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David Heinemeier Hansson at Startup School 08

startupschool · talk · Watch on YouTube

Startups & entrepreneurship

What it is

David Heinemeier Hansson's talk at Startup School 2008 on building a profitable startup. He argues for bootstrapping and small, well-run companies instead of chasing investment and exits.

Why Hacker News recommends it

For over a decade HN has pointed bootstrappers and skeptics of hyper-scale startup culture to it as a motivating, influential talk.

  • 8 people recommended it
  • 8 different months
  • 3 strong recommendations
  • first 2010, last 2023

What HN commenters said

  1. “This talk by DHH never fails to motivate me”

    Motivating DHH talk on building a profitable small business

    csallen, 2011-11 · Strong recommendation · in “Startups Are Hard. So Work More, Cry Less, And Quit All The Whining”

  2. “If not, watch it ASAP.”

    DHH on making money online and profitable bootstrapping

    bira, 2012-04 · Strong recommendation · in “Show HN: We decided not to apply to YC so we could try Kickstarter”

  3. “The 2008 DHH boostrapping talk during Startup School is still one of the most influential videos on my career as a founder.”

    Influential bootstrapping talk on founder career

    leelin, 2020-12 · Strong recommendation · in “The Rise and Fall of Ambrosia Software (2019)”

  4. “this one with David Heinemeier Hansson on bootstrapping a profitable startup is definitely missing”

    DHH on bootstrapping a profitable startup

    mgl, 2011-06 · Recommendation · in “10 YouTube Videos Every Entrepreneur Should Watch”

  5. “a very refreshing and empowering voice for entrepreneurs”

    DHH argues against standard startup focus on investment and exits

    AVTizzle, 2012-05 · Recommendation · in “Workplace experiments: A month to yourself”

  6. “Definitely worth watching”

    DHH on building small companies that matter

    hello_newman, 2013-08 · Recommendation · in “The Best Companies Don’t Do Accelerator Programs”

  7. “This talk by DHH is a good overview”

    Good overview of building a sustainable business without startup scale

    graeme, 2014-07 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: Did you get "never have to work again rich" through software?”

  8. “There is a very interesting presentation at YC startup school 2008”

    Presentation against hyper-scale mindset, by a recognizable speaker

    _448, 2022-12 · Recommendation · in “I am done. I give up”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: bootstrapping, 37signals, small business, startup school, entrepreneurship

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