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Paul Graham

Paul Graham

@paul-graham · 124 positions · On ppll ↗

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. Or tell us what is wrong here.

Six ideas Paul Graham's claims keep coming back to. The grouping and the labels are ours; every quote under them is in Paul Graham's own words.

  1. Good design is simple, redone many times, and comes from a single taste close to the users
  2. Rewards for performance are superlinear, so ambitious work pays far more than average effort
  3. Great work comes from curiosity, taste and persistence, found by working rather than planning
  4. Startups are won by ambitious, hands-on founders, and founder mode works better than manager mode
  5. Writing is thinking, and AI may split the world into people who can write and people who cannot
  6. AI changes little about starting a startup: standard advice holds, and small fast teams are safest

Good design is simple, redone many times, and comes from a single taste close to the users

Our label. 12 claims in Paul Graham's own words.

Good design is simple, because being forced to be simple forces a maker to face the real problem and deliver substance instead of ornament.

Mental modelLess, but better

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb When you're forced to be simple, you're forced to face the real problem. When you can't deliver ornament, you have to deliver substance. Taste for Makerspaulgraham.com · 1 Feb 2002
    Their wordsWhen you're forced to be simple, you're forced to face the real problem. When you can't deliver ornament, you have to deliver substance.

    ↗Taste for Makerspaulgraham.com

    1 Feb 2002

Good design requires a dictator: design by committee is a synonym for bad design, because a design has to be all of a piece.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb I'm inclined to think there isn't-- that good design requires a dictator. One reason is that good design has to be all of a piece. Design is not just for humans, but for individual humans. If a design represents an idea that fits in one person's head, then the idea will fit in the user's head too. Design and Researchpaulgraham.com · 1 Jan 2003
    Their wordsI'm inclined to think there isn't-- that good design requires a dictator. One reason is that good design has to be all of a piece. Design is not just for humans, but for individual humans. If a design represents an idea that fits in one person's head, then the idea will fit in the user's head too.

    ↗Design and Researchpaulgraham.com

    1 Jan 2003

You are most likely to get good design if the intended users include the designer, because looking down on the user corrupts the designer.

Mental modelYou are not the user

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb You're most likely to get good design if the intended users include the designer himself. When you design something for a group that doesn't include you, it tends to be for people you consider to be less sophisticated than you, not more sophisticated. That's a problem, because looking down on the user, however benevolently, seems inevitably to corrupt the designer. Design and Researchpaulgraham.com · 1 Jan 2003
    Their wordsYou're most likely to get good design if the intended users include the designer himself. When you design something for a group that doesn't include you, it tends to be for people you consider to be less sophisticated than you, not more sophisticated. That's a problem, because looking down on the user, however benevolently, seems inevitably to corrupt the designer.

    ↗Design and Researchpaulgraham.com

    1 Jan 2003

To get good design you have to get close to your users and stay close, calibrating your ideas on actual users constantly.

Mental modelFeedback loops

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb In practice, to get good design you have to get close, and stay close, to your users. You have to calibrate your ideas on actual users constantly, especially in the beginning. Design and Researchpaulgraham.com · 1 Jan 2003
    Their wordsIn practice, to get good design you have to get close, and stay close, to your users. You have to calibrate your ideas on actual users constantly, especially in the beginning.

    ↗Design and Researchpaulgraham.com

    1 Jan 2003

Good design is redesign: it is rare to get things right the first time, and experts plan to throw away early work.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Good design is redesign. It's rare to get things right the first time. Experts expect to throw away some early work. They plan for plans to change. Taste for Makerspaulgraham.com · 1 Feb 2002
    Their wordsGood design is redesign. It's rare to get things right the first time. Experts expect to throw away some early work. They plan for plans to change.

    ↗Taste for Makerspaulgraham.com

    1 Feb 2002

Good design is timeless: if something is ugly it cannot be the best solution, and someone will eventually find a better one.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb if something is ugly, it can't be the best solution. There must be a better one, and eventually someone will discover it. Taste for Makerspaulgraham.com · 1 Feb 2002
    Their wordsif something is ugly, it can't be the best solution. There must be a better one, and eventually someone will discover it.

