How Founders Can Make the Grind Bearable
June 16, 2025
Startups are hard, but you don’t need to deliberately suffer to succeed.
Almost 14 years ago, my co-founders and I were accepted into the Y-Combinator program; since then, it’s had a profound impact on my career.
The most important thing, for me, was the mindset change. Being in a time limited scenario, with dozens of highly motivated and capable people, completely changes your expectations on what is possible. Teams are trying big, new things, the Partners are pushing you for growth and almost everyday someone shares their story of a huge win. The energy in a YC batch is electric.
As a community, I believe it’s one of the best on Earth. After we sold SendHub (YC W12), 25% of our team went to fellow batchmates Plangrid, who later sold for almost $1B. Now as an investor, the majority of the Sterling Road portfolio is from YC, along with almost 20% of the LPs. All this outside of the many important personal friendships with alumni.
Like a degree from Harvard or Oxford, being a YC founder provides instant credibility in technology circles. You will see across LinkedIn and Twitter, people putting ‘YC alum’ front and center in their bio. The orange label will get you a meeting in lots of places, the rest is up to you.
Y-Combinator changed my life. You should apply.
