TL;DR - As president of Y Combinator, Sam Altman expanded the accelerator’s reach while maintaining its reputation as a consistent producer of top founders.
Helpfulness - 4
Tags - y combinator, notable investors, accelerators, seed funding
Questions addressed:
- Who is Sam Altman?
- How did he change Y Combinator?
- What is the current structure of YC?
- What significance does this hold for the larger early stage funding ecosystem?
Summary:
- Sam Altman, once a member of the first class of Y Combinator startups, recently stepped down as president of YC to focus on his new startup OpenAI.
- He changed YC by expanding its product offerings, geographic reach, and batch/class sizes.
- He also continued to solidify YC’s brand and reputation as an accelerator that produces the best founders, attracting even more attention from both entrepreneurs and follow-on investors.
- YC’s current structure includes two batches of startups per year that receive 3 months of training followed by a “demo day” to investors.
- YC invests $150,000 in exchange for a 7% stake in each company.
Follow up links:
- Y Combinator website, https://www.ycombinator.com/
- Origins of YC, http://www.paulgraham.com/ycstart.htmlÂ
- More in-depth Sam Altman profile, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/sam-altmans-manifest-destiny