    ↗Taste for Makerspaulgraham.com

    1 Feb 2002

Good design solves the right problem; a lot of bad design is industrious but misguided.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Good design solves the right problem. The typical stove has four burners arranged in a square, and a dial to control each. How do you arrange the dials? The simplest answer is to put them in a row. But this is a simple answer to the wrong question. Taste for Makerspaulgraham.com · 1 Feb 2002
    Their wordsGood design solves the right problem. The typical stove has four burners arranged in a square, and a dial to control each. How do you arrange the dials? The simplest answer is to put them in a row. But this is a simple answer to the wrong question.

    ↗Taste for Makerspaulgraham.com

    1 Feb 2002

Taste is not just personal preference: there is such a thing as good and bad design, and a maker's taste can be wrong.

Mental modelTaste is trained

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Saying that taste is just personal preference is a good way to prevent disputes. The trouble is, it's not true. You feel this when you start to design things. Taste for Makerspaulgraham.com · 1 Feb 2002
    Their wordsSaying that taste is just personal preference is a good way to prevent disputes. The trouble is, it's not true. You feel this when you start to design things.

    ↗Taste for Makerspaulgraham.com

    1 Feb 2002

Design is for users, but you have to design what the user needs rather than what he says he wants.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb The answer to the paradox, I think, is that you have to design for the user, but you have to design what the user needs, not simply what he says he wants. Design and Researchpaulgraham.com · 1 Jan 2003
    Their wordsThe answer to the paradox, I think, is that you have to design for the user, but you have to design what the user needs, not simply what he says he wants.

    ↗Design and Researchpaulgraham.com

    1 Jan 2003

Great software requires a fanatical devotion to beauty: the parts no one is supposed to see should be beautiful too, because unseen details become visible in the aggregate.

Mental modelCraft in the details

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Great software, likewise, requires a fanatical devotion to beauty. If you look inside good software, you find that parts no one is ever supposed to see are beautiful too. Hackers and Painterspaulgraham.com · 1 May 2003
    Their wordsGreat software, likewise, requires a fanatical devotion to beauty. If you look inside good software, you find that parts no one is ever supposed to see are beautiful too.

    ↗Hackers and Painterspaulgraham.com

    1 May 2003

Premature design, deciding too early what a program should do, is as dangerous as premature optimization; specifications should be allowed to change on the fly.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Everyone by now presumably knows about the danger of premature optimization. I think we should be just as worried about premature design-- deciding too early what a program should do. Hackers and Painterspaulgraham.com · 1 May 2003
    Their wordsEveryone by now presumably knows about the danger of premature optimization. I think we should be just as worried about premature design-- deciding too early what a program should do.

    ↗Hackers and Painterspaulgraham.com

    1 May 2003

Because good art exists, good taste exists too: it is the ability to recognize good art.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Since there's such a thing as good art, there's also such a thing as good taste, which is the ability to recognize it. How Art Can Be Goodpaulgraham.com · 1 Dec 2006All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsSince there's such a thing as good art, there's also such a thing as good taste, which is the ability to recognize it.

    ↗How Art Can Be Goodpaulgraham.com

    1 Dec 2006

Rewards for performance are superlinear, so ambitious work pays far more than average effort

Our label. 8 claims in Paul Graham's own words.

Returns for performance are superlinear rather than proportional across most domains that matter.

Mental modelPower laws

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb One 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. Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2023All korrents from this piece
    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.

    ↗Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2023

Superlinear returns are a feature of the world rather than an artifact of capitalism, and the same pattern runs through fame, power, knowledge and benefit to humanity.

