HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

⬐ patio11

An exchange, picked mostly because it made me smile.

PG: "Since all of the money is in a few big hits, we own about 3% of [the $30 billion portfolio]. I haven't done the math on how much that is."

Interviewer: "One billion dollars."

PG: "Well, $900 million."

⬐ trevmckendrick

Made you smile because you think he actually had already done the math? Or because he did it fast right there and corrected her?

I smiled too, because of the latter.

⬐ gus_massa

I think it was the nitpicking instinct.

It's easy to get the first digit if you ignore the decimal exponents. If you have the 3 * 10^? part of 3 * 10^? dollars, then you have 3 * 3 * 10^? * 10^? = 9 * 10^? dollars. Perhaps $90, perhaps $9000, perhaps $9000000, ... something that starts with a 9.

Now, if someone tells you that the amount is close to 10^9 then it's easy to complete the information and realize that you have $9 * 10^8.

⬐ SamReidHughes

You can just divide by a hundred and multiply by 3.

Edit: You'd be surprised how good at calculating percentages you can be if you do them a lot. It just becomes automatic. Source: binged-watched Shark Tank, got real good at multiplying by percentages and their reciprocals in the process.

⬐ patio11

There's volumes there. Some combination of the sentiment that $900 million isn't nearly the most interesting thing going on about YC [+] and the notion that while $900 million isn't important enough to think about you'd have to correct a math error on it because math.

[+] A totally reasonable sentiment, which makes me smile in about three different ways. Once for not caring about money, once for having the luxury to not care about money because $900 million, and once for that happening to very deserving people.

⬐ nwenzel

Well, to know that it wasn't enough money to care about you would first have to have done the math to know that it was only $900M.

I like your first point about it not being about the money. I suspect it's more about proving that their new (at the time) approach to startup investing, their new appreciation for founders, their completely differnt model was right and that the conventional wisdom that came before them was wrong. At least that would be my biggest satisfaction.

⬐ huuu

As others are saying: almost unwatchable due to the bad editing. The site also has a ton of tracking going on. Seems to me this interview is all about (Bloomberg/YC) advertising.

But I got one interesting quote from PG. Funding multiple startups at once gives the startups the benefit of having colleagues. It's nice to have others around while working on your own idea.

Maybe this could be the standard in bigger companies too. Teams working on there own idea approved by management. This way big companies could be like founders.

⬐ Dharmakirti

Ghostery blocked 14 trackers on the site and the editing was really offputting.

⬐ spindritf

It doesn't help with video editing, but you can avoid the other stuff by downloading the video with youtube-dl[1]. Yes, it works on sites other than youtube. Sometimes[2].

[1] https://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/download.html

[2] https://rg3.github.io/youtube-dl/supportedsites.html

⬐ Htsthbjig

Most of the time I could download any video on any place with youtuve-dl.

Sometimes I have to read the source code of the page and change the web address I give it the program, though.

⬐ wallawe

Paul Graham is somewhat of a modern day hero. Forget the rappers and the athletes, he is the embodiment of a good, moral and sensible person. Great husband and parent, great sense of humor, and all of this aside from what he has done for the tech/startup community.

⬐ tonyjstark

Hm, some of his tweets and talks don't hint in that particular direction. Your comment seems like a bit of a black white painting... To come back to the video: IMHO the editing and the overall interview style is aweful but that's only me.

⬐ peakdarkpattern

Unless you are an offspring or his partner I don't understand how can you say that, much less quantify it.

(Your platitude serves as much purpose as this comment, but come on, pg is not a 'god' and this casual idol worship is a bit silly.)

⬐ eruditely

This is a very try-hard comment. Paul Graham is someone to believe in. Definitely a great guy/hero. If you cannot realize this, then the fault is in you.

⬐ wallawe

Did you watch the interview? Jessica flat out states that he is a great father. And the fact that they haven't fought in the years they've been married once about something as huge as YC says enough about their relationship.

My point wasn't to deify Paul Graham but to give respect where it's due. There is plenty of criticism doled out on HN daily, what's wrong with a little praise?

⬐ peterwwillis

A relationship isn't great because you've never had a fight. A relationship is great if it thrives in spite of them.

⬐ bnzelener

Really curious what Boosted Boards' 'bigger ambitions than making skateboards' are! A friend has one of their Kickstarter boards and it's unreal.

