Y Combinator

The complete archive of Y Combinator (2005-2026) — from a walk home in Harvard Square to the most influential startup accelerator in the world. The full institutional history interwoven with YC's entire video library: every Startup School lecture, How to Start a Startup class, founder story and talk, from Zuckerberg in 2012 to the AI era. Hundreds of hours of the people, ideas and companies that built Silicon Valley's engine room.

A chronological documentary of 709 moments spanning 2005–2026 on Loreline.

last updated 2026-07-22

1. 2005-03-11 — The walk home from Harvard Square. On 11 March 2005, walking home from dinner in Harvard Square, Paul Graham and Jessica Livingston decide to start their own investment firm rather than have Jessica take a job at a Boston VC. By the time they reach Walker Street, Y Combinator exists in all but name.
2. 2005-03-12 — Paul Graham. A Lisp hacker, essayist and the co-founder of Viaweb (sold to Yahoo in 1998), Paul Graham brings the idea — and the essays — that shape Y Combinator’s philosophy: fund founders early, in batches, and "make something people want".
3. 2005-03-13 — The four founders. Y Combinator is founded by Paul Graham, Jessica Livingston, and Graham’s old Viaweb partners Robert Tappan Morris and Trevor Blackwell. The initial fund is $200,000 — $100,000 from Graham, $50,000 each from Morris and Blackwell.
4. 2005-03-14 — Trevor Blackwell. robotics engineer and Viaweb alumnus, is one of the four founders who put up the original capital. The name "Y Combinator" — a concept from computer science — replaces "Cambridge Seed" within days, to signal national rather than regional scope.
5. 2005-06-01 — The Summer Founders Program. Instead of investing one startup at a time, they decide to fund a whole batch over the summer of 2005. Graham’s reasoning: "we wanted to learn how to be angel investors, and a summer program for undergrads seemed the fastest way to do it." 8 startups are chosen from ~225 applications.
6. 2005-06-15 — The first 6 months of Reddit (YC 05)- "Entrepreneurship is a bipolar existence". "
7. 2005 — the Reddit founders (2005). the Reddit founders, photographed in 2005. Part of the Y Combinator story.
8. 2005 — Geoff Ralston (2005). Geoff Ralston, photographed in 2005. Part of the Y Combinator story.
9. 2005-06-15 — How OpenAI CEO Sam Altman applied to YC's FIRST Batch in 2005. The Social Radars Podcast
10. 2005-06-15 — Reddit joins the first batch. Among the first 8 startups — alongside Loopt and Kiko — are Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, whose idea YC redirects into Reddit. The original deal: about $6,000 per founder, and weekly dinners run out of Graham and Livingston’s house in West Cambridge.
11. 2006 — the Reddit founders (2006). the Reddit founders, photographed in 2006. Part of the Y Combinator story.
12. 2006-10-31 — Reddit’s exit — the first big win. In October 2006, just over a year after the first batch, Reddit is acquired by Condé Nast. The early validation that the batch model can produce real outcomes — and proof that funding very young founders works.
13. 2007-02-19 — Hacker News launches. Paul Graham launches Hacker News (originally "Startup News") in 2007 — a community link aggregator that becomes the front page of the startup world and a recruiting and reputation engine for YC itself.
14. 2007-06-01 — Dropbox (Summer 2007). Drew Houston applies to YC with a file-syncing demo and is told to find a co-founder; he brings in Arash Ferdowsi and joins the Summer 2007 batch. Dropbox becomes one of YC’s defining early successes.
15. 2007 — Paul Graham (2007). Paul Graham, photographed in 2007. Part of the Y Combinator story.
16. 2007 — the Twitch founders (2007). the Twitch founders, photographed in 2007. Part of the Y Combinator story.
17. 2007 — Jessica Livingston (2007). Jessica Livingston, photographed in 2007. Part of the Y Combinator story.
18. 2008-04-19 — Startup School. YC runs Startup School — free day-long events where famous founders speak to a hall of would-be entrepreneurs. It spreads YC’s ideas far beyond the funded batches and seeds the global founder community.
19. 2008-06-15 — Paul Graham at Startup School 08. startupschool
20. 2008 — the Collison brothers (Stripe) (2008). the Collison brothers (Stripe), photographed in 2008. Part of the Y Combinator story.
