Paul Graham

Making Startups Powerful: https://t.co/C5yIvFWXoC

@paulg·Sep 13, 2026↗

I tried asking myself what I'd learned after 40, and it turned out to be a lot of the most important stuff I know. At least 90% of what I know about startups, because I was 40 when we started YC. Plu…

@paulg·Jul 29, 2026↗

Own the Outer Loop In the past year, the conversation around agentic engineering has moved to harnesses and [loops](https://x.com/addyosmani/article/2064127981161959567?lang=en), fleets and software…

@addyosmani·Jul 8, 2026↗

It seems a mistake to call oneself a "non-technical founder." You're treating not knowing how to do something as a part of your identity. Surely it's better just to fix that.

@paulg·Jun 15, 2026↗

The most important component of writing clearly is simply to have high standards for clarity. Then if you write something unclear, you notice, and ask: what did I mean to say? You can just keep doing…

@paulg·Jun 3, 2026↗

Prediction: In the AI age, taste will become even more important. When anyone can make anything, the big differentiator is what you choose to make. https://t.co/3GQUlfH58t

@paulg·Feb 14, 2026↗

@pritika_mehta All you need is nerds, rich people, a government that doesn't get in the way, and time.

@paulg·Nov 26, 2024↗

When To Do What You Love: https://t.co/kMDf3RYhW9

@paulg·Sep 29, 2024↗

Tips on writing: How to Write Usefully: https://t.co/Bu41gy8Fmx The Age of the Essay: https://t.co/HdUSjESNGl Write Like You Talk: https://t.co/pcEpHBRsXR

@paulg·Jul 5, 2023↗

Something I taught 13 yo: Making important decisions without consulting anyone else is not a sign of strength or intelligence. In fact rather the opposite.

@paulg·Mar 1, 2022↗

Something I taught 9 yo: Even if the stuff you're learning in your classes is just mindless memorization, it's still worth getting good grades, because good grades get you sorted with smarter people,…

@paulg·Feb 23, 2022↗

Valuation matters far, far less than the decision of whether to invest or not. The spread between bargain and outrageous startup valuations can't be more than 5x, in a world where the best investment…

@paulg·Feb 13, 2022↗

The reason most founders are surprised by the difficulty of fundraising is that they're learning something about themselves, not something about fundraising. They know fundraising is hard for startup…

@paulg·Aug 2, 2019↗

There are people who fix problems and people who complain about problems, and the two sets are remarkably disjoint.

@paulg·May 28, 2019↗

@tinvaan I would raise maybe $500k, keep the company small for the first year, work closely with users to make something amazing, and otherwise stay off SV's radar. In other words, be the opposite of…

@paulg·May 24, 2019↗

When startups think a partnership with some big company will be the silver bullet that makes them grow, they're usually mistaken. What makes you grow is building amazing things and making customers l…

@paulg·Apr 25, 2019↗

Projects that yield great results often wouldn't seem promising to a rational person. Fortunately some people have a compensating irrationality: they're so interested in the project that they'll work…

@paulg·Jan 30, 2019↗