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Paul Graham

Person

An American computer scientist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, writer, and essayist. He is best known for his work on the Lisp programming language, his former startup Viaweb (later Yahoo! Store), and as a co-founder of the Y Combinator seed capital firm.


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8/22/2025, 1:48:56 AM

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8/22/2025, 1:49:46 AM

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8/22/2025, 1:49:46 AM

Summary

Paul Graham is an English-American computer scientist, writer, essayist, entrepreneur, and investor, widely recognized for his contributions to the programming language Arc, founding Viaweb (which became Yahoo! Store), and co-founding the influential startup accelerator Y Combinator. He is also a prolific author of computer programming books like "On Lisp" and "Hackers & Painters," and his essays, such as the recently discussed "Founder Mode," have significantly shaped contemporary discourse on leadership styles, advocating for a hands-on, detail-oriented approach in contrast to traditional management. Born in England, Graham holds dual citizenship and, after spending 48 years in the United States, returned to England in 2016.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Education

    Cornell University (BA), Harvard University (MS, PhD)

  • Known For

    Programming language Arc, Viaweb (Yahoo! Store), Y Combinator, Hacker News, On Lisp, ANSI Common Lisp, Hackers & Painters, Founder Mode essay

  • Citizenship

    English, American

  • Description

    Hacker philosopher

  • Occupations

    Computer scientist, Writer, Essayist, Entrepreneur, Investor

  • Date of Birth

    1964-11-13

  • Place of Birth

    Weymouth, Dorset, England

Timeline
  • Born in Weymouth, Dorset, England. (Source: Wikipedia)

    1964-11-13

  • Completed his PhD thesis titled "The State of a Program and Its Uses" at Harvard University. (Source: Wikipedia)

    1990

  • Married Jessica Livingston. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2008-XX-XX

  • Returned to England, where he and his family have maintained a permanent residence. (Source: Summary)

    2016-XX-XX

  • His influential essay 'Founder Mode' was discussed in depth, inspired by a talk from Airbnb's Brian Chesky. (Source: Related Documents)

    2024-09-XX

Paul Graham (programmer)

Paul Graham (; born November 13, 1964) is an English-American computer scientist, writer and essayist, entrepreneur and investor. His work includes the programming language Arc, the startup Viaweb (later renamed Yahoo! Store), co-founding the startup accelerator and seed capital firm Y Combinator, a number of essays and books, and the media webpage Hacker News. He is the author of the computer programming books On Lisp, ANSI Common Lisp, and Hackers & Painters. Technology journalist Steven Levy has described Graham as a "hacker philosopher". Graham was born in England, where he and his family have maintained a permanent residence since 2016. He is also a citizen of the United States, where he attended all of his schooling and lived for 48 years prior to returning to England.

Web Search Results
  • Paul Graham (programmer) - Wikipedia

    Paul Graham (/ɡræm/; born November 13, 1964) is an English-American computer scientist, writer and essayist, entrepreneur and investor. His work includes the programming language Arc "Arc (programming language)"), the startup Viaweb (later renamed Yahoo! Store), co-founding the startup accelerator and seed capital firm Y Combinator, a number of essays and books, and the media webpage Hacker News. [...] English programmer, venture capitalist, and writer (born 1964) [...] | Paul Graham | | | --- | --- | | Graham in 2011 | | | Born | (1964-11-13) November 13, 1964 (age 60) Weymouth, Dorset, England | | Citizenship | - British - American | | Education | Cornell University (BA) Harvard University (MS, PhD) | | Known for | Viaweb Y Combinator Hacker News Hackers & Painters | | Spouse | Jessica Livingston ​ (m. 2008)​ | | Scientific career | | | Fields | Computer science | | Thesis | The State of a Program and Its Uses (1990) | | | |

  • What is Paul Graham's best essay? - Quora

    This essay is a tour de force, showcasing Graham's exceptional ability to distill complex organizational dynamics into a simple yet powerful framework. By contrasting the "maker's schedule" of long, uninterrupted blocks of focused work with the "manager's schedule" of back-to-back meetings, Graham provides an invaluable lens through which to understand the challenges faced by creative individuals in corporate environments. [...] Paul Graham has written several influential essays, and opinions on which is the "best" can vary depending on individual interests. However, one of his most widely acclaimed essays is "How to Start a Startup." In this essay, he outlines key principles for entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of solving real problems and understanding users. [...] Based on my analysis, Paul Graham's best essay is undoubtedly "Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule". This essay is a true masterpiece that perfectly encapsulates Graham's profound insights into the fundamental differences between the working styles of makers and managers. Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule

  • Essays by Paul Graham - YC Library | Y Combinator

    Before the startup Paul Graham YC's Paul Graham explains that startups are counterintuive and all-consuming, and he boils down his advice to two words: just learn. Before the startup Over 1 year ago Why to not not start a startup Paul Graham YC's Paul Graham discusses common reasons why people are reluctant to start a company. Why to not not start a startup Over 1 year ago The hardest lessons for startups to learn Paul Graham [...] Essays by Paul Graham ===================== A collection of essays by Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham. Do things that don't scale Paul Graham Startups take off because the founders make them take off. Almost all startups are fragile initially. It's important to recruit users manually. Do things that don't scale Over 1 year ago Default alive or default dead Paul Graham [...] Seven counterintuitive lessons about startups — from releasing early to not getting your hopes up. The hardest lessons for startups to learn Over 1 year ago The equity equation Paul Graham YC's Paul Graham introduces a general formula for deciding if trading away stock in your company is worth it. The equity equation Over 1 year ago Billionaires build Paul Graham YC's Paul Graham shares advice for acing the YC interview. Billionaires build Over 1 year ago

  • Paul Graham

    | | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | | --- | | New: Good Writing | Founder Mode | | | | --- | | Want to start a startup? Get funded by Y Combinator. | | | | | --- | | © mmxxv pg | | | | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | | --- | | New: Good Writing | Founder Mode | | | | --- | | Want to start a startup? Get funded by Y Combinator. | | | | | --- | | New: Good Writing | Founder Mode | [...] | | | --- | | Want to start a startup? Get funded by Y Combinator. | | | | --- | | © mmxxv pg |

  • Founder Mode - Paul Graham

    this event included a lot of the most successful founders we've funded, and one after another said that the same thing had happened to them. They'd been given the same advice about how to run their companies as they grew, but instead of helping their companies, it had damaged them. Why was everyone telling these founders the wrong thing? That was the big mystery to me. And after mulling it over for a bit I figured out the answer: what they were being told was how to run a company you hadn't [...] Airbnb grew, well-meaning people advised him that he had to run the company in a certain way for it to scale. Their advice could be optimistically summarized as "hire good people and give them room to do their jobs." He followed this advice and the results were disastrous. So he had to figure out a better way on his own, which he did partly by studying how Steve Jobs ran Apple. So far it seems to be working. Airbnb's free cash flow margin is now among the best in Silicon Valley. The audience at [...] Image 1Image 2Image 3 Image 4: Founder Mode September 2024 At a YC event last week Brian Chesky gave a talk that everyone who was there will remember. Most founders I talked to afterward said it was the best they'd ever heard. Ron Conway, for the first time in his life, forgot to take notes. I'm not going to try to reproduce it here. Instead I want to talk about a question it raised. The theme of Brian's talk was that the conventional wisdom about how to run larger companies is mistaken. As

Location Data

Paul Graham, Woodcote Road, Wallington, London Borough of Sutton, London, Greater London, England, SM6 0NG, United Kingdom

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Coordinates: 51.3585622, -0.1493695

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