Paul Graham

Business / By / August 1, 2023

Paul Graham is an American programmer, entrepreneur, essayist, author, and venture capitalist who was born in Weymouth, Dorset, England. 

Graham is best known as one of the co-founders of start-up accelerator Y Combinator, but he also founded the online store platform Viaweb and later wrote a series of influential articles on various topics such as new programming languages, venture capital, and tech start-ups.

Viaweb

Graham founded Viaweb in 1995 with college roommate Robert Morris. Viaweb, which Graham believed was the first application service provider (ASP), sold software that enabled a business to establish an eCommerce presence.

Graham borrowed $10k to start the company from friend, lawyer, and businessman Julian Weber. In exchange, Weber took a 10% stake in the company and taught Graham and Morris what business was about and how to remain calm in a crisis.

Yahoo acquired Viaweb in 1998 for $49 million to bolster the company’s push into the emerging eCommerce services industry. After the deal was completed, Viaweb’s product became known as Yahoo! Store.

Y Combinator

Over the next few years, Graham wrote several personal essays that were published on his website. While many discussed the merits of one programming language over another, he also enjoyed writing about his experiences at Viaweb and entrepreneurship in general.

After delivering a talk at the Harvard Computer Society in 2005 called How to Start a Startup, Graham decided to found Y Combinator. He did so with Morris, computer programmer Trevor Blackwell, and author (and future wife) Jessica Livingston.

As the story goes, Graham and Livingstone were walking home from dinner one night as they discussed what needed to change in the VC industry. The pair believed that investors should be making more money from smaller investments, and that companies needed to favor younger founders who, in Graham’s words, were “hackers instead of suits”.

Y Combinator – which was founded on these values but initially called Cambridge Seed – was soon started with just $100k from Graham and $50k each from Blackwell and Morris. Since it was founded, Y Combinator has invested in over 3,500 start-ups with a combined valuation nearing $1 trillion.

Graham steps down

Graham announced in early 2014 that he would be stepping down from his role as president at Y Combinator. He was succeeded by Y Combinator partner Sam Altman whom Graham believed was better equipped to ensure the company remained competitive as the VC industry became more crowded.

True to style, Graham announced the decision in a blog post where he explained that “YC needs to grow, and I’m not the best person to grow it. Sam is what YC needs at this stage in its evolution.” Graham continues to work with Y Combinator in an advisory capacity.

Key takeaways

  • Paul Graham is an American programmer, entrepreneur, essayist, author, and venture capitalist who was born in Weymouth, Dorset, England. Graham is best known as one of the co-founders of Y Combinator and the online store platform Viaweb.
  • After delivering a talk in 2005 at the Harvard Computer Society called How to Start a Startup, Graham decided to found Y Combinator with Morris, computer programmer Trevor Blackwell, and author (and future wife) Jessica Livingston.
  • Graham announced in early 2014 that he would be stepping down from his role as president at Y Combinator. He would be succeeded by then Y Combinator partner Sam Altman whom Graham believed was more capable of growing the company amid increased competition.

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About The Author

Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
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