This video is the most popular one on our Startup Istanbul YouTube channel. We have also converted it into a podcast format. Michael Seibel's (Managing Director and Group Partner at Y Combinator) 15 minute guide provides extremely valuable advice for entrepreneurs on how to start a successful startup. He covers the key elements like building a strong team, identifying a good idea, launching quickly, achieving growth and fundraising. This concise and practical guide is a great starting point for any founder, so be sure to watch or listen to the full video.

1. Build a Strong Technical Founding Team

- Have 2-4 founders, with at least 50% of them being technical/engineers.

- Make sure all founders can dedicate themselves full-time and have a year's worth of living expenses saved up.

- Founders should quit any existing jobs to focus 100% on the startup.

2. Brainstorm Ideas as a Team

- Tap into problems founders experience daily/weekly. Avoid ideas that are only monthly/yearly problems.

- B2B founders should focus on gaining reference customers in target industry.

- Ensure all co-founders buy into the idea and have ownership.

3. Launch an MVP Quickly

- Build and launch an MVP in 2 months or less.

- Get product in users' hands ASAP and iterate based on feedback.

- Speed is key - don't wait until product is perfect.

4. Grow Users Rapidly

- Growth is the top metric for investors.

- Build sharing directly into consumer product experience.

- Use ads or leverage reference customers for B2B.

5. Get Press with News Worthy Announcements

- Earn press like you build business relationships. Offer value.

- Time announcements of funding, product launches, key hires.

- Follow up continually with reporters.

6. Fundraise from Relevant Investors

- Line up investor meetings back-to-back to create FOMO.

- Target investors who understand your customers and problem.

- Customers and early users can provide initial funding.

7. Watch Spending Closely

- Review detailed monthly expenses line-by-line.

- Cut unnecessary spending whenever possible.

- Pay founders and employees just enough to get by.

8. Hire Carefully and Slowly

- Increase team intelligence with each new hire.

- Bring on risk-averse people to balance founding team.

- Hire slowly - founders can do a lot themselves at first.

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