Mental modelPower laws

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb But superlinear returns for performance are a feature of the world, not an artifact of rules we've invented. We see the same pattern in fame, power, military victories, knowledge, and even benefit to humanity. In all of these, the rich get richer. Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsBut superlinear returns for performance are a feature of the world, not an artifact of rules we've invented. We see the same pattern in fame, power, military victories, knowledge, and even benefit to humanity. In all of these, the rich get richer.

    ↗Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2023

Every situation with superlinear returns reduces to one of two causes: exponential growth or thresholds.

Mental modelExponential growth

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb It may seem as if there are a lot of different situations with superlinear returns, but as far as I can tell they reduce to two fundamental causes: exponential growth and thresholds. Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsIt may seem as if there are a lot of different situations with superlinear returns, but as far as I can tell they reduce to two fundamental causes: exponential growth and thresholds.

    ↗Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2023

Superlinear returns imply inequality, and the steeper the return curve the greater the variation in outcomes.

Mental modelPower laws

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Superlinear returns imply inequality. The steeper the return curve, the greater the variation in outcomes. Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsSuperlinear returns imply inequality. The steeper the return curve, the greater the variation in outcomes.

    ↗Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2023

Exposing yourself to superlinear returns is not for everyone: most people are better off as part of the pool.

Mental modelPower laws

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Exposing oneself to superlinear returns is not for everyone. Most people will be better off as part of the pool. Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsExposing oneself to superlinear returns is not for everyone. Most people will be better off as part of the pool.

    ↗Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2023

At the far end of the curve it is a bargain not only to do exceptional work but merely to attempt it, because so few people even try.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb At the far end of the curve, incremental effort is a bargain. All the more so because there's less competition at the far end — and not just for the obvious reason that it's hard to do something exceptionally well, but also because people find the prospect so intimidating that few even try. Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsAt the far end of the curve, incremental effort is a bargain. All the more so because there's less competition at the far end — and not just for the obvious reason that it's hard to do something exceptionally well, but also because people find the prospect so intimidating that few even try.

    ↗Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2023

Always be learning, because work that is not teaching you is probably not on a path that leads to superlinear returns.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Which yields another heuristic: always be learning. If you're not learning, you're probably not on a path that leads to superlinear returns. Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsWhich yields another heuristic: always be learning. If you're not learning, you're probably not on a path that leads to superlinear returns.

    ↗Superlinear Returnspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2023

Economic inequality is growing because technology makes companies easier to start and faster to grow, not because of tax policy.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb There'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. @paulg on Xx.com · 16 Aug 2026
    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.

    ↗@paulg on Xx.com

    16 Aug 2026

Great work comes from curiosity, taste and persistence, found by working rather than planning

Our label. 12 claims in Paul Graham's own words.

The way to work out what to work on is by working: if you do not know, guess, but pick something and get going.

Mental modelFeedback loops

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb The way to figure out what to work on is by working. If you're not sure what to work on, guess. But pick something and get going. How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe way to figure out what to work on is by working. If you're not sure what to work on, guess. But pick something and get going.

    ↗How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com

    1 Jul 2023

What to work on is found by asking what you are excessively curious about — curious to a degree that would bore most other people.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb What are you excessively curious about — curious to a degree that would bore most other people? That's what you're looking for. How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsWhat are you excessively curious about — curious to a degree that would bore most other people? That's what you're looking for.

    ↗How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com

    1 Jul 2023

Great work follows the same four steps in every field: choose a field, learn enough to reach the frontier, notice the gaps, explore the promising ones.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Four steps: choose a field, learn enough to get to the frontier, notice gaps, explore promising ones. This is how practically everyone who's done great work has done it, from painters to physicists. How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsFour steps: choose a field, learn enough to get to the frontier, notice gaps, explore promising ones. This is how practically everyone who's done great work has done it, from painters to physicists.

    ↗How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com

    1 Jul 2023

Outlier ideas are worth chasing especially when other people are not interested in them.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Boldly chase outlier ideas, even if other people aren't interested in them — in fact, especially if they aren't. How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsBoldly chase outlier ideas, even if other people aren't interested in them — in fact, especially if they aren't.

