The best AI founders in the world are moving here

Chapters (Powered by ChapterMe) - 00:00 - Coming Up: San Francisco Tech Hub 00:42 - Intro 01:50 - Startup Base Shift 02:14 - Y Combinators South Bay origins opportunists vs serious companies 03:11 - Mountain View became hub for smart people, older founders 04:22 - Y Combinator's Impact 06:54 - YC founders support each other in San Francisco 07:51 - Twitters San Francisco office transformed startups energy 10:06 - Startup Culture 11:01 - Silicon Valleys builders, nerds, optimists 12:01 - Paul Grahams common experiences as a nerd 14:38 - Culture of Ambition 16:03 - San Franciscos inclusive, tech-driven culture 17:19 - San Franciscos tech scene turned around after COVID hit 19:18 - AI's Central Role 20:05 - San Franciscos comeback as Silicon Valley hub 20:09 - Innovation Epicenter 21:43 - Emerging Neighborhoods 25:02 - Neighborhoods to be: Glenn Park, Bernal Heights, Mission Bay, Potrero Hill 25:33 - Proximity to Y Combinator, friendships and co-founders memories 28:14 - San Franciscos Hacker House transformed city into tech hub 30:18 - Success Odds Maximization 31:00 - Hyper-Inclusive Environment: Boom Loop 33:05 - Outro

Lots of incentives for YC to advertise SF

I recently moved back to San Francisco from Miami after 4 years away. My first week back I shed a couple tears because it felt like home and finally I found my people again - the builders, the people willing to stay up working, coding, talking about business. I felt seen.

When you drive a Jeep Wrangler, you suddenly start to notice them everywhere.

things don't magically get better, it takes deliberate effort thank you guys for keeping things going

If the goal is to discover undiscovered markets and finding real problems to solve, I don't understand the obsession with having founders move to a single city. For example, problems in Fresno, CA are likely agriculture focused, why does it make sense for founders to move to SF? If you're focused only on those who live near you, how you can expose those founders to ever really understand real problems that people outside of the Silicon Valley are facing? It's a bit circular in logic to say you need to understand your customers and to want to expand your problem space, but expect people who live in the Silicon Valley to understand even remotely what issues someone in another region are facing. There's a high concentration of very smart and motivated people, and relatively less distractions than LA/NYC, but at the same time, their experiences are generally constrained to be focused on Silicon Valley issues/companies.

30:40 "We want SF to be hyper-inclusive" I agree but unfortunately SF has been locked in a straight jacket for the last 50 years with the strictest zoning codes in the country. It's impossible to build more housing on just about any parcel of land in the whole city, so people are getting displaced. It's the same reason SF has mass homelessness. SF needs the ability to change, but its local zoning ordinances and NIMBYism has made that impossible for over half a century. Luckily, politics in SF is starting to get more YIMBY and Mayor Breed understands that SF needs the ability to change.

“If you want to maximise your luck move to SanFran” My bank balance: 0.00

I’ve been working in tech and living in SF for over 20 years. It was been hot for decades. It tanked badly at the start of Covid and it has not recovered. The homeless and crime are the problem ….and the “doom loop” has not ended.

Weird video! Feels like it’s claiming a comeback a bit prematurely- it’s alluded to in the video itself that there are neighborhoods that are less pleasant to be in a few years ago. Couple notes from my SF experience - Agree wholeheartedly that people should explore neighborhood options. There are tons of cool places. Because the city is small, the neighborhoods are packed right next to each other and can change flavor suddenly (classic example is the juxtaposition between Chinatown and North Beach) - I don’t agree at all that you should highly prefer being in a 1 mile radius from your job or YC or whatever. The city is really small, is really bikeable, and even though it’s not NYC has good public transit (especially if you look into bus routes). You’ll be able to get home pretty fast. This is in support of the first bullet point :) - Agreed that the energy in the tech industry is different in SF/Bay Area. You’ll meet more people who have an infectious fire to do crazy/incredible things. Note that greatness has its cost- make sure you consider your overall life goals, as it will take much of your personal time.

I think it’s hilarious that they’re claiming SF is the center while sitting in the middle of an empty office space.

Left to right: Diana Hu, Group Partner YC | Harj Taggar, Managing Director, Knowledge and Group Partner YC | Garry Tan, President, CEO, and Group Partner | Jared Friedman, Group Partner YC

Just getting in and out of SF is traumatic.

I must say: I met more interesting people through Hacker News than in SF communities. I learned much more by simply cold-emailing famous founders and VCs in Silicon Valley than from any meetups or catch-ups in real life. I'm not saying there's no value in sf startup communities. I just want to point out that 90% of talented and ambitious builders in SF are actually busy and not interested in over-hyped communities.

I absolutely love the visionary ending! Big Trekkie fans here, btw, but the capacity of so many exceptional people to do good on a planetary (or multi-planetary?) scale is awe-inspiring. Let’s do it!

good podcast but the way they casually talk about working 90hrs a week is disturbing.

The Gary Tan ending monologue was great =)

YC is literally doing more for a city than anything else.

Hard to reach places will do. A zoom call can get it done.

"Give us..." a fully staffed police dept, common sense, law and order...