⬐ frakkingcylons

I believe their ambition is solving the problem presented in one of YC's requests for startups -- specifically short-distance personal transportation for everyone.

⬐ downandout

This caught my attention as well...he said it with the same kind of passion that Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos had for Segway. Obviously Segway didn't live up to the anyone's expectations. Hopefully pg isn't nearly as far off the mark as those guys were.

⬐ zindlerb

The boards are a way to make sales while they create better batteries. Batteries are often the limiting factor in current tech products.

⬐ t0

Hoverboards or some sort of motorized shoes

⬐ _sentient

They are solving the last mile problem in public transportation. That's a very large market.

⬐ CaveTech

But isn't that their current ambition? Where's the bigger picture?

⬐ bnzelener

Well, it makes sense that they'll keep focusing on the last mile - but I'm hoping the next product will appeal to more people. Boosted boards are amazing, but few are going to experience them because of the learning curve and style of longboarding.

⬐ yitchelle

Hmm..classifying a motorised skateboard as a possible solution to public transportation's last mile problem is a far stretch.

The folks that could really benefit from a solution are the elderly, physically disabled and young kids. For the life of me, I would find it difficult to see the majority of these folks riding a skateboard.

⬐ zefi

think about everything YC/PG has said about 'toys' and the Altair BASIC/Microsoft comments

⬐ leoc

I don't really see the analogy. MS bootstrapped fairly naturally (with the help of a great deal of luck along the way) from BASIC to progressively more sophisticated OSes, each of which closely followed well-established pre-existing models. AFAIK (I'm not an expert) there are no viable existing models out there for a big next step from the Boosted Board.

Even assuming infinite battery life, what's the form factor? A wheelchair won't cut it. A Segway-like thing won't cut it. A unicycle won't cut it. A conventional bicycle won't cut it. A recumbent bike or trike won't cut it. Roller-skates won't cut it. Exoskeletal legs won't cut it. Many of these things are of proven usefulness, but they've never been general-purpose substitutes or augmentors for pedestrianism. A version of some of the above which folds into something unprecedentedly small and light might begin to cut it, but how is that achievable within present-day engineering constraints?

⬐ umsm

You're looking at a solution that solves the problem for 100% of people. Most products don't do that. The popularity of bikes proves that.

You only need to solve the problem for the majority of people ( >50% ) to be considered a good solution. The solution may prove to be elegantly simple.

⬐ S_A_P

This really "humanized" them for me. Im far removed from startups and the culture out there. I've read the blogs. Its obvious PG is a smart individual, and from the outside it seemed like a culture "way above my league". Hearing this made me think it may not be so crazy to take a risk on a project I want to see happen. They both seemed very down to earth and approachable.

As a side note, due to his name, and hearing he had English roots, I did not expect the Pitts-achutsetts accent from him.I was thinking more like a toned down Roger Moore...

⬐ bulltale

It looks like the interview parts were mixed up in the editing. To watch the interview in chronological order start at 13:44, watch till the end and then start from the beginning.

⬐ cpach

I wonder if it’s really the editing or if their Javascript fails to serve the video chunks in correct order.

⬐ Tloewald

It's always amazing to me that good business people are so much more real in interviews than almost any other category of "celebrity". (The regrets question here or, say, Steve Jobs "hearts outside your bodies" comment.)

⬐ jtbigwoo

Lower stakes, perhaps? I suspect that far fewer people are paying attention to what business people (even Steve Jobs) say than what Tom Cruise or Lebron James says. If James, for example, says anything interesting you can be guaranteed hundreds of columns and on-air rants from national and local media praising and criticizing him. It probably makes him wary of actually saying anything beyond PR-approved soundbites.

⬐ nwenzel

"It ended?" Was my thought when it ended. It was getting really interesting. I think an interview with the two of them on Charlie Rose would be the right format to explore YC and how it came into being and evolved.

⬐ ovatsug25

Is it just me, or did this interview go by too quickly? No silence between question, way too choppy. Can someone get them two on Charlie Rose?

Edit: Just saw the comment I was looking for. Apparently it was the editing.

⬐ ripitrust

It is just post-editing they cut away all unnecessary scenes

⬐ razfar

I'd love to learn more about how they met, they seem like an amazing couple!

⬐ tsheng

It's at minute 19. They met at a party at Paul's house. Jessica was doing a kegstand (just kidding)

⬐ scotthtaylor

Terrible editing by Bloomberg.