    ↗How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com

    1 Jul 2023

Persistence is five qualities combined (energy, imagination, resilience, good judgement and focus on a goal) and only resembles obstinacy in that it keeps you from giving up.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Five distinct qualities — energy, imagination, resilience, good judgement, and focus on a goal — combine to produce a phenomenon that seems a bit like obstinacy in the sense that it causes you not to give up. The Right Kind of Stubbornpaulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsFive distinct qualities — energy, imagination, resilience, good judgement, and focus on a goal — combine to produce a phenomenon that seems a bit like obstinacy in the sense that it causes you not to give up.

    ↗The Right Kind of Stubbornpaulgraham.com

    1 Jul 2024

Persistence and obstinacy are different behaviours: the persistent are attached to the goal, the obstinate to their ideas about how to reach it.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb The persistent are attached to the goal. The obstinate are attached to their ideas about how to reach it. The Right Kind of Stubbornpaulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe persistent are attached to the goal. The obstinate are attached to their ideas about how to reach it.

    ↗The Right Kind of Stubbornpaulgraham.com

    1 Jul 2024

The persistent and the obstinate are both hard to stop: the persistent like a boat whose engine cannot be throttled back, the obstinate like one whose rudder cannot be turned.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb The reason the persistent and the obstinate seem similar is that they're both hard to stop. But they're hard to stop in different senses. The persistent are like boats whose engines can't be throttled back. The obstinate are like boats whose rudders can't be turned. The Right Kind of Stubbornpaulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe reason the persistent and the obstinate seem similar is that they're both hard to stop. But they're hard to stop in different senses. The persistent are like boats whose engines can't be throttled back. The obstinate are like boats whose rudders can't be turned.

    ↗The Right Kind of Stubbornpaulgraham.com

    1 Jul 2024

Resilience means setbacks cannot change your morale, not that they cannot change your mind, and persistence often requires changing your mind.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb But resilience is not the same as obstinacy. Resilience means setbacks can't change your morale, not that they can't change your mind. Indeed, persistence often requires that one change one's mind. The Right Kind of Stubbornpaulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsBut resilience is not the same as obstinacy. Resilience means setbacks can't change your morale, not that they can't change your mind. Indeed, persistence often requires that one change one's mind.

    ↗The Right Kind of Stubbornpaulgraham.com

    1 Jul 2024

Procrastinating on a whole project is far more dangerous than procrastinating on a day, because it camouflages itself as work.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb One reason per-project procrastination is so dangerous is that it usually camouflages itself as work. You're not just sitting around doing nothing; you're working industriously on something else. How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsOne reason per-project procrastination is so dangerous is that it usually camouflages itself as work. You're not just sitting around doing nothing; you're working industriously on something else.

    ↗How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com

    1 Jul 2023

Morale compounds in both directions, so when the work is going badly it is worth switching to easier work just to get something done.

Mental modelCompounding

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Morale compounds via work: high morale helps you do good work, which increases your morale and helps you do even better work. But this cycle also operates in the other direction: if you're not doing good work, that can demoralize you and make it even harder to. How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com · 1 Jul 2023All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsMorale compounds via work: high morale helps you do good work, which increases your morale and helps you do even better work. But this cycle also operates in the other direction: if you're not doing good work, that can demoralize you and make it even harder to.

    ↗How to Do Great Workpaulgraham.com

    1 Jul 2023

Startups are won by ambitious, hands-on founders, and founder mode works better than manager mode

Our label. 11 claims in Paul Graham's own words.

There are two ways to run a company — founder mode and manager mode — and Silicon Valley has wrongly assumed that scaling a startup means switching to the second.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb In effect there are two different ways to run a company: founder mode and manager mode. Till now most people even in Silicon Valley have implicitly assumed that scaling a startup meant switching to manager mode. Founder Modepaulgraham.com · 1 Sept 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsIn effect there are two different ways to run a company: founder mode and manager mode. Till now most people even in Silicon Valley have implicitly assumed that scaling a startup meant switching to manager mode.

