Y Combinator (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator and venture capital firm launched in March 2005. It invests $500,000 in early-stage startups — $125,000 for 7% equity and $375,000 via a
Y Combinator (YC) is an American technology startup accelerator and venture capital firm launched in March 2005. It invests $500,000 in early-stage startups — $125,000 for 7% equity and $375,000 via an uncapped MFN SAFE — in exchange for participation in a roughly 11-week program. YC's mission is to help founders make something people want, offering seed capital, mentorship, a global alumni network, and access to its private founder platform, Bookface. Landmark alumni include Airbnb, Stripe, Dropbox, DoorDash, Coinbase, Reddit, Instacart, and Scale AI.
Investors
Paul Graham
Computer scientist, essayist, and entrepreneur. Co-founded Viaweb (1995) with Robert Morris — the first SaaS company — later sold to Yahoo as Yahoo Store (1998). Authored Hackers & Painters (2004) and pivotal YC essays. Stepped down as YC president in 2014.
Garry Tan
Took over as President & CEO in January 2023. Co-founded Posterous (YC S08, acquired by Twitter) and Initialized Capital. Early designer/engineering manager at Palantir (designed the company logo). Was a YC partner 2011–2015 where he built Bookface and the Demo Day website.
LinkedInCarolynn Levy
Inventor of the SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity), which transformed early-stage startup financing globally. Has led YC's legal team since ~2012.
Jessica Livingston
Often described as the 'heart of YC,' she was essential to shaping YC's culture and selection process. Previously VP of Marketing at Adams Harkness investment bank. Author of Founders at Work (2007). Married to Paul Graham.
LinkedInNo applications, no recruiter spam. Just the intro.
A few questions to make sure this role is the right shape for you. Two minutes.
I write the intro, send it to the founder, and handle the back-and-forth.
Robert Tappan Morris
MIT professor of computer science; pioneer in buffer-overflow security research (1988). Co-founded Viaweb with Paul Graham.
Renée Beck
Works alongside Garry Tan to drive strategy and day-to-day operations; 20+ years of executive operations experience.
LinkedInTrevor Blackwell
Roboticist who built the first dynamically balancing biped robot in 2007. Has published on networking, file systems, and robotics. Co-founded Viaweb with Paul Graham.
Mark Thurman
Leads YC's infrastructure and security engineering; oversees the systems running Bookface, Hacker News, and internal platforms.
If they’re a yes, I book the chat. You show up — that’s the whole job-hunt.