Former venture capitalist Garry Tan has been brought in to regenerate renowned startup accelerator Y Combinator, known for incubating companies such as Airbnb and Stripe. Meeting with Y Combinator cofounder Paul Graham in the summer of 2022, Tan was tasked with the passionate mission to “restore Y Combinator to its full glory“.

Undergoing record highs of over 400 companies during program batches, Y Combinator’s high reputation has “taken a few dents,” especially with rising new competition and potential startups preferring to go straight to investment. Participation in Y Combinator is costly, but its educational resources are available freely online.

Thus, Tan was perfectly positioned as a change agent, heading one of the most profiled venture capital (VC) firms. The appointment, however, came as a surprise to majority of the YC staff, many of whom were expecting Michael Seibel, cofounder of Twitch and longtime batch leader, to assume the role.

Tan, since taking his role, has been powerfully restructuring YC to “return to roots”. He aims to restore YC as the central hub for fledgling ‘nerdy’ technical founders to learn where to start building a company over three months. From a new base in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood, Tan has been revitalizing YC’s influence.

In addition to this, Tan made the decision to shut down the Continuity fund, a bold move that shocked many, with some founders still disgruntled. Tan has also been trying to revitalise San Francisco, causing mixed reactions in the tech scene.

While some see Tan’s charismatic approach as inspiring and engaging, others accuse him of losing focus on Y Combinator. Brian Chesky, the Airbnb cofounder and CEO and a YC board director, expressed his support for Tan’s energy, stating that “founders gravitate to him.”

Source: Inside Y Combinator’s ‘Boom Loop’: The Startup Factory Goes Brasher, Leaner And Meaner}}.