[debacle]

You're making serious accusations against an individual and a company based solely on things you have read about on the Internet or heard anecdotally.

Wake up. Discrimination is not cut and dry, law is not cut and dry, and reality is not cut and dry.

[LastManStanding]

I am not making any accusations against anyone - it is obvious that Paul Graham has an age bias - he says so all over the place, but there is no law against having a bias. Age discrimination is almost impossible to prove, but if it is being used in the decisions of who gets into Y-Combinator someone should look into it.

[jiggy2011]

where has he said he has an age bias?

[LastManStanding]

He does.

[jiggy2011]

Has he said so in an essay? On a HN post? To YC founders in person?

[LastManStanding]

See comment above. There was another interview or blog post where he talked about his preference for young people more extensively, but I can't find it. Do you happen to know how many people over 50 have been accepted into Y-Combinator?

[jiggy2011]

I wonder how many people over 50 would apply? IIRC the seed capital they provide is probably small enough that a 50 year old would likely have that in their savings and possibly enough contacts/credit rating to get other funding directly.

The closest I could find was this: http://www.paulgraham.com/mit.html

But all he really says there is that younger founders have an advantage that they can live on less money.

[herdrick]

You're thinking of someone else. Paul has corrected people here several times when they say something like, "I'd like to apply to YC but I'm X years old.". Usually his reply is approximately "We've funded several people ten years older than you.". I think the oldest YC funded founder is 50 something. So far.

[pbiggar]

Best comment of the whole damn thread.