# Garry Tan

Markdown copy of https://realalpha.app/people/garry-tan/ on Real Alpha, the best minutes from long interviews with the people building AI. Cite and link the page, not this copy.

Real Alpha has cut one moment of Garry Tan (President & CEO, Y Combinator) talking, from an interview on Lightcone published Sep 17, 2026.

- Role: President & CEO, Y Combinator
- On X: https://x.com/garrytan

## What Garry Tan said

- [Solo founders hit 19% of YC as knowing what to build matters most](https://realalpha.app/s/solo-founders-hit-19-of-yc-as-knowing-what-to-build-matters/)
  Lightcone · Sep 17, 2026 · 4 min
  > “It's becoming such that like knowing what to prompt and knowing what to build is so much more difficult and valuable than just knowing, you know, the CTO being able to code the thing.” — Garry Tan · [30:44](https://realalpha.app/v/yslXlV2BP_Y/?t=1844)

## The episode

- [The State of Startups in 2026](https://realalpha.app/v/yslXlV2BP_Y/) · Lightcone · Sep 17, 2026