How to earn a billion?

Paul Graham, one of the well-known investors in the technology world, believes that the main condition for building a company worth billions of dollars is to create a product that people truly need.

Demokrat.az reports that Graham, co-founder of "Y Combinator," spoke about this during his speech at the "Oxford Union."

According to him, the rapid rise of successful startups is not driven by complex financial schemes but by correctly identifying user needs. Graham stated that he has invested in thousands of startups over the last two decades, and dozens of their founders have since become billionaires.

The investor noted that many people think that acquiring great wealth is only possible through illegal or unethical means. However, in his opinion, the tech sector has proven the opposite many times. He cited some startups as examples that have achieved monthly growth rates exceeding 90 percent.

According to Graham, the main indicator in business is not the current volume of income but the growth rate. That is why, in meetings with startup founders, the first question he asks is how fast the company is growing.

The entrepreneur emphasized that successful ideas usually arise not from market research but from personal needs. He believes that young people can lay the foundation for future large companies by trying to solve the problems of themselves and their close surroundings.

Graham recalled that giants like "Apple," "Google," "Facebook," and "Airbnb" were initially not taken seriously by many people. He said that the most promising projects often seem strange or meaningless at the early stage.

The co-founder of "Y Combinator" believes that the main condition for building a billion-dollar business is to see the gap in the market and to offer a product that significantly improves users' lives. In his opinion, at the foundation of successful startups lies not exploitation but the ability to deeply understand customers' needs.

Graham concluded his speech by saying: "If you create a product that truly creates value for people and can grow it in a large market, wealth will naturally result."