Believe it or not, my journey to Y Combinator started similar to how you may experience YC — through being a regular lurker and reader on Hacker News.
I went to Startup School, me and my cofounders applied, we got an interview, and we got in. I was an engineer, designer and PM. I'd built teams and products, but I'd never built a company.
YC gave me a shot, a community, knowhow, and the ability to access capital, talent, and customers.
YC changed my life. I want it to help a lot more people achieve their dreams and goals. It did for me, beyond my wildest dreams.
You gave me my start in 2009 when you let me build Posterous themes. That experience introduced me into the world of startups, pushed me to become better at code, helped me get my start in design, and ultimately changed my life forever.
I can't thank you enough for giving a nobody like me a shot, and I can't wait to passively watch as you continue to do this for countless others!
Garry, massive congratulations. Been watching your career growth for years, and been inspired by your every step. Being able to have you as one of my group partners was a blessed period in my own career that I'm glad to have had.
Hacker News & YC have changed my life too. HN pulled me out of a funk during a Master's thesis that my heart was no longer in, and thrust me into the world of startups. Going through YC did the same, and put me onto a path of success with my own startup.
I'm very excited to see you back at the helm of YC, because I know how many others you'll be able to help. I'm excited for this future.
Congrats Garry! So well deserved. I feel so lucky to have had your help as a group partner when we went through W13 as Errplane (hah, good thing we figured out something to pivot to).
YC changed my life too and I can't imagine it in better or more capable hands.
I have nothing but positive memories from all the times we met in S12. Your genuine excitement for the cool products everyone was building was refreshing in a time when all my conversations were about customer development and building an org. (Not that we didn't also talk about that, of course, but you were always the biggest reminder WHY we were here.)
I really think there's no one better for this role, it makes me really excited about YC again! Congrats!
Congrats. I was binge-watching on Youtube and came across one of your videos a few days ago which inspired me to start thinking of doing something with my 10 year experience, specially when you talked about there being no shortage of money :) No other investor has ever reached me via Youtube let alone inspire. Great move by YC.
Congrats Garry! Will never forget how you helped us design our logo during office hours. Took 2 minutes and the result was better than anything we came up with that month.
Just incredible to see you complete the circle here Garry.
I'll be really interested to see the perspective you bring, especially when it comes to the human side of the equation of founding a startup.
I remember for some time you were looking seriously at mental health for teams. Any early thoughts on how you might adjust the current sentiment of hustle culture?
(btw, love the production quality of your videos on youtube; and now, YC-- Dalton, Michael et al-- who do have fantastic content, can use a bit of that production magic).
What's your take on YC batch sizes? YC has gotten criticism for making them too big, but it seems totally natural to me to scale them up. Do you think they are right-sized now?
This is pretty fabulous news, Garry. You've been an inspiration, from meeting you back in the Posterous days during Summer '08 and seeing your contributions and achievements along the way since then. Bravo!
Congratulations! While I am going to greatly miss the videos you did on YouTube the truth is you are so right for the job. Two words of advice for you - be bold.
What advice can you give to solo founders trying to break into YC, outside of the normal platitudes? Seems like there is an almost impossible bar to meet.
I look forward to learning more about your journey. I've recently launched a company and I am finding the YC Startup School content fascinating.
Being from a non-coastal area, my HN engagement has for many years been a lurker and general technology trend interest. I'm pleasantly surprised how well developed YC content is.
Congrats Garry! This is wonderful news. Garry was extremely generous and helpful to us during our YC days. Cannot thank him enough for all his help. This is awesome for YC!
I went to Startup School, me and my cofounders applied, we got an interview, and we got in. I was an engineer, designer and PM. I'd built teams and products, but I'd never built a company.
YC gave me a shot, a community, knowhow, and the ability to access capital, talent, and customers.
YC changed my life. I want it to help a lot more people achieve their dreams and goals. It did for me, beyond my wildest dreams.