Shana Fisher at Startup School NY 2014

Fisher says to raise enough to get the company done, rather than planning around a fixed runway, and to control costs such as rent and payroll. She sees co-founders as useful for some teams, but says a single founder can be the better fit; co-founders should bring complementary skills. With many startups competing, she argues that a product may need more time before launch so it can stand out, rather than shipping a minimal version quickly.

Fisher values New York’s creative environment and early-stage funding, while noting that California has an advantage in later-stage capital. She recommends building relationships in both places, including through YC, and weighing each city’s hiring pool and strengths for the company. Investor decisions are subjective: founders should research investors, ask about their recent deals, and seek people with time and an open mind.

Fisher advises teams to focus product development on the problem they can solve now while keeping their larger vision in view. She says founders can use YC relationships to find early users and learn about growth once the product is solid. She also encourages designers to move beyond familiar templates and polished surfaces, and to focus on what makes the product meaningfully different.

Fisher recommends hiring one person at a time, especially for founders who are new to managing, so they can learn and correct mistakes early. She argues that teams benefit from gender, racial, and other forms of diversity, including by giving promising women developers opportunities to gain experience. Founders are building a team as well as a product, so they need to understand people’s roles and needs; she points to the SCARF model and CEO coaches as useful resources.

Fisher calls the shift from relying on potential to needing revenue the “equinox,” and says founders should recognize when that point arrives. Revenue or fundraising can help a company control its future. She urges founders to pursue meaningful, ambitious problems, while building practical steps toward them.