Dalton & Michael</a> we’ll discuss the downsides of trying to “innovate” on best practices and why that can make it <em>less</em> likely a company succeeds.</p><figure class=\"kg-card kg-embed-card\"><iframe width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://www.youtube.com/embed/FNwu440UxhU?feature=oembed\%22 frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen title=\"Stop Innovating (On The Wrong Things)\"></iframe></figure>","comment_id":"65ce4f9d377b9c0001ddf1b0","feature_image":"/blog/content/images/2024/02/innovating.jpeg","featured":false,"visibility":"public","email_recipient_filter":"none","created_at":"2024-02-15T09:53:33.000-08:00","updated_at":"2024-02-27T14:19:28.000-08:00","published_at":"2024-02-15T09:55:54.000-08:00","custom_excerpt":"In this episode of Dalton & Michael we’ll discuss the downsides of trying to “innovate” on certain things and why that can make it LESS likely a company succeeds.","codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"custom_template":null,"canonical_url":null,"tags":[{"id":"61fe29efc7139e0001a71172","name":"Video","slug":"video","description":null,"feature_image":null,"visibility":"public","og_image":null,"og_title":null,"og_description":null,"twitter_image":null,"twitter_title":null,"twitter_description":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"codeinjection_head":null,"codeinjection_foot":null,"canonical_url":null,"accent_color":null,"url":"https://ghost.prod.ycinside.com/tag/video/"}],"authors":[{"id":"61fe29e3c7139e0001a71085","name":"Dalton Caldwell","slug":"dalton-caldwell","profile_image":"/blog/content/images/2022/02/Dalton.jpg","cover_image":null,"bio":"Dalton is Managing Director, Architect and Group Partner at YC. 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Whatnot Drop was a raffle for Funko Grail, and consumers could load up on raffle tickets by sharing referral code and content assets that would draw people back to Whatnot.</p><p><strong>(<a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://youtu.be/OKD0IAcwMig?t=377\%22>06:17) Launch #3 Takeaway</strong></p><p>Work with trusted influencers in the community.</p><p>Whatnot worked with a Funko Pop influencer who was trusted by the Funko Pop fanbase. The influencer created a Youtube video talking about their experience on Whatnot, which helped the audience trust Whatnot as a reputable marketplace for collectibles.</p><p><strong>(<a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://youtu.be/OKD0IAcwMig?t=439\%22>07:19) Launch #4 Takeaway</strong></p><p>Build the seller side of the marketplace by encouraging high sell-through rates.</p><p>Whatnot delivered more sales to sellers by building a cross listing tool. Every seller on Whatnot could easily have their inventory cross listed to their eBay account – delivering more sales for sellers. </p><p><strong>(<a href=https://www.ycombinator.com/"https://youtu.be/OKD0IAcwMig?t=626\%22>10:26) Launch #5 Takeaway</strong></p><p>Experiment with new content formats to drive traffic.</p><p>Whatnot built and launched a live shop feature – a first in the collections industry. The seller tool was built into the product, so it was simple for sellers to go live on Whatnot and talk about their products to the community.</p>","comment_id":"6335e2416c330f000113fac3","feature_image":"/blog/content/images/2022/09/Screen-Shot-2022-09-29-at-1.06.17-PM.png","featured":true,"visibility":"public","email_recipient_filter":"none","created_at":"2022-09-29T11:21:53.000-07:00","updated_at":"2022-10-06T08:59:59.000-07:00","published_at":"2022-09-29T13:43:30.000-07:00","custom_excerpt":"Like every startup, the founders of Whatnot began with only an idea. 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Founders by definition have no limit to their job responsibilities, so they often get pulled in a millions directions at once.
Meanwhile they’ve heard stories of founder heroes that did everything from scratch — building the entire tech stack, picking paint colors and designing every inch and angle of the office, walking on water — and believe that to be successful they must get this granular about every aspect of their startup.
In this episode of Dalton & Michael we’ll discuss the downsides of trying to “innovate” on best practices and why that can make it less likely a company succeeds.
Dalton is Managing Director, Architect and Group Partner at YC. He was the cofounder and CEO of imeem (acquired by MySpace in 2009), and the cofounder and CEO of App.net.
