Andrew D'Souza (@andrewdsouza) / X

Andrew D'Souza

5,890 posts

Andrew D'Souza

@andrewdsouza

founder / mad scientist @boardyai | founder @getclearco

Joined August 2009

Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
May 17, 2024
Sam Altman said something 10 months ago that’s still on my mind: “I feel so bad about the advice I gave while running YC.” OpenAI, Airbnb, and more would’ve failed if they followed that advice. Here’s how startup advice is killing founder ambition:
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
Jun 6, 2024
Peter Thiel is worth $7 billion. As the co-founder of PayPal and early investor in Facebook, SpaceX, AirBnB, and more... He knows how to spot a unicorn. Here are the 7 questions he asks every founder before investing:
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
Nov 20, 2024
In Canada, when you start something ambitious everyone ignores you until you’re successful, then everyone hates you. In SF, when you start something ambitious, everyone tells you why you’re wrong until you’re successful, then they say they saw it from the start. Start in Canada
jason
@jxnlco
Nov 18, 2024
If you stayed in Canada, were you truly that ambitious?
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
Oct 27, 2025
I want to help 100 founders raise their rounds before the end of the year. We just unlocked a version of @boardyai that we didn’t think was possible. Boardy raised his own $8M seed round earlier this year. Since then, he's introduced thousands of founders to investors who have
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
Nov 22, 2024
Pre-seed: “need to see more traction” Seed: “too expensive” A: “wish we had met you at the seed” B: “can we still get a check in so we can put your logo on our website?” Founders: don’t let the haters get you down. They’ll be back
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
Nov 6, 2025
Dear algorithm, show this post to cracked founders who are raising
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
Nov 4, 2025
I think we’re gonna need more founders. In less than 24 hours, over 500 investors managing over $1 trillion in capital have applied to work with @boardyai. We’re giving 100 investors early access to the overpowered version of Boardy, where we burn tokens with reckless abandon
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
Jan 14, 2025
I’m still processing what just happened: @Boardy_ai just closed an $8M seed round ON HIS OWN! I have personally raised over $500M of capital across 10+ funding rounds with 3 different startups, and I’ve never seen anything like this. Most of the investors in the round never
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
May 17, 2024
Replying to @andrewdsouza
In fact, many examples exist of companies becoming insanely successful by rejecting conventional startup advice. Even Sam Altman didn’t follow the playbook preached by YC:
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
Aug 7, 2024
Replying to @TrungTPhan
400 was my race in high school. The last stretch was always brutal. Training for it made my the fastest guy on my soccer team though
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
May 17, 2024
Replying to @andrewdsouza
Most Silicon Valley startup advice is written by investors who prioritize reducing risk. As a result, founders are forced to think small.
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
Jul 16, 2020
1/ Today, we're excited to launch @clearbanc Valuation - the fastest way for startups to know how much they are worth. Startups will be able to track their growth every week and see how their progress is reflected in their valuation in real-time. Free to founders globally.
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
May 17, 2024
Replying to @andrewdsouza
But if you want to build something that will change the world, you have to be willing to take bigger risks. There's no "proven formula" that will turn every startup idea into a success.
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Andrew D'Souza
@andrewdsouza
May 17, 2024
Replying to @andrewdsouza
The problem with advice from “experts” & famous entrepreneurs is it's extrapolated from limited experience, and founders treat it as gospel without questioning the source. Even good advice can be bad when it constrains your thinking. So, take most advice with a grain of salt.
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