Paul Graham says Mark Zuckerberg taught him the importance of small talk: 'He would just stare at you'

Tech Insider : Business
Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg are pictured.
Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham described a young Mark Zuckerberg who would "just stare at you."

Joe Corrigan/Getty Images for AOL; Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Young founders share 12 pitch decks that raised millions in the AI boom

Tech Insider : Business
Ditto cofounders Eric Liu and Allen Wang. Courtesy of Ditto
Ditto cofounders Eric Liu and Allen Wang. Courtesy of Ditto

Courtesy of Ditto

Sales startup Letter AI snags $40 million Series B four months after its last raise. Read its pitch deck.

Tech Insider : Business, Technology
Headshot of Letter AI cofounder and CEO Ali Akhtar, wearing a black collar shirt, glasses, and a blue background.
Letter AI cofounder and CEO Ali Akhtar

Letter AI

I did Y Combinator in 2016 and 2025. The first time felt more 'family-style.'

Tech Insider : Business, Style
Vybe founder Quang Hoang is pictured.
Quang Hoang did Y Combinator twice, with almost a decade between his experiences.

Quang Hoang

These Y Combinator founders raised $10 million to get corporate America into vibe coding. Read their pitch deck.

Tech Insider : Technology, Business
Vybe cofounders Quang Hoang and Fabien Devos with their arms around one another, standing in front of a brick wall.
Vybe cofounders Quang Hoang and Fabien Devos.

Vybe

I'm a Canadian startup founder. Y Combinator's initial decision to shut out Canadian startups was totally justifiable.

Tech Insider : Business
Yellowcake cofounder Hassan Ismail is pictured.
Hassan Ismail cofounded Yellowcake in the US after navigating tight Canadian regulations with his first startup, West Tek Defense.

Hassan Ismail

Y Combinator picked a fight with Canada — and quickly backtracked

Tech Insider : Business, Travel
Garry Tan is pictured at the 2022 Web Summit
Gary Tan said that some academic entrepreneurship programs are creating "fake" founders like Elizabeth Holmes and Sam Bankman-Fried.

Harry Murphy/Sportsfile for Web Summit via Getty Images

Bollywood dance teammates raised $5.3 million for their Y Combinator AI startup. Read their pitch deck.

Tech Insider : Business
Vihaar Nandigala and Kishan Sripada, standing in front of a white wall, wearing dark shirts.
Orange Slice cofounders Vihaar Nandigala and Kishan Sripada.

Dan St. Louis

Read the pitch deck a Y Combinator-backed startup used to raise $3.6 million to bring AI agents to the doctor's office

Tech Insider : Business, Technology
Tivara cofounders Tej Seelamsetty and Aumesh Misra are pictured.
WashU alums Tej Seelamsetty and Aumesh Misra cofounded Tivara.

Michael Benabib

A gap year program is lining up six-figure startup salaries for teens

Tech Insider : Business, Technology
Oliver Zhou
Oliver Zhou, founder of Common Gap and Deep24

Oliver Zhou

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