    ↗Founder Modepaulgraham.com

    1 Sept 2024

There are things founders can do that managers cannot, and not doing them feels wrong to founders because it is wrong.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb There are things founders can do that managers can't, and not doing them feels wrong to founders, because it is. Founder Modepaulgraham.com · 1 Sept 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThere are things founders can do that managers can't, and not doing them feels wrong to founders, because it is.

    ↗Founder Modepaulgraham.com

    1 Sept 2024

In practice "hire good people and give them room to do their jobs" often means hiring professional fakers and letting them drive the company into the ground.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Except in practice, judging from the report of founder after founder, what this often turns out to mean is: hire professional fakers and let them drive the company into the ground. Founder Modepaulgraham.com · 1 Sept 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsExcept in practice, judging from the report of founder after founder, what this often turns out to mean is: hire professional fakers and let them drive the company into the ground.

    ↗Founder Modepaulgraham.com

    1 Sept 2024

Founder mode breaks the rule that a CEO engages with the company only through direct reports, and makes skip-level meetings the norm.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Whatever founder mode consists of, it's pretty clear that it's going to break the principle that the CEO should engage with the company only via his or her direct reports. Founder Modepaulgraham.com · 1 Sept 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsWhatever founder mode consists of, it's pretty clear that it's going to break the principle that the CEO should engage with the company only via his or her direct reports.

    ↗Founder Modepaulgraham.com

    1 Sept 2024

As soon as founder mode is an established idea people will misuse it: founders excusing an inability to delegate, and managers deciding to act like founders.

Mental modelSecond-order thinking

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb I also have another less optimistic prediction: as soon as the concept of founder mode becomes established, people will start misusing it. Founders who are unable to delegate even things they should will use founder mode as the excuse. Or managers who aren't founders will decide they should try to act like founders. Founder Modepaulgraham.com · 1 Sept 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsI also have another less optimistic prediction: as soon as the concept of founder mode becomes established, people will start misusing it. Founders who are unable to delegate even things they should will use founder mode as the excuse. Or managers who aren't founders will decide they should try to act like founders.

    ↗Founder Modepaulgraham.com

    1 Sept 2024

A founder needs ambition rather than a sense of duty, because a startup is grueling enough that dutifulness will not carry anyone through it.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb we knew that it was grueling. And you need you need something to drive you through all those obstacles and honestly being dutiful is not enough. Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com · 3 Sept 2026 · 5:23 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordswe knew that it was grueling. And you need you need something to drive you through all those obstacles and honestly being dutiful is not enough.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 5:23 plays here

    ↗Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com

    3 Sept 2026 · video · 21m · spoken · machine transcript

What actually motivates founders day to day is fear of disaster and of looking like a fool, not the prospect of becoming rich.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb You know what actually motivates founders day-to-day? The fear of failure. Even though they're doing this thing that if they succeed they'll be super rich. Um that does motivate them but the thing that motivates them at the at any given moment is the fear of like disaster or looking like a fool, the server crashing, right? Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com · 3 Sept 2026 · 5:54 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsYou know what actually motivates founders day-to-day? The fear of failure. Even though they're doing this thing that if they succeed they'll be super rich. Um that does motivate them but the thing that motivates them at the at any given moment is the fear of like disaster or looking like a fool, the server crashing, right?

    Where this was said

    Watch from 5:54 plays here

    ↗Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com

    3 Sept 2026 · video · 21m · spoken · machine transcript

Ambition in founders is mostly inborn, which is why stories of a founder acquiring it during a batch are rare.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Those stories are rare because most of this quality is inborn. Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com · 3 Sept 2026 · 7:12 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsThose stories are rare because most of this quality is inborn.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 7:12 plays here