21. 2009-01-15 — Consolidation in the Valley. In January 2009 the Cambridge program closes and YC consolidates entirely in Silicon Valley. The same year, Sequoia Capital leads a $2 million investment that lets YC fund around 60 companies a year.
22. 2009-01-20 — Airbnb (Winter 2009). Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk join the Winter 2009 batch after famously funding themselves selling cereal boxes. Graham’s advice — go to your users — helps turn Airbnb into one of YC’s biggest companies.
23. 2009-06-01 — Stripe (Summer 2009). Patrick and John Collison join YC and build Stripe — developer-first payments. It becomes one of the most valuable private companies in the world and a cornerstone of the YC portfolio.
24. 2009 — Y Combinator (2009). Y Combinator, photographed in 2009. Part of the Y Combinator story.
25. 2009-06-15 — Paul Graham on Start-ups, Innovation, and Creativity 08/03/2009. EconTalk
26. 2010 — Geoff Ralston (2010). Geoff Ralston, photographed in 2010. Part of the Y Combinator story.
27. 2010-06-15 — Brian Chesky - Founder of Airbnb @ Startup School 2010 (1 of 2). Ernest
28. 2010-06-15 — Sequoia doubles down. In 2010 Sequoia provides a further $8.25 million, and YC adds partners and advisors — Paul Buchheit (creator of Gmail) and Harj Taggar among them — to handle the growing batches.
29. 2010 — Jessica Livingston (2010). Jessica Livingston, photographed in 2010. Part of the Y Combinator story.
30. 2010-06-15 — This Week in Startups - Garry Tan, Co-Founder of Posterous. This Week in Startups
31. 2011 — Y Combinator (2011). Y Combinator, photographed in 2011. Part of the Y Combinator story.
32. 2011 — Drew Houston (Dropbox) (2011). Drew Houston (Dropbox), photographed in 2011. Part of the Y Combinator story.
33. 2011 — Brian Chesky (Airbnb) (2011). Brian Chesky (Airbnb), photographed in 2011. Part of the Y Combinator story.
34. 2011-06-15 — Y Combinator's Graham Says Startups Must Improve Lives. Bloomberg Originals
35. 2011-10-15 — Startup School draws the Valley’s biggest names. By 2011 Startup School fills auditoriums; Mark Zuckerberg and Ashton Kutcher speak. YC has become the center of gravity for early-stage startups, and a YC badge is a signal in itself.
36. 2012-06-15 — Justin.tv's Justin Kan: The story of a serial entrepreneur | Wizard. Justin.tv's viewers watch 300+ million videos a month. Socialcam just sold for $60 million. Now serial entrepreneur, Justin Kan, has founded Exec, which makes it possible to get jobs done without middlemen, and gives a whole class of people an opportunity to make a living.
37. 2012-06-15 — Y Combinator's Graham Doesn't See `Bubble' in Technology: Video. Bloomberg Originals
38. 2012-06-15 — Loopt's Altman Says Groupon Partnership Looks Promising. Bloomberg Originals
39. 2012-06-15 — Drew Houston: How I Met My Co-Founder. Stanford eCorner
40. 2012-06-15 — Y Combinator's Paul Graham On Changing Strategies. TechCrunch
41. 2012-06-15 — Jason Interviews Sam Altman CEO of Loopt. TechCrunch
42. 2012-06-15 — Paul Graham On Founder Power, The Rise Of NY. TechCrunch
43. 2013-06-15 — Goodreads, Y Combinator Demo Day, and Bitcoin | CrunchWeek. TechCrunch
44. 2013-08-15 — DoorDash at YC Summer 2013 Demo Day. From the Y Combinator video archive (2020).
