Michael Seibel
Former CEO of the Y Combinator accelerator
Co-founded Justin.tv (later Twitch) and led the YC accelerator from 2016 to 2024; his "talk to users" talks are standard founder material.
Key arguments & positions
- Champions radical directness and speed in early fundraising and product decisions — talk to users, ship fast, avoid perfectionism.
- His "how to pitch" and "how to talk to users" videos became standard founder onboarding material.
- Advocate for increasing diversity in startups and venture capital.
Accomplishments
- Co-founded and led Justin.tv, which became Twitch and sold to Amazon for $970M in 2014.
- Co-founded Socialcam (sold to Autodesk for $60M in 2012).
- Served as CEO of the Y Combinator accelerator from 2016 to 2024; became Partner Emeritus in March 2025 and has since stepped back from YC entirely.
- Board member at Reddit and Dropbox.
Papers & key writings
- Essays on product-market fit and fundraising
- Podcasts "Dalton + Michael" and "Life, Work, and Startups"
Links
In the library
Nothing of theirs is filed in the hub yet. Browse the full library.
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