    ↗Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com

    3 Sept 2026 · video · 21m · spoken · machine transcript

The founders who look unambitious are not: they have been trained by obedient upbringings to hide their ambition rather than lacking it.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb it's not that they lack ambition, it's more like they've been trained not to show it. Because when you're young you're often in situations where you're supposed to be obedient. You're not supposed to like go off and do what you want. Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com · 3 Sept 2026 · 7:33 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsit's not that they lack ambition, it's more like they've been trained not to show it. Because when you're young you're often in situations where you're supposed to be obedient. You're not supposed to like go off and do what you want.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 7:33 plays here

    ↗Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com

    3 Sept 2026 · video · 21m · spoken · machine transcript

Founders' reputation for overconfidence is sample bias; most good startups actually underrate themselves.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Startup 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. @paulg on Xx.com · 26 Aug 2026
    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.

    ↗@paulg on Xx.com

    26 Aug 2026

Writing is thinking, and AI may split the world into people who can write and people who cannot

Our label. 7 claims in Paul Graham's own words.

Within a couple of decades there will not be many people who can write, because AI has removed the pressure to learn.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb I'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. Writes and Write-Notspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2024All korrents from this piece
    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.

    ↗Writes and Write-Notspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2024

Because writing is thinking, a world divided into writers and non-writers becomes a world divided into thinkers and non-thinkers.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb So a world divided into writes and write-nots is more dangerous than it sounds. It will be a world of thinks and think-nots. Writes and Write-Notspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2024All korrents from this piece
    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.

    ↗Writes and Write-Notspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2024

Intelligence is becoming a choice rather than a byproduct of daily work: there will still be smart people, but only those who choose to be.

  1. Scott H. Young Canadian writer on learning who taught himself MIT's… Thus my personal prediction is that in domains that are already largely under the powers of modern AI, such as languages, programming or chess, we’re going to see a divergence in human abilities. Will AI Make Us Stupid?scotthyoung.com · 18 Nov 2025All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThus my personal prediction is that in domains that are already largely under the powers of modern AI, such as languages, programming or chess, we’re going to see a divergence in human abilities.

    ↗Will AI Make Us Stupid?scotthyoung.com

    18 Nov 2025

  2. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb There will still be smart people, but only those who choose to be. Writes and Write-Notspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThere will still be smart people, but only those who choose to be.

    ↗Writes and Write-Notspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2024

Most people find writing hard because writing well requires thinking clearly, and thinking clearly is hard.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb The reason so many people have trouble writing is that it's fundamentally difficult. To write well you have to think clearly, and thinking clearly is hard. Writes and Write-Notspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsThe reason so many people have trouble writing is that it's fundamentally difficult. To write well you have to think clearly, and thinking clearly is hard.

    ↗Writes and Write-Notspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2024

The middle ground in writing disappears: what is left is good writers and people who cannot write, with no ok writers in between.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Instead of good writers, ok writers, and people who can't write, there will just be good writers and people who can't write. Writes and Write-Notspaulgraham.com · 1 Oct 2024All korrents from this piece
    Their wordsInstead of good writers, ok writers, and people who can't write, there will just be good writers and people who can't write.

    ↗Writes and Write-Notspaulgraham.com

    1 Oct 2024

In ten years few people will be able to write, or want to read, anything longer than a page or two — and the few who still can will be powerful.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb There 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. @paulg on Xx.com · 21 Aug 2026
    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.

    ↗@paulg on Xx.com

    21 Aug 2026

One reliable tell of AI writing is excessively colorful verbs where a normal person would use a plain one.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb I 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". @paulg on Xx.com · 19 Aug 2026
    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".

    ↗@paulg on Xx.com

    19 Aug 2026

AI changes little about starting a startup: standard advice holds, and small fast teams are safest

Our label. 9 claims in Paul Graham's own words.