45. 2013-10-25 — Joel Spolsky at Startup School 2012. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
46. 2013-10-25 — Hiroshi Mikitani at Startup School 2012. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
47. 2013-10-25 — Tom Preston Werner at Startup School 2012. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
48. 2013-10-25 — David Rusenko at Startup School 2012. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
49. 2013-10-25 — Jessica Livingston at Startup School 2012. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
50. 2013-10-25 — Ron Conway at Startup School 2012. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
51. 2013-10-25 — Balaji Srinivasan at Startup School 2013. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
52. 2013-10-25 — Mark Zuckerberg at Startup School 2012. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
53. 2013-10-25 — Chris Dixon at Startup School 2013. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
54. 2013-10-25 — Travis Kalanick at Startup School 2012. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
55. 2013-10-25 — Dan Siroker at Startup School 2013. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
56. 2013-10-25 — Ben Silbermann at Startup School 2012. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
57. 2013-10-26 — Office Hours at Startup School 2013 with Paul Graham and Sam Altman. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
58. 2013-10-26 — Ron Conway at Startup School 2013. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
59. 2013-10-26 — Phil Libin at Startup School 2013. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
60. 2013-10-26 — Nate Blecharczyk at Startup School 2013. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
61. 2013-10-26 — Jack Dorsey at Startup School 2013. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
62. 2013-10-26 — Mark Zuckerberg at Startup School 2013. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
63. 2013-10-27 — Chase Adam at Startup School 2013. From the Y Combinator video archive (2013).
64. 2014-02-21 — Sam Altman becomes president. In 2014 Paul Graham appoints Sam Altman — a founder in the very first 2005 batch (Loopt) — as president of Y Combinator. Altman sets out to scale YC dramatically.
65. 2014-02-22 — The standard deal: $150k for 7%. Altman introduces YC’s famous standard deal — $150,000 for a 7% stake — making the terms simple, identical for everyone, and founder-friendly. It becomes the template the whole accelerator world copies.
66. 2014-03-12 — Julia Hartz at Female Founders Conference 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
67. 2014-03-12 — Jessica Mah at Female Founders Conference 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
68. 2014-03-12 — Elli Sharef at Female Founders Conference 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
69. 2014-03-12 — Jessica Livingston at Female Founders Conference 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
70. 2014-03-12 — Elizabeth Iorns at Female Founders Conference 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
71. 2014 — Brian Chesky (Airbnb) (2014). Brian Chesky (Airbnb), photographed in 2014. Part of the Y Combinator story.
72. 2014 — the Collison brothers (Stripe) (2014). the Collison brothers (Stripe), photographed in 2014. Part of the Y Combinator story.
73. 2014-06-15 — Stanford Seminar - Garry Tan of Y Combinator. Stanford Online
74. 2014-06-15 — Patrick Collison (Stripe) - Joining Y Combinator. Startup Grind Local
75. 2014-06-15 — From the Archives: Y Combinator Founders Paul Graham and Jessica Livingston on Studio 1.0 (2014). Bloomberg Tech
76. 2014-06-15 — Entrepreneurship Through the Lens of Venture Capital: Jessica Livingston, Y Combinator. Stanford
77. 2014 — Drew Houston (Dropbox) (2014). Drew Houston (Dropbox), photographed in 2014. Part of the Y Combinator story.
78. 2014-06-15 — This 28-year-old picks next big startup. CNN Business
79. 2014-06-15 — Paul Graham on Why Sam Altman Took over as President of Y Combinator in 2014. This Week in Startups Clips
80. 2014-06-20 — Zach Sims at Startup School NY 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
81. 2014-06-20 — Office Hours at Startup School NY 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
82. 2014-06-20 — Shana Fisher at Startup School NY 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
83. 2014-06-20 — Closing Remarks at Startup School NY 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
84. 2014-06-20 — Apoorva Mehta at Startup School NY 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
85. 2014-06-20 — Chase Adam at Startup School NY 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
86. 2014-06-20 — Kathryn Minshew at Startup School NY 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
87. 2014-06-20 — Introduction at Startup School NY 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
88. 2014-06-20 — David Lee at Startup School NY 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
89. 2014-07-31 — Paul Buchheit. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
