Paul Graham: “Isaac Newton was an earnest hacker”

Y Combinator founder Paul Graham is asked what he thinks about the view that we’re now in a “deals guy era” — the notion that as AI makes it easier to build products, being a “deals guy” or “business guy” is more important than being a strong technologist or engineer, which Paul likes to call being an “earnest hacker.”

PG replies:

“Maybe in enterprise where you sell crap to CTOs . . . salesmanship has always mattered more in enterprise.”

However, PG says he would still bet on earnest hackers to come up with the big breakthroughs:

“Here’s something that will reassure you if you’re thinking, ‘Ok the earnest hacker thing, did that just work for a while but now maybe it’s over?’ Isaac Newton was an earnest hacker. It’s way older than startups. This is what wins.”

Full video: TBPN “Live from YC Demo Day“ (Dec 2025)