The Impact of Transformers on Startups

Garry Tan is a notorious founder-turned-investor who is now running one of the most prestigious accelerators in the world, Y Combinator. As the president and CEO of YC, Garry has been credited with reinvigorating the program. On this week’s episode of No Priors, Sarah, Elad, and Garry discuss the shifting demographics of YC founders and how AI is encouraging younger founders to launch companies, predicting which early stage startups will have longevity, and making YC a beacon for innovation in AI companies. They also discussed the importance of building companies in person and if San Francisco is, in fact, back. 

Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com

Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @garrytan

Show Notes: 

(0:00) Introduction

(0:53) Transitioning from founder to investing

(5:10) Early social media startups

(7:50) Trend predicting at YC

(10:03) Selecting YC founders

(12:06) AI trends emerging in YC batch

(18:34) Motivating culture at YC

(20:39) Choosing the startups with longevity

(24:01) Shifting YC found demographics

(29:24) Building in San Francisco 

(31:01) Making YC a beacon for creators

(33:17) Garry Tan is bringing San Francisco back