The a16z Show · Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Gary Tan discussed Y Combinator's (YC) founding principles, emphasizing a focus on builders and providing a fair chance to individuals regardless of their background or connections. He contrasted this with the past practice of needing to navigate exclusive social networks in Silicon Valley.
“What Paul and Jessica figured out was that there are lots and lots of really smart people who do not get access. Um, to Silicon Valley.”
“All they did was say, you know what, like here's a website, here's 12 questions, later we added like a one-minute video.”
“And then people on the other end who are builders are going to try to give you a fair shake.”