Comment by 6ren

Dropbox, the startup that most easily came to pg's mind, began with a single founder, who didn't already have a relationship with his co-founders. It was also a great idea, well-worked out from the beginning. Not undermining the five points, just saying that they're more guidelines.

It's crucial to look at the founders, because that's what does the work. Just as Catmull says of movies, a successful startup is made of many creative ideas; also, many implementation challenges, flexible adaptations and tests of determination that is very hard for one person to handle.

A startup is an on-going process, not a one-off event.