Paul Graham
Co-founder, Y Combinator; essayist
Co-founded Y Combinator and wrote the essays most founders start with, from "Do Things that Don't Scale" to "Founder Mode".
Key arguments & positions
- "Startups should do things that don't scale" in their earliest days.
- "Startup = Growth" — growth is the defining trait of a real startup.
- In "Founder Mode" (2024), argued founder-CEOs should reject conventional delegation advice and stay deeply involved as companies scale — a framework that set off wide industry debate.
Accomplishments
- Co-founded Viaweb in 1996 and sold it to Yahoo in 1998 for about $49.6M.
- Co-founded Y Combinator in 2005, which has funded well over 1,300 startups including Airbnb, Dropbox, and Stripe.
- Created the Arc and Bel Lisp dialects and built Hacker News.
Papers & key writings
Links
Jobs
What they've said in public about careers, hiring and work. Each point links to its source.
- Career advice
Argues that great work comes from choosing a field you're deeply curious about, working hard on it, and following what feels exciting rather than what seems safe.
How to Do Great Work, July 2023 - Career advice
Argues most reasons people give for not starting a startup are weaker than they think, especially when you're young and have little to lose.
Why to Not Not Start a Startup, March 2007
In the library
Nothing of theirs is filed in the hub yet. Browse the full library.
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