Paul Graham delivers an informative (and highly amusing) talk, addressing counterintuitive parts of startups, in Lecture 3 of How to Start a Startup.<br /><br />See the readings at startupclass.samaltman.com/courses/lec03/<br /><br />Counterintuitive points<br /><br />1. 1:25 Startups are so weird, that if you follow your instincts, they will lead you astray (You can trust your instincts about people.)<br />2. 5:28 What you need to succeed in a startup, is not expertise in a startup. What you need is expertise in your own users. (Don't go through the motions of having a startup, focus only on making something people want)<br />3. 11:25 Starting a startup is where gaming the system stops working. <br />4. 14:30 Startups are all consuming. (Don't start a startup at college)<br />5. 21:50 Starting a startup is really hard, and you can't tell if you'll be any good at it! (It's unlikely you have any comparable experiences to indicate whether you'll be able to do it)<br />6. 24:35 The way to get startup ideas is not to try think of startup ideas. The way to come up with good startup ideas is to take a step back, turn your brain into the type of brain that has startup ideas unconsciously, so unconsciously that you don't even realize that they are startup ideas. How to turn your brain into the type that has startup ideas unconsciously; 1) learn a lot about things that matter 2) work on problems that interest you 3) with people you like and respect. The best way to prepare yourself for a startup is to gratify your interest in genuinely interesting problems. A good place to look for interesting problems is on the leading edge of technology.<br /> <br />If you want to start a startup; what should you be doing now in college. You only need two things, an idea and cofounders. And the way you do this, is to follow Counterintuitive point #6. The component of entrepreneurship that really matters is domain expertise, see Counterintuitive point #2. The ultimate advice to young would be startup founders is; JUST LEARN.