today is because 2 years ago, I sat in your seats.

At the 2015 FFC, I sat there and I listened to all these incredible women telling their stories about bold visions and amazing companies.

And I desperately wanted to be like them.

Only in that moment, nothing seemed further from reality.

I was in the middle of shutting down my first startup, after spending years working on it and sinking thousands of my own personal dollars into it.

I was so ready to give up and just head back to my successful career in brand management.

Only this afternoon just inspired me so much, and I headed back.

But not only that, I set a goal, and this is a little bit crazy, but this is my journal from that night.

And I said, crazily, in 2017, I want to be on that stage giving the talk instead of sitting in the audience.

So when Kat sent me this email, asking me to be 1 of the speakers, you'll notice the date, it says April 30th, I was so honored, obviously, because this was a goal, and it was just 1 of the biggest parts of my story to actually try again.

But the other crazy kind of ironic part was that she had sent me a different kind of email 2 years earlier.

And this 1 was when she told me, and she crushed my dreams, and she told me that YC wasn't going to be funding Poppy.

And so this is the story I want to tell you a little bit about today.

What happened between my first failed startup and Poppy which is funded and growing today and what happened between Kat's first email and then me standing in front of you today.

My hope is that maybe you'll learn a little bit from my mistakes, but I hope that in hearing my journey, you'll be able to connect it to yours and figure out a way to start and then just keep going.

So my startup journey starts about 5 years ago.

I had my first daughter, and I was struggling to figure out a way how to pass on my rich Indian heritage and the traditions onto my girls.

A friend and I started talking and we thought, well, we could figure out a solution to this.

It was the time, it was about 2012, so subscription boxes were all the rage.

And so we thought, well, if we just curate something, you know, it could do with culture, and it would have the language and food and all these amazing things, why couldn't we do that?

We worked on it on the side while we still kept our jobs and we built business plans and financial models for 2 years, we worked on it on the side.

Then finally, in March 2014, we both decided we were gonna quit our jobs and work on this full time.

It felt incredible, but at the beginning, it was what are we gonna focus on?

Well, I'd heard all of these things about MVPs and working on product and getting it out.

And so we worked on the product and we thought about what we would want to have in this box.

We were able to put this beautiful curated box together of things that we thought were gonna solve the problem because that's what we wanted.

And we thought that was exactly what you're supposed to do.

So in June we launched and it felt incredible.

We had friends and family, everyone texting us and emailing us and saying, oh wow, this looks amazing.

A few weeks go on and the orders start to trickle, a little bit they slow, and we're like, I mean, it's a little bit concerning, but we think, you know, that's probably just because we don't have enough products.

So let's work on more products and get them into the shop.

Now it's the fall, and we're quickly running out of money.

We had both invested about $20,000 of our own savings.

And we had figured if we launched, then we'll just be able to raise money then.

And so we were quickly running out of money.

We decided to try everything we possibly could.

We even went and partnered with some of the best brands out there, like the tea collection, just trying to figure out how we could kickstart growth and get people to buy this amazing box that we had done.

After the holidays, it became clear that it wasn't working.

The cost of acquiring these niche customers was just way too high, and it didn't make sense for the 1 or 2 boxes that they were buying.

So we made the hard but right decision to shut it down.

I don't think we talk about this enough, but this was some of the hardest times of my life.

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Female Founders Conference 2017