"Bill Gates thinks you should hire lazy people. No, seriously. He famously said, “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”"

"The hardest way is often not the best way. In fact, in the startup world, over delivering can be just as dangerous as under delivering when time and money are finite resources and a lesser solution would have solved the problem effectively."

"Feeling lazy is often a sign we need rest. I want to make one thing clear: Rest does not equal laziness."

"Tech culture at large has this problem: The perception of productivity is more important than actual productivity."

"Longer breaks are critical in preventing burnout. What may look laziness deceptively makes you better."

"when you rest, really rest. Don’t check Slack from your phone. Don’t respond to email on your vacation. Truly take the space for restorative rest — and give your colleagues that space as well. You’ll likely come back motivated and better equipped to work."

"Lack of motivation is something a lot of us berate ourselves for as a personal failing. Instead of hurling insults at the mirror, what if we started from a place of curiosity? Try asking yourself why you’re avoiding certain tasks. Don’t settle for the easy answers."

"To address them in others, you must come from a place of deep empathy. It’s not easy to talk about fears of inadequacy or losing meaning in your work. It’s a human problem, not an outcomes problem, but it does impact output. Connecting with others at work makes people more productive."

"Identifying what’s holding you back, whether it’s perfectionist tendencies or low self-efficacy, is the first step towards taking action."

"The progress principle states that “of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.”"

"Studies show that a 30-minute nap can stop performance deterioration in its tracks. A 60-minute nap can reverse it. If you’re feeling lazy, it could be your cue to rest."

"Lack of meaning in your work is a primary contributing factor to diminished motivation."

"Actually do less."

"Since 2006, we’ve grown to serve 4.2 million users and create a team of 130 employees — and we’ve done it without taking a penny in outside funding."

"Why small is the new big — the case for bootstrapping"

"MailChimp co-founder and CEO Ben Chestnut needed to create email newsletters for his design consulting clients."

"He built a tool to streamline this tedious process, and created a business worth $4.2 billion , with $600 million in annual revenues."

"Many of the founders also build their empires quietly, with more concern for creating great products than generating market buzz."

"But bootstrappers remind us to question the prevailing startup narratives and ask, “Do we really need to raise VC money?”"

"Research by Harvard lecturer Shikhar Ghosh reveals that about 75% of VC-backed companies in the U.S. fail, meaning they don’t return the investors’ capital."

"If we define failure as not delivering the projected return on investment, however, then more than 95% of startups fail, says Ghosh."

"If VC funding is the fabled hare, then bootstrapping is the tortoise. It’s slow and steady, but it keeps on going (and going and going)."

"We know that premature scaling is the number one cause of startup failure."

"You learn by wearing all the hats"

"And while spending precious time on the “other stuff” can be frustrating, it ensures you understand every corner of the business."

"Needs override wants"

"Remaining lean allows you to pivot"

"New founders should release their products as soon as possible. Don’t even try to make it perfect."

"1. Keep your day job"

"SpaceX, Apple, Product Hunt, Trello, WeWork, Craigslist and Twitter all started this way."

"2. Start a side project"

"When there’s no pressure to meet a revenue target (or make any money at all), we’re free to play, explore and learn."

"3. Share what you create"

"Even before it’s done, and long before it’s “ready,” we need to share our ideas."

"Show people what you’ve been working on — this was one of the strategies that helped us to land our first 1,000 users. Take them inside the experiments you’re running, no matter how early or unpolished."

"They see that you’ve consistently shown up, provided valuable content, and followed through on what you started."

"Keep learning. Stay hungry."

"“The verb you want to be using with respect to startup ideas is not ‘think up’ but ‘notice,’”"

"“At YC we call ideas that grow naturally out of the founders’ own experiences ‘organic’ startup ideas. The most successful startups almost all begin this way.”"

"Once you have a prototype, it’s time to ensure you have an eager customer today , not sometime in the future."

"5. Stay close to your product"

"Once a product or service is shipping, it’s important to stay close to the heart of your offering. Use it, consume it, order it, and dig into the details."

"How else could this product serve me, personally?"

"“if you’re compromising, keep looking. A company’s DNA is set by the founders, and its culture is an extension of the founders’ personalities.”"

"Entrepreneurs, of all people, should know that rules are meant to be broken. That’s half the fun. So, partner up or stay solo, but do it on your terms, with your eyes wide open."

"Investors dream about rapid growth, too. They want to recover their money fast, so they often pressure companies to expand quickly."

"A hockey stick looks great on paper, but it typically requires the business to grow revenues first and figure out profits later. That can put the company at risk."

"1. Focusing on profits creates freedom"

"But profits provide freedom — even when they’re modest. Make decisions that keep your company in the black, right from day one. After all, a bootstrapped business needs to work, because there are no hefty bank deposits to fall back on."

"2. You can build the right team, not a “right now” team"

"Building the right team is essential. These are the people who will build and nurture the product. They’ll implement new ideas and interact with customers."

"3. Moving slowly can make customers happy"

"VC-backed companies often start out with deep knowledge of their audience. Over time, though, it’s easy to confuse what customers want with what investors want."

"“Traction and product development are of equal importance and should each get about half of your attention,”"

"4. There’s time and space for learning"

"Growingly slowly enables you to learn alongside your team. You can learn how to manage and motivate those people, too."

"We have an obligation to listen closely to customer needs , feedback , and ideas — and that’s a good thing."

"Testing doesn’t mean you’re beholden to customer whims, either. You create the “what,” and customers help to show you “how.”"

"In fact, data shows that it’s anywhere from 5 to 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep a current one."

"Highly-publicized funding rounds can also put you under a microscope."

"More downtime = better results"

"“Hustle might move you forward, but it doesn’t set you up for sustainable success,” says Kyle Young,"

"“Good habits are formed through consistency and repetition, not mindless effort.”"

"Entrepreneurs often hear this question before they’ve earned a single dollar — and it can be disorienting. When you’re still building a business you love, why would you think about selling it?"

"“It’s a long-term mission that your company truly cares about. It’s focusing on building a company that can outlast you and creating something of true value.”"

"Sustainable growth = survival"

"As Warren Buffet once said, “It’s only when the tide goes out that you can see who’s been swimming naked.”"

"In fact, slow growth doesn’t have to be a mere consequence of bootstrapping; it can be a smart, deliberate choice."

"“There is power in small wins and slow gains,” says James Clear. “This is why average speed yields above average results. This is why the system is greater than the goal.”"

"What am I prepared to sacrifice by making speed part of my strategy?"

"Nurturing a healthy culture"

"Superficial perks don’t foster culture — or a healthy work-life balance."

"Culture grows through big choices, like team structure, transparency, and product-focused goals."

"Give employees the tools they need to thrive."

"Study the qualities of standout employees."

"Set the tone you seek."

"Don’t enable incongruent behavior."

"Remember that culture is constantly changing."

"it takes patience, drive, and determination. But the payoffs can include freedom (both financial and personal) and a better sense of work-life balance."

"It might take more time, but the journey is often far more enjoyable. You can develop a product that improves people’s lives and build a top-notch team to help you along the way."