Paul Graham
Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb; essayist at paulgraham.com.
Paul Graham did not write this page. We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it.
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1 Sept 2026
Our reading
Their wordsOne reason Starcloud has been so successful at fundraising is that it's a bet on launch costs decreasing, and that's like betting on Moore's Law in the 1990s.
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1 Sept 2026
Our reading
Growth impresses investors more than any credential does.
Their wordsNo credential will get you more credibility with investors than growth.
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1 Sept 2026
Our reading
A company that grows enough eventually has no need for investors.
Their wordsAnd if you do it well enough, you won't need investors at all.
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1 Sept 2026
Our reading
Their wordsIn a few years, Stoke's reusable launch vehicles are going to be shipping Starcloud's data centers into orbit.
- 6 days earlier
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26 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsStartup founders have a reputation for overconfidence, but this is just sample bias; the arrogant ones are also the loudest. Even now most good startups underrate themselves, so it really helps to encourage them.
- 3 days earlier
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23 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsSomeone asked what I'd do if I were 17. I'd learn how to build LLMs from scratch, and then train ones as powerful as I could with whatever hardware I could get access to.
- 1 day earlier
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22 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsPreventing companies from building data centers in America wouldn't slow down the rate of progress in AI. It would merely slow down the rate of progress in AI in America.
- 1 day earlier
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21 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsThe way to win at capitalism is to focus on what it actually does (make customers' lives better) rather than the socialist caricature of it (squeeze every penny out of them). The latter gets you 2x returns at best, whereas making new things for people can get you 10x.
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21 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsThere may not be many people left in 10 years who can write, or want to read, things longer than a page or two. But there will be at least a few of us, and we'll be a powerful club.
- 2 days earlier
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19 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsI was thinking about how I recognize AI writing, and one big tell is excessively colorful verbs. A handful of journalists might write that a proposal "drew" 100 votes, but any normal person will just say "got".
- 3 days earlier
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16 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsThere's a pervasive myth that "tax policy changes" are the reason economic inequality is growing. Actually it's because technology makes it increasingly easy to start companies, and makes them grow faster once you do.
- 2 days earlier
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14 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsI still don't think it's a good idea though. The reason to have a cofounder is not just to get more done. It's to have someone to help bear the stress.
- 2 days earlier
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12 Aug 2026
Our reading
Their wordsA lot of founders I talk to are worried about what will happen with AI. So am I frankly. But they're actually better off than anyone else. If the world is going to get turned upside down, the safest place to be is in a small, fast-moving company that can easily change direction.
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12 Aug 2026
Our reading
Almost all standard startup advice is still true in the AI era.
Their wordsOne common question I get now is how much of the standard startup advice is still true in the AI era. So far almost all of it. There's more difference between the advice I give different startups in one batch than between what I've given pre-AI and post-AI startups.
- 22 months earlier
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1 Oct 2024
Our reading
Their wordsI'm usually reluctant to make predictions about technology, but I feel fairly confident about this one: in a couple decades there won't be many people who can write.
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1 Oct 2024
Our reading
Their wordsSo a world divided into writes and write-nots is more dangerous than it sounds. It will be a world of thinks and think-nots.
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1 Oct 2024
Our reading
Their wordsThere will still be smart people, but only those who choose to be.
- 12 months earlier
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1 Oct 2023
Our reading
Returns for performance are superlinear rather than proportional across most domains that matter.
Their wordsOne of the most important things I didn't understand about the world when I was a child is the degree to which the returns for performance are superlinear.