What Is Y Combinator

In 2009, according to Paul Graham, Y Combinator (YC) was neither a venture capital firm nor an incubator. In fact, there was not yet a name for what Y Combinator was trying to create.

Instead of raising a large amount of capital to invest into small number of deals, YC was investing a small amount into a relatively large number of companies.

EconTalk Archives, 2009 · Graham on Start-ups, Innovation, and Creativity · at 1:00 · September 2nd, 2019 ·Transcript

On this episode

Who Is Paul Graham at 0:42 Transcript
What Is Y Combinator at 1:00 Transcript
How Successful Was Y Combinator Aiming To Become at 2:35 Transcript
Why Was Y Combinator Successful At Funding An Unusually Large Number Of Startups at 3:21 Transcript
How Does Y Combinator Use Software To Screen Applicants at 5:03 Transcript
What Happens At A Y Combinator Interview at 6:24 Transcript
How Successful Was The Very First Batch Of Y Combinator at 7:55 Transcript
Why Are We Seeing Growing Number Of Startups at 11:20 Transcript
Why Do Angels Make Better Early Investors Than Venture Capitalists at 16:27 Transcript
When Should You Launch Your Startup at 22:21 Transcript
Who Should Be Startup's Early Users at 23:19 Transcript
When Does Y Combinator End at 26:22 Transcript
Did The Recession Have Any Impact On The Y Combinator Deal Flow at 29:49 Transcript
What Are The Similarities Between Hackers And Painters at 41:16 Transcript
In Which Ways Should Founders Be More Like Artists at 42:50 Transcript
What Makes For A Great Hacker at 45:30 Transcript
What Is One Problem That Every Hacker Struggles With at 48:50 Transcript
What Was Paul Graham's View On Facebook And Twitter In 2009 at 52:23 Transcript
What Is The Best Economic Policy For The United States at 56:03 Transcript
What Is The Best Way To Survive High-school at 57:51 Transcript