Garry Tan on Founder

I did YC in the Summer of 2008. Lehman died the day we closed our Posterous seed round. Nobody else raised money. As a result, we were the least valuable YC batch on record. 73% of those companies died immediately. Airbnb was funded the next batch, Winter 2009!

300 likes7 repliesPosted Mar 12, 2020

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Viral score

Based on absolute engagement — the platform doesn’t expose follower counts here, so large accounts score higher.

From likes, comments.

Why it worked

Leads with a specific number, which is concrete enough to be worth a second of attention.
Ends on a short line that is easy to quote and repeat.
The opening line stands alone, so it reads completely before the post is expanded.
Written from experience rather than as advice, which is harder to argue with.
Short enough to read in full without expanding, which removes a step before the point lands.
Short sentences keep the pace up, so the reader never has to re-read a line.

The mechanics

Hook: Leads with a number
Structure: Hook → Landing
Style: Conversational paragraphs at a steady pace.
Tone: personal, energetic
Written for: Founders and early-stage teams

Analysis by ViralLoop — not written by the original author.

Topics

Founder

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