Paul Graham

Startups often have to do dubious things.

— Paul Graham

I suppose I should learn Lisp, but it seems so foreign.

— Paul Graham

Some people just get what they want in the world.

— Paul Graham

In the startup world, 'not working' is normal.

— Paul Graham

“You can go anywhere in books”

— Paul Graham

“Live in the future, then build what's missing.”

— Paul Graham

There are plenty of smart people who get nowhere.

— Paul Graham

“The recipe for great work is: very exacting taste, plus the ability to gratify it.”

— Paul Graham

“Public school teachers are in much the same position as prison wardens.”

— Paul Graham

“if you can imagine someone surpassing you, you should do it yourself.”

— Paul Graham

“There are few sources of energy so powerful as a procrastinating college student.”

— Paul Graham

Empirically the way you get a product visionary as CEO is for him to found the company and not get fired.

— Paul Graham

“A lot of the statements that got people in trouble seem harmless now.”

— Paul Graham

“Introducing change is like pulling off a bandage : the pain is a memory as soon as you feel it.”

— Paul Graham

“Good design looks easy. Like great athletes, great designers make it look easy. Mostly this is an illusion.”

— Paul Graham

Dressing up is inevitably a substitute for good ideas. It is no coincidence that technically inept business types are known as 'suits'.

— Paul Graham

“I'm not saying there's no such thing as genius. But if you're trying to choose between two theories and one gives you…

— Paul Graham

If you could replace high-school yearbooks, that could be a lot of money. It's so clearly waiting for someone to come along.

— Paul Graham

“We often like to think of World War II as a triumph of freedom over totalitarianism. We conveniently forget that the Soviet…

— Paul Graham

“I don’t predict the demise of object-oriented programming, by the way. Object-oriented programming offers a sustainable way to write spaghetti code.”

— Paul Graham

“It’s easier to get people to fight for an idea. And whichever side wins, their ideas will also be considered to have…

— Paul Graham

“People who write about politics, whether on the left or the right, have a consistent bias: they take politics seriously.”

— Paul Graham

“You can't distinguish your group by doing things that are rational and believing things that are true. If you want to set…

— Paul Graham

“If you disagree with something, it's easier to say 'you suck' than to figure out and explain exactly what you disagree with.…

— Paul Graham

“So the optimal plan, if you can manage it, is to have a few trusted friends you can speak openly to. This…

— Paul Graham

I get a lot of criticism for telling founders to focus first on making something great, instead of worrying about how to…

— Paul Graham

“Someone trying to live well would seem eccentrically abstemious in most of the US. That phenomenon is only going to become more…

— Paul Graham

“Hackers are unruly. That is the essence of hacking. And it is also the essence of Americanness. It is no accident that…

— Paul Graham

“If language A has an operator for removing spaces from strings and language B doesn’t, that probably doesn’t make A more powerful,…

— Paul Graham

“You need rich people in your society not so much because in spending their money they create jobs, but because of what…

— Paul Graham

“A startup is like a mosquito. A bear can absorb a hit and a crab is armored against one, but a mosquito…

— Paul Graham

“This is the kind of possibility that the pointy-haired boss doesn’t even want to think about. And so most of them don’t.…

— Paul Graham

“Of course, figuring out what you like to work on doesn't mean you get to work on it. That's a separate question.…

— Paul Graham

“If you want to make money at some point, remember this, because this is one of the reasons startups win. Big companies…

— Paul Graham

“When I was a kid I was constantly being told to look at things from someone else’s point of view. What this…

— Paul Graham

“When I was in art school, we were looking one day at a slide of some great fifteenth century painting, and one…

— Paul Graham

“I’ve programmed in all kinds of languages, said the tough old hacker as he eased up to the bar, and it don’t…

— Paul Graham

“As for building something users love, here are some general tips. Start by making something clean and simple that you would want…

— Paul Graham

“If you leave a bunch of eleven-year-olds to their own devices, what you get is Lord of the Flies. Like a lot…

— Paul Graham

For the most ambitious young people, the corporate ladder is obsolete.

— Paul Graham