Sam Altman says Paul Graham's startup mentoring included "you missed that thing"
“The person who sits next to you saying, like, âDo this, donât do this, that worked, you missed that thing,â or, âyouâre making these mistakes,â and âIâm just going to talk [to] you about this one,â”
Reported August 8, 2026 by indiatimes.com. Checked word for word against that report.
During a recent podcast appearance, OpenAI chief Sam Altman credited billionaire investor Peter Thiel and Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham with shaping his approach to startup investing, saying the strongest opportunities usually look unappealing to the mainstream. Altman, whose venture holdings span roughly 400 companies including early bets on Airbnb, Stripe, and Reddit, described Graham’s mentorship as resembling flight instruction: a hands-on coach who points out missteps and tells the student exactly what to adjust. Altman led the startup accelerator Y Combinator after selling his own company and now invests heavily in fields like nuclear fusion. His comments highlight how contrarian, mentor-guided decision-making has guided his financial success.
- indiatimes.com ↗︎08 AUG 2026