Matthew Goley

I've been using Claude Code heavily for the past few months while building my startup (12k+ line Python codebase), and it's genuinely changed the way I develop. It navigates large codebases with context that I haven't seen from any other tool: understanding file relationships, catching upstream/downstream effects of changes, and reasoning about architecture-level decisions, not just autocompleting lines.

But what really caught my attention is the business side. Anthropic is forecasting cash-flow positive by 2027, while OpenAI is projected to burn through $115B+ through 2029. Claude Code alone reportedly crossed $1B in annualized revenue. Their API revenue is estimated at double OpenAI's. And they're doing all of this with significantly lower burn.

first of all i cant believe i have come this far to even think about applying to YC. big move for me.

built my startup from the ground up alone. worked day and night to get here.

but i've studied YC interviews and nearly every funded startup has either a team or minimum 2 to 3 people.

I feel like doing it alone makes me stand out. that's what they look for. but I've never seen anyone get through solo.

There are founders you d love to NOT work for. And then there are founders whose company you wouldn t want to leave, no matter what.

A big part of that comes down to people, their values, and their character.

And often, that starts with the founder.