paul graham is a pretty fascinating guy who's done a lot across different fields. he studied philosophy at cornell, got a phd in computer science from harvard, and even took up painting at the rhode island school of design and the accademia di belle arti in florence. it's not every day you see someone who can write about programming languages and also critique renaissance art.
in 1995, he co-founded viaweb, a service that let people create their own online stores, which was a big deal at the time. they coded it in lisp (of course) and took advantage of its flexibility to iterate quickly.
one of my favorite stories about him comes from this period; graham got the idea for viaweb after hearing a radio segment about netscape's vision of ecommerce. he was low on cash but determined not to return to consulting. instead, he teamed up with his old hacker buddy, robert morris, to build software that ran directly on a web server without needing to be downloaded, an idea no one had tried before. the company eventually sold to yahoo for around 50 million dollars.
in 2005, after a talk he gave at the harvard computer society sparked a strong reaction, he co-founded y combinator. yc has helped launch companies like dropbox, reddit, and airbnb, so it's been incredibly influential in the tech world. the program provides funding, advice, and mentorship to startups.
he's also an incredible writer, publishing essays on topics like programming, startups, art, and even life itself. that's what makes him not just a brilliant mind but also an inspiring figure. if you ever get the chance, dive into his essays, they're as thought-provoking as they are practical.
paul graham's essays
my favorite lecture of paul graham
nice: all
|
today
search in topic