90. 2014-07-31 — Hiroki Takeuchi. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
91. 2014-07-31 — Ian Hogarth. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
92. 2014-07-31 — Alfred Lin with Justin Kan. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
93. 2014-07-31 — Urska Srsen. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
94. 2014-07-31 — Adora Cheung. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
95. 2014-07-31 — Office Hours with Kevin & Qasar. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
96. 2014-09-15 — Legal and Accounting Basics for Startups with Kirsty Nathoo and Carolynn Levy (HtSaS 2014: 18). From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
97. 2014-09-15 — Team and Execution with Sam Altman (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 2). From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
98. 2014-09-15 — Hiring and Culture with Patrick and John Collison and Ben Silbermann (HtSaS 2014: 11). From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
99. 2014-09-15 — Before the Startup with Paul Graham (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 3). From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
100. 2014-09-15 — Competition is for Losers with Peter Thiel (How to Start a Startup 2014: 5). From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
101. 2014-09-15 — Later Stage Advice with Sam Altman (How to Start a Startup 2014: Lecture 20). From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
102. 2014-09-23 — Lecture 1 - How to Start a Startup (Sam Altman, Dustin Moskovitz). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
103. 2014-09-25 — Lecture 2 - Team and Execution (Sam Altman). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
104. 2014-09-30 — Lecture 3 - Before the Startup (Paul Graham). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
105. 2014-10-02 — Lecture 4 - Building Product, Talking to Users, and Growing (Adora Cheung). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
106. 2014-10-07 — Lecture 5 - Competition is for Losers (Peter Thiel). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
107. 2014-10-09 — Lecture 6 - Growth (Alex Schultz). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
108. 2014-10-14 — Jessica Livingston Introduces Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).

…529 further moments continue the chronology here. Full text archive: /loreline-text/y-combinator.md

638. 2014-10-14 — Ron Conway at Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
639. 2014-10-14 — Emmett Shear at Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
640. 2014-10-14 — Jim Goetz and Jan Koum at Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
641. 2014-10-14 — Eric Migicovsky at Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
642. 2014-10-14 — Kevin Systrom at Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
643. 2014-10-14 — Michelle Zatlyn and Matthew Prince at Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
644. 2014-10-14 — Andrew Mason at Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
645. 2014-10-14 — Danae Ringelmann at Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
646. 2014-10-14 — Reid Hoffman at Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
647. 2014-10-14 — Hosain Rahman at Startup School SV 2014. From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
648. 2014-10-24 — Lecture 10 - Culture (Brian Chesky, Alfred Lin). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
649. 2014-10-28 — Lecture 11 - Hiring and Culture, Part 2 (Patrick and John Collison, Ben Silbermann). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
650. 2014-10-30 — Lecture 12 - Building for the Enterprise (Aaron Levie). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
651. 2014-11-20 — Lecture 18 - Legal and Accounting Basics for Startups (Kirsty Nathoo, Carolynn Levy). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
652. 2014-12-04 — Lecture 20 - Later-stage Advice (Sam Altman). From the Y Combinator video archive (2014).
653. 2015-02-23 — YC Panel at Female Founders Conference 2015. From the Y Combinator video archive (2015).
654. 2015-02-23 — Ruchi Sanghvi Speaks at Female Founders Conference 2015. From the Y Combinator video archive (2015).
655. 2015-02-23 — Fundraising Panel at Female Founders Conference 2015. From the Y Combinator video archive (2015).
656. 2015-02-23 — Adora Cheung Speaks at Female Founders Conference 2015. From the Y Combinator video archive (2015).
657. 2015-02-23 — Jessica Livingston Speaks at Female Founders Conference 2015. From the Y Combinator video archive (2015).
658. 2015-02-23 — Olga Vidisheva Speaks at Female Founders Conference 2015. From the Y Combinator video archive (2015).
659. 2015-02-23 — Grace Garey Speaks at Female Founders Conference 2015. From the Y Combinator video archive (2015).
660. 2015-02-23 — Kimberly Bryant Speaks at Female Founders Conference 2015. From the Y Combinator video archive (2015).
661. 2015-02-23 — Tracy Young Speaks at Female Founders Conference 2015. From the Y Combinator video archive (2015).
