---
title: Paul Graham
type: Person
tags: [startups, essays, lisp, venture-capital]
---
# Paul Graham
Co-founder of Y Combinator and prolific essayist whose writing on startups, programming,
and technology has influenced a generation of founders and engineers.
## Observations
- [name] Paul Graham
- [role] Essayist, programmer, and venture capitalist
- [expertise] Startups and early-stage investing
- [expertise] Lisp and functional programming
- [expertise] Essay writing and communication
- [expertise] Programming language design
- [email] pg@ycombinator.com
- [fact] Co-created Viaweb, one of the first web applications, sold to Yahoo in 1998
- [fact] Wrote "Hackers and Painters", a collection of essays on programming and startups
- [born] 1964
## Relations
- works_at [[Y Combinator]]
- authored [[Hackers and Painters]]
- authored [[On Lisp]]
- founded [[Viaweb]]
- influenced [[Sam Altman]]