⬐ airborne_msngr

PG & Jessica are what make YC so great. It's obvious from the interview, these are genuinely good people out there to make a positive difference.

⬐ ludite313

Great interview, so very interesting to hear stories about pg as a trouble maker in his adolescence. I wonder if he ever made bombs in his youth.

⬐ sopooneo

How do you get suspended every year and get into Harvard? Mind you, that makes me respect Harvard a bit more. Not just mindless strivers, perhaps. But in my preppy liberal arts school, I don't think that could ever happen.

⬐ None

None

⬐ charlie_vill

Worth commenting how good the interviewer was. Great follow ups, comebacks and prompt questions. Really enjoyed this.

⬐ dharma1

They seem like genuinely nice people

⬐ dennisgorelik

Jessica is more about execution (CEO) and Paul is more an idea guy (founder/CTO/CMO).

⬐ jemacniddle

Man Jessica seems so damn chill

⬐ elwell

Editor was snorting cocaine?

⬐ reillyse

Interviewer is annoying as hell, and the editing is horrible!

⬐ techtivist

I think she's alright, but would have definitely liked someone like Sarah Lacy doing the interview. I know people have different opinions about her, but I really like her interviewing style, seems much more personal.

⬐ jemacniddle

Sarah is a great interviewer, only realized that when I watched more interviews from others.

⬐ Maakuth

This is maybe beside the point of this video, but the editing of this interview is truly annoying. I guess it fits a lots of information in twenty minutes, but cutting pretty much after their first sentences right into a next question... I feel breathless.

⬐ bnzelener

Agreed. I really like listening to Paul Graham's longer responses. I'm left wondering how he and Jessica elaborated on most of these questions (if they did).

⬐ benesy

yeah but what abotu yessica bramblestone and paul dram?

⬐ vincentbarr

Next chapter: an interview with Paul's sandals, please.

⬐ None

None

⬐ techtivist

I was really touched that PG's greatest regret was something related to his family, and not YC or his larger professional career. As young founders we tend to forget (or are expected to anyways) where our real long term priorities should be, and I hope PG's own regret reminds us to think about it from time to time.

⬐ serf

I had a difficult time watching this video from a technical aspect, so to save others the trouble :

PGs biggest regret has to do with not with business or entrepreneurship, but that he wishes that he had told his parent(s) to have more frequent colon cancer screenings.

Jessica's biggest regret was squandering her time in college, not learning as much as she wishes she had.

⬐ yeukhon

> Jessica's biggest regret was squandering her time in college, not learning as much as she wishes she had.

This is also my regret. As much as I want to say doing more internship and building more personal projects and contributing to more open source projects are useful today, dedicate more time on studying the material instead of saying "no one will care if you know how to write quicksort" or "I will learn them in my job anyway" is absolutely a requirement.

I also regret not able to do more internships...

⬐ jtcchan

yeah, it was even tough to watch him answer that. :(

⬐ jgrahamc

Would you mind saying what it was or pointing to the m:s where I can watch because I can't sit through 10 minutes of that video.

⬐ techtivist

The question is asked at around 10 minutes, and PG answer around 12 after Jessica's answer.

⬐ falava

Question: 11:16

PG answer: 11:53

⬐ markokrajnc

This "from time to time" should be daily. A very big part of happiness comes from relationships. Often you don't realize this and even make jokes like this one:

Q: "Do you have time for private life in Silicon Valley?" A: "What's this?" and then LOL because you know you are doing too little for your personal life...

If you would give only 15% more of your focused time to your spouse, kids, father, mother, friends... they would value it a lot! And it would be your long-term success! Are you ready to make such a small sacrifice for your "private life start-up"?

⬐ AnimalMuppet

I wish I had really understood this 20 years ago. And I wasn't even in a startup. I just had things I wanted to work on that took time. Good things, useful things, but I put time/energy/thought into them that should have been spent on my kids.

⬐ EGreg

Those things are like your baby but when you have a real baby then thats your BABY!

I think all people want to transcend their own death and for men, it's through creating useful things and for women the instinct is more for raising good children.

⬐ personjerry

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you, but you may want to be careful with the generalizations.

⬐ EGreg

I usually throw them out there because if someone disagrees I may learn something. I imagine I gain more than I lose from that.