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My experience at Y Combinator Startup School 2026 (and SF for the second time :D)

August 1, 2026 · 2 min read

In my post earlier this year, I wanted to come back to SF this summer. Though I didn't get to come for an internship (see here D: ), I spent a week in SF to attend Y Combinator's Startup School! It was cool to meet and be surrounded by so many interesting people building great things and getting to hear from people building at the frontier (Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, Boris Cherny, Alexandr Wang, and Peter Steinberger to name a few)!

an orange Y Combinator Startup School 2026 arch over the crowd entering the Chase Center plaza
a large screen inside the Chase Center reading Y Combinator presents Startup School 2026 — live in the future, then build what's missing
the Chase Center arena during a fireside chat shown on the jumbotron
students gathered in a lounge for a University of Waterloo breakout session
a big red Y Combinator sign on the Thrive City lawn outside the Chase Center with a crowd around it
Cool Startup School 2026 arch they put up!

There were also lots of afterparties which were fun to attend, notable ones being the AWS and Google Deepmind afterparties!

a giant stuffed gorilla wearing a Susa Ventures t-shirt sitting in an armchair at the Susa Ventures office
a crowd outside the Google for Startups and Google DeepMind afterparty building on 19th Street
inside the Google DeepMind afterparty with a big wall reading School's out. Time to build.
a purple screen reading The AWS YC Startup School Afterparty above a crowded hallway
a large screen showing the Slash logo on a brick wall inside Slash HQ
Sam Altman and Cory Levy on stage in red chairs during an AMA at Internapalooza
At Susa Ventures!

Since I was here for way longer than last time, I also had the chance to visit new (and revisit old) places! SF is definitely beautiful:

the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean from a coastal bluff in San Francisco
the Golden Gate Bridge at dusk seen from the sand at Baker Beach
the downtown San Francisco skyline lit up at night from a rooftop, with Salesforce Tower in the middle
the Painted Ladies Victorian houses at Alamo Square with the downtown skyline behind them
the domed rotunda of the Palace of Fine Arts behind its lagoon
looking down the winding brick turns of Lombard Street towards Coit Tower and the bay
an I heart SF sign painted on a white wall at Pier 39
a sea lion sleeping on the wooden docks at Pier 39
the Stanford University main quad behind a flowerbed shaped like the Stanford S logo
San Francisco city lights glowing through thick fog at night from Twin Peaks
Cool Sunset :D