Almost everything about starting a startup is the same whatever the technology of the era — microprocessors, AI or the internal combustion engine.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Most of starting a startup is the same. Most of starting a startup is always the same, right? In you know, microprocessors or AI or like internal combustion engine, it's always the same stuff. Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com · 3 Sept 2026 · 0:50 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsMost of starting a startup is the same. Most of starting a startup is always the same, right? In you know, microprocessors or AI or like internal combustion engine, it's always the same stuff.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 0:50 plays here

    ↗Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com

    3 Sept 2026 · video · 21m · spoken · machine transcript

Almost all standard startup advice is still true in the AI era.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb One 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. @paulg on Xx.com · 12 Aug 2026
    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.

    ↗@paulg on Xx.com

    12 Aug 2026

AI has changed almost nothing about how a startup works; the one genuinely new thing is that companies now carry enormous token bills.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb Everyone always asks me like with all this AI is anything still the same? And the answer is so far almost everything is exactly the same. The only weird The only weird new thing is that companies have these giant AI bills. Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com · 3 Sept 2026 · 16:33 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsEveryone always asks me like with all this AI is anything still the same? And the answer is so far almost everything is exactly the same. The only weird The only weird new thing is that companies have these giant AI bills.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 16:33 plays here

    ↗Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com

    3 Sept 2026 · video · 21m · spoken · machine transcript

AI tools have not made shipping speed a solved problem, because shipping speed was never only the rate of production — you have to think of the ideas first.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb there's still a lot of startups in this batch that are not shipping fast enough. And so obviously there's variation in shipping speed. It's not just the rate at which you can produce things. You have to think of these ideas first, right? Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com · 3 Sept 2026 · 16:21 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsthere's still a lot of startups in this batch that are not shipping fast enough. And so obviously there's variation in shipping speed. It's not just the rate at which you can produce things. You have to think of these ideas first, right?

    Where this was said

    Watch from 16:21 plays here

    ↗Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com

    3 Sept 2026 · video · 21m · spoken · machine transcript

If AI turns the world upside down, the safest place to be is a small, fast-moving company that can change direction easily.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb A 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. @paulg on Xx.com · 12 Aug 2026
    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.

    ↗@paulg on Xx.com

    12 Aug 2026

Founding alone is still a bad idea even though AI lets one person get more done, because the point of a cofounder is to share the stress.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb I 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. @paulg on Xx.com · 14 Aug 2026
    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.

    ↗@paulg on Xx.com

    14 Aug 2026

The next trillion-dollar company will come from the right founders rather than from any particular idea.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb The answer to your question where the next giant company comes from is it comes from the right founders. Right? It's not some particular idea. Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com · 3 Sept 2026 · 20:24 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsThe answer to your question where the next giant company comes from is it comes from the right founders. Right? It's not some particular idea.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 20:24 plays here

    ↗Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com

    3 Sept 2026 · video · 21m · spoken · machine transcript

You do not displace Google by attacking it head-on; you wait until the world has changed enough to make its model obsolete, which is what OpenAI did.

Mental modelPlay long games

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb the way you make a new Google is not by attacking them head on. You have to wait for things to change so much that their model is is obsolete and that's when you can do it. And that's what Open AI is. Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com · 3 Sept 2026 · 4:23 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsthe way you make a new Google is not by attacking them head on. You have to wait for things to change so much that their model is is obsolete and that's when you can do it. And that's what Open AI is.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 4:23 plays here

    ↗Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com

    3 Sept 2026 · video · 21m · spoken · machine transcript

Y Combinator getting bigger does not change what it is like to be in it, because each startup lives inside a pod the size of the whole of YC in 2012.

  1. Paul Graham Co-founder of Y Combinator and Viaweb if you if you divide the YC up into little bits where each startup is part of a pod of 70 startups, then it's just like they were back in 2012 when there were 70 startups. Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com · 3 Sept 2026 · 20:04 into the videoAll korrents from this video
    Their wordsif you if you divide the YC up into little bits where each startup is part of a pod of 70 startups, then it's just like they were back in 2012 when there were 70 startups.

    Where this was said

    Watch from 20:04 plays here

    ↗Paul Graham On Startups, Ambition, and Great Foundersyoutube.com

    3 Sept 2026 · video · 21m · spoken · machine transcript