关键要点
- 创业成功像生孩子：一旦按下按钮，人生不可逆地改变；大学里不是创业的好时机——真创业的人早就不是学生了。
- 20岁不是创业最优时间：创业是 brutally fast 的深度优先搜索，而20岁大多数人该做广度优先搜索。
- 20出头能做的事前后都做不好：凭兴致深潜进项目、超便宜地旅行；成功会拿走人生的 serendipity——Zuckerberg 再也体会不到背包客的偶遇了。
- 大学创业不亏？不亏：你等一等反而更可能成功；万一某个 side project 自己起飞了（如 Facebook），到时再接也来得及。
- 怎么判断自己行不行？判不了：创业会大幅改变你，评估的不只是现在的你。PG 做了9年 YC，判断“谁会变成又硬又野心勃勃的人”的能力≈几乎不行。
- 想法怎么来？不要刻意思考创业想法——刻意思考只会产出“坏但听起来靠谱”的想法；方法是：(1)学很多重要的东西，(2)和你喜欢尊敬的人一起做感兴趣的问题；把自己放到某技术的领先边缘(“live in the future”)，想法会自己长出来。
—— 本文选自东西书院 dongxishuyuan.com
PG 原话
创业就像一次暴力的深度优先搜索，而20岁的你们大多还应该做广度优先搜索。
Starting a startup is like a brutally fast depth-first search. Most people should still be searching breadth-first at 20.
给年轻准创业者的终极建议，浓缩成两个词：只管学。
So here is the ultimate advice for young would-be startup founders, boiled down to two words: just learn.
出处
- 英文原题：Before the Startup（2014年10月）
- 原文：https://www.paulgraham.com/before.html
- 本书院编译 · 底本为 paulgraham.com 英文原典
中文为本书院编译（意译），关键英文术语保留原文；英文引文逐字核验为原典连续子串。
延伸阅读 · 跨篇互见
名人传记删掉错误，让我们低估了天才当年的冒险；牛顿在物理、炼金术、神学上各下了一注。
Because biographies of famous scientists tend to edit out their mistakes, we underestimate the degree of risk they were willing to take. And because anything a famous scientist did that wasnt a mistake has probably now become the conventional wisdom, those choices dont seem risky either.
Newton made three bets. One of them worked. But they were all risky.
场景交集：选择方向、决策、判断力出处：The Risk of Discovery · paulgraham.com 原文 ↗
专家错常因他是旧版世界的专家；防信念过时：明示相信变化、激进开放、对人下注而非对想法下注。
When experts are wrong, its often because theyre experts on an earlier version of the world.
Good new ideas come from earnest, energetic, independent-minded people.
场景交集：选择方向、决策、判断力出处：How to Be an Expert in a Changing World · paulgraham.com 原文 ↗
坏经济是好时机：蟑螂式生存与立即行动
经济不好反而是创业的好时机：竞争少、成本低、招人易；活下来的秘诀是做企业界的蟑螂——难杀、适应力强。
If weve learned one thing from funding so many startups, its that they succeed or fail based on the qualities of the founders.
For years Ive been telling founders that the surest route to success is to be the cockroaches of the corporate world.
场景交集：选择方向、决策出处：Why to Start a Startup in a Bad Economy · paulgraham.com 原文 ↗
Web 创业的未来（上）：便宜带来的五大变化
创业变便宜带来五大变化：创业者暴增、条款标准化、收购常态化、敢冒大险、创始人更年轻更极客。
When starting a startup was expensive, you had to get the permission of investors to do it. Now the only threshold is courage.
Risk is always proportionate to reward. The way to get really big returns is to do things that seem crazy, like starting a new search engine in 1998, or turning down a billion dollar acquisition offer.
场景交集：选择方向、决策出处：The Future of Web Startups · paulgraham.com 原文 ↗
本区为 L2 延展案例（跨篇互见）：PG 其他原典中的相关论述，仍属原典直读；引文均为逐字核验。解读与主编观点见 L3（筹备中）。