Paul Graham

Date of Birth: November 13, 1964

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Biography

Paul Graham is a British-born computer scientist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and essayist, best known for his work in the fields of computer science and startup incubation. He was born on November 13, 1964, in Weymouth, Dorset, United Kingdom. Graham is a co-founder of Viaweb, one of the first web-based applications, which was acquired by Yahoo! and became Yahoo! Store. He is also a co-founder of Y Combinator, a seed money startup accelerator that has launched numerous successful companies, including Dropbox, Airbnb, and Reddit. Graham’s academic background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Cornell University and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in computer science from Harvard University. His work in programming languages, particularly with the development of the Lisp dialect, has had a significant influence on the field. Additionally, he has authored several influential essays on startups, programming, and technology, which are widely read and cited in the tech community.

5 Interesting Facts about Paul Graham

1. Paul Graham is the author of “Hackers & Painters,” a collection of essays on programming, entrepreneurship, and the nature of creative work.

2. He co-founded Y Combinator in 2005 alongside Jessica Livingston, Robert Tappan Morris, and Trevor Blackwell.

3. Graham developed the first web-based application, Viaweb, using the Lisp programming language.

4. Y Combinator has helped launch over 2,000 startups, which collectively have a market cap of over $100 billion.

5. Paul Graham is an advocate for the use of Lisp in programming, often citing its flexibility and efficiency.

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Paul Graham

1. “The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas. It’s to look for problems, preferably problems you have yourself.”

2. “It’s hard to do a really good job on anything you don’t think about in the shower.”

3. “The very best startup ideas tend to have three things in common: they’re something the founders themselves want, that they themselves can build, and that few others realize are worth doing.”

4. “If you want to make money, better make something you love, because there’s a good chance no one else will love it.”

5. “A startup is a company designed to grow fast. Being newly founded does not in itself make a company a startup.”