Y Combinator’s mission is to be the organization that enables the most innovation in the world. Historically, that’s mainly meant funding and advising startups.
But from the beginning, storytelling has also been a core part of YC's DNA. From Paul Graham's essays, to Jessica Livingston's book Founders at Work, to the more recent Female Founder Stories and Sam Altman’s How to Start a Startup series, a big part of what has made Y Combinator special has been the stories it has helped create and the way that it has shared those lessons with the world.
As YC has expanded, so has the amount of stories to share. The Macro is the latest part of that tradition. Every week, The Macro will publish essays, interviews, research, and opinions from the wider startup community.
The Macro is not focused on breaking news. There is already a robust network of news publications that are covering the day-to-day changes in the technology industry. Our aim is take a wider-range view 1. of the startup and technology ecosystem, while sharing information that is useful, thoughtful, and interesting. 2.
As with most everything YC does, The Macro is starting as an experiment, and we’re learning and iterating as we go. We welcome your submissions and feedback: email us at macro@ycombinator.com
Notes
Hence the name, in part. It’s also a nod to the “macro” as a powerful operator in computer programming, particularly in the Lisp language. Paul Graham wrote in depth about how to use the macro in his 1993 book On Lisp, explaining: “Mastering macros is one of the most important steps in moving from writing correct Lisp programs to writing beautiful ones.” ↪
Paul Graham also listed “interesting” and “thoughtful” as editorial goals in the Hacker News welcome page. ↪