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Paul Graham Quotes

Biography

Paul Graham (born November 13, 1964) is a British-born computer scientist, entrepreneur, and essayist. He is best known as the co-founder of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator launched in March 2005, which has funded companies like Dropbox, Airbnb, and Reddit. Graham earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Harvard University in 1988 and later developed the influential programming language, Arc. more Paul Graham (born November 13, 1964) is a British-born computer scientist, entrepreneur, and essayist. He is best known as the co-founder of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator launched in March 2005, which has funded companies like Dropbox, Airbnb, and Reddit. Graham earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Harvard University in 1988 and later developed the influential programming language, Arc. In 1996, he co-founded the web-based application company Viaweb, which was later acquired by Yahoo in 1998, becoming Yahoo Store. Graham is also recognized for his thought-provoking essays on technology and startups, collected in his book "Hackers & Painters" (2004). His work has significantly shaped the landscape of modern startups and programming languages. less

Popular Quotes

"Recruiting is the most important part of any startup."
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Startup, Business growth, Team building, Company culture
"The optimal way to do things requires a willingness to break a few rules."
Tags: Mindset, Creativity, Innovation, Progress, Efficiency
"The recipe for great work is attention to detail and dependence on trusted advice."
Tags: Guidance, Work ethic, Attention to detail, Dependability, Quality work
"After a certain age, most people get stuck in their ways."
Tags: Personal growth, Self-improvement, Mindset, Change, Adaptability
"Ambition makes you look pretty ugly."
Tags: Personal growth, Self-improvement, Self-awareness, Identity, Ambition
"You need three things to create a successful startup: to start with good people, to make something customers actually want, and to spend as little money as possible."
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Customer focus, Startup, Team building, Business advice
"Write as if you're trying to explain things to a very smart version of yourself."
Tags: Self-improvement, Self-awareness, Understanding, Communication, Introspection
"The most important thing you can do is learn that you can learn."
Tags: Motivation, Self-improvement, Empowerment, Personal development, Self-discovery
"You're better off doing something you know you can do but which most people think is difficult than doing something you think you can do but which most people think is hard"
Tags: Motivation, Personal growth, Success, Perseverance, Determination
"A startup is a company designed to grow fast. Being newly founded does not in itself make a company a startup. Nor is it necessary for a startup to work on technology, or take venture funding, or have some sort of "exit"
Tags: Growth, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Technology, Business
"When experts are wrong, it's often because they're experts on an earlier version of the world"
Tags: Wisdom, Innovation, Change, Learning, Knowledge
"People are naturally more superficial with attractive people. In terms of impressions, there's a trade-off between competence and looks. We can't help making snap judgments, and beautiful people may have a hard time being seen as competent"
Tags: Perception, Beauty, Judgment, Bias, Stereotypes
"The best 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"
Tags: Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Problem-solving, Business strategy, Problem solving
"Ambitious people can envision their ideal place to live. But they’re there. They're living in the marginally better version of the world they see"
Tags: Personal growth, Self-improvement, Success, Mindset, Achievement
"You can't decide to turn creativity on or off. You can't tell yourself to have a good idea. The best you can do is try to create an environment where good ideas can happen"
Tags: Inspiration, Mindset, Creativity, Innovation, Productivity
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