A new essay by Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham has Silicon Valley leaders debating the extent to which executives should delegate work to their employees–or get down in the muck themselves. Graham ...

Nothing churns the waters in Silicon Valley like an edgy blog post. Graham cites Airbnb founder and CEO Brian Chesky as the best example of the founder mode mantra in practice. Chesky is a proponent ...

SIGN UP for Plaintext and tap Steven's unique insights and unmatched contacts for the long view on tech. Specifically, Graham was moved by Chesky’s confession that during Airbnb’s rise, he listened to ...

Silicon Valley has been captivated by the prospect of AI, not only as a productivity enhancer but also as a catalyst for creating successful companies with much leaner teams than in the past. Stories ...

You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. Y Combinator founders seized the AI boom in 2025, with increasingly younger teams securing millions in ...