662. 2015-06-15 — Justin Kan's Story | Twitch.TV Founder/Y Combinator Partner Justin Kan. DraperTV
663. 2015-06-15 — Stanford Seminar - Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders: John Collison of Stripe. Stanford Online
664. 2015-06-15 — John Collison: Putting Startup Success in Perspective [Entire Talk]. Stanford eCorner
665. 2016-04-18 — Gobble founder Ooshma Garg speaks at Female Founders Conference 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
666. 2016-05-06 — The Muse's Kathryn Minshew Speaks at the Female Founders Conference 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
667. 2016-05-20 — Fundraising Panel at Female Founders Conference 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
668. 2016-05-31 — Urska Srsen Speaks at Y Combinator Female Founder Conference 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
669. 2016-05-31 — Selina Tobaccowala at the Female Founders Conference 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
670. 2016-05-31 — Reshma Shetty Speaks at Y Combinator's Female Founders Conference 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
671. 2016 — Tony Xu (DoorDash) (2016). Tony Xu (DoorDash), photographed in 2016. Part of the Y Combinator story.
672. 2016-06-15 — Altman turns toward OpenAI. In 2016 Sam Altman begins stepping back from day-to-day YC to work on OpenAI, which he co-founded the year before; Ali Rowghani and Michael Seibel take on more of the leadership.
673. 2016-06-15 — Michael Seibel (Y Combinator) and Colleen Taylor (Y Combinator) at Startup Grind 2016. Startup Grind
674. 2016-06-15 — The AirBNB Story No One Believed by Brian Chesky. BIBHUTI BHUSAN
675. 2016-06-15 — 1-14-16 Justin Kan of Y Combinator. ideatoipo
676. 2016 — Tony Xu (DoorDash) (2016). Tony Xu (DoorDash), photographed in 2016. Part of the Y Combinator story.
677. 2016-08-30 — Jessica Livingston : How to Build the Future. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
678. 2016-09-27 — Sam Altman : How to Build the Future. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
679. 2016-09-29 — Chad Rigetti at Startup School SV 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
680. 2016-10-05 — Ooshma Garg at Startup School SV 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
681. 2016-10-11 — Reham Fagiri and Kalam Dennis at Startup School SV 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
682. 2016-10-14 — Reid Hoffman at Startup School SV 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
683. 2016-10-25 — Marc Andreessen at Startup School SV 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
684. 2016-11-08 — Ben Silbermann at Startup School SV 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
685. 2016-12-03 — Employee #1: Kickstarter. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
686. 2016-12-26 — Pitch Practice with Paul Buchheit and Sam Altman at Startup School SV 2016. From the Y Combinator video archive (2016).
687. 2017-01-10 — Elon Musk On Fear. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
688. 2017-01-10 — How Elon Musk Spends His Time. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
689. 2017-01-10 — Elon Musk's Video Game Recommendations. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
690. 2017-01-10 — What Would Elon Musk Work On If He Were 22?. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
691. 2017-01-11 — Office Hours with Sam Altman. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
692. 2017-02-07 — Lessons From Doing YC Twice - Harj Taggar. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
693. 2017-02-10 — Sam Altman's Whale AMA. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
694. 2017-02-15 — Office Hours with Kat Manalac. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
695. 2017-03-02 — Dalton Caldwell's Whale AMA. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
696. 2017-03-10 — Mark Zuckerberg on Taking Risks and Finding Talented People. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
697. 2017-03-16 — Kat Manalac's Whale AMA. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
698. 2017-05-03 — Jessica Livingston's Advice For Founders. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
699. 2017-05-05 — Know Why You're Starting a Company - Danae Ringelmann of Indiegogo. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
700. 2017-05-08 — Ruchi Sanghvi on Sweating the Details. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
701. 2017-05-17 — Hiring Engineers with Ammon Bartram. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
702. 2017-05-17 — An AI Primer with Wojciech Zaremba. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
703. 2017-05-17 — The Technical Advisor for Silicon Valley on HBO: Ed McManus. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
704. 2017-05-29 — Jessica Livingston on Cofounder Disputes and Making Something People Want. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
705. 2017-05-31 — From Startup to Scaleup | Sam Altman and Reid Hoffman. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
706. 2017-06-01 — Scaling Culture | Jason Kilar, former Hulu CEO. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
707. 2017-06-02 — Erin Frey on Therapy. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
708. 2017-06-02 — Ben Huh on Therapy. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).
709. 2017-06-06 — Scaling Product | Fireside with Joe Gebbia and Reid Hoffman. From the Y Combinator video archive (2017).

Full text archive: /loreline-text/y-combinator.md