Jessica Livingston (born 1971) is an American founding partner of the seed stage venture firm Y Combinator and author.[1][2][3] She is the wife of founding partner Paul Graham.
Jessica Livingston | |
---|---|
Born | 1971 (age 52–53) |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Bucknell University (BA) |
Occupation(s) | Businesswoman, Writer, Venture Capitalist |
Organization | Y Combinator |
Known for | Co-founding Y Combinator, Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days |
Notable work | Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days |
Spouse | Paul Graham |
Website | foundersatwork |
Livingston grew up in the Boston area.[4] In 1989, she graduated from Phillips Academy.[5] She received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English from Bucknell University.[6]
Prior to founding Y Combinator, Livingston was vice president of marketing at Adams Harkness Financial Group.[7]
Livingston met Paul Graham, Robert Morris and Trevor Blackwell (the co-founders of dot-com company Viaweb) at a party in Cambridge.[4] They discussed creating a startup incubator and in 2005 the four co-founded Y Combinator. In the early days of YC, Livingston and Graham hosted weekly meals for their founders at their home near Cambridge.[8] Sam Altman (a former YC partner) credits Livingston with being essential to the transformation of Y Combinator into a startup ecosystem.[9] When Graham stepped down from his role leading Y Combinator, handing over to Altman, Livingston increased her day to day involvement, including having responsibility for the organisation's Startup School.[10]
In 2016, she took a year-long sabbatical from the incubator, to spend time with her family and consider projects and other things she wanted to pursue.[11]
In early 2007, Livingston published Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days, a collection of interviews with famous startup founders, including Steve Wozniak.[12]
In 2013, Livingston launched the Female Founders conference with the aim of inspiring more women to found startup companies.[11]
Livingston is one of the financial backers of OpenAI, a for-profit company aimed at the safe development of artificial general intelligence.[13]
In 2023, she started co-hosting The Social Radars Podcast alongside Carolyn Levy.[14]
Livingston married Paul Graham in 2008.[15] Since late 2016, she and her family have resided in the United Kingdom.[8]