Garry Tan on San Francisco and YC in the AI Era

Garry Tan (@garrytan), CEO of YC, has been in San Francisco forever. And he's not leaving. After having him as a guest on @lightspeedvp's Out of Office, I can see why. A few weeks ago, Garry and I walked the streets of SF to talk about the city's highs and lows, founder resilience at @ycombinator, local politics, death threats, and why venture needs to move earlier in the age of AI. I even got to see Garry's sauna up close. Full video here. If you enjoy it, please subscribe below. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction to San Francisco's Tech Scene 01:04 Meeting Gary Tan: A Journey Through San Francisco 02:22 Gary's Early Days in Tech 04:09 The Impact of San Francisco on Tech Aspirations 06:16 Political Awakening and Local Involvement 18:38 Saunagate and Garry’s Personal Life 22:36 Relationship to Faith and Technology 30:32 Reflections and Future Aspirations 31:05 Rejection and Resilience in YC Applications 31:32 Handling Public Criticism and Rejection 32:13 The Journey of Building a Startup 34:06 Transition from Initialized to YC 35:59 YC's Investment Strategy and Success 37:52 Changes and Future of YC 49:32 Community Involvement and Local Impact 50:45 Future of San Francisco and Tech 52:40 Future of YC and Venture Capital 56:13 Personal Insights at the Bar 56:31 Conclusion and Farewell