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Severin Hacker

05/19/25

@ 20VC with Harry Stebbings

Union Square Ventures was the only firm that recognized our potential and invested in us, despite the skepticism from others.

Video

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Duolingo Co-Founder, Severin Hacker: How AI Impacts the Future of Work and Education

@ 20VC with Harry Stebbings

Duolingo Co-Founder, Severin Hacker: How AI Impacts the Future of Work and Education

05/19/25

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Olga Vidisheva

02/24/15

@ Y Combinator

We raised seed funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock, and Benchmark, who understood marketplaces well.

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Michael Babineau

05/30/19

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Our first customer was a VC who ended up investing in us, and being part of Y Combinator helped us get meetings with many interested VCs.

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Patrick Collison

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Stripe never formally went through Y Combinator, but YC invested in us, which helped us connect with a community of entrepreneurs.

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Severin Hacker

05/19/25

@ 20VC with Harry Stebbings

The Silicon Valley VCs we approached wanted us to move to the Bay Area, but Union Square Ventures didn't care about our location in Pittsburgh.

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Ben Horowitz

04/29/25

@ a16z

We differentiated ourselves by combining angel investments with venture investments, a strategy that was initially met with skepticism from established VCs.

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Jessica Livingston

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When we started Y Combinator, many thought we were crazy, but we focused on helping a few founders and expanded from there.

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Apoorva Mehta

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Despite initial investor reluctance due to past failures in grocery delivery, we eventually closed a seed round with an investor who believed in us.

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Alexandra

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During demo day at Y Combinator, we showcased our product and met with investors, which was a pivotal moment for us.

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Reham Fagiri

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Getting into Y Combinator was a turning point for us, as it validated our idea and pushed us to fully commit to the startup.