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Jared Heyman

@jaredheyman

Tech guy and investor. Founder at Rebel Fund and previously Pioneer Fund. Chairman of Infosurv and CrowdMed (YC W13). Former Bain consultant. Data nerd.

linkedin.com/in/jaredheyman/
Joined February 2009
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Photo by Jared Heyman (@jaredheyman)Photo by Jared Heyman (@jaredheyman)Photo by Jared Heyman (@jaredheyman)Photo by Jared Heyman (@jaredheyman)Photo by Jared Heyman (@jaredheyman)Photo by Jared Heyman (@jaredheyman)Photo by Jared Heyman (@jaredheyman)Photo by Jared Heyman (@jaredheyman)Photo by Jared Heyman (@jaredheyman)Photo by Jared Heyman (@jaredheyman)
I just published On why to ignore TechCrunch at YC Demo Day jaredheyman.medium.com/on-wh…
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I just published On the YC S26 batch — Return of the Atoms jaredheyman.medium.com/on-th…
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I just published On why you should invest in the most expensive YC startups jaredheyman.medium.com/on-wh…
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I just published On what actually predicts YC startup success medium.com/p/on-what-actuall…
On what actually predicts YC startup success

On what actually predicts YC startup success

Since Rebel Fund invests exclusively in seed-stage Y Combinator startups, the dozens of blog posts I’ve published over the years are…

jaredheyman.medium.com
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I just published On the freakishly strong YC W26 batch medium.com/p/on-the-freakish…
On the freakishly strong YC W26 batch

On the freakishly strong YC W26 batch

Now that Rebel Fund has invested in nearly 300 top Y Combinator startups, I’m often asked by our LPs and other investors what I think about…

jaredheyman.medium.com
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I just published On hitting the ‘bullseye’ medium.com/p/on-hitting-the-…
On hitting the “bullseye”

On hitting the “bullseye”

On hitting the “bullseye” It seems the most controversial topic in early-stage venture today is whether a large diversified portfolio strategy (70+ companies) or a small concentrated portfolio …

jaredheyman.medium.com
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I just published On the ‘new’ Y Combinator medium.com/p/on-the-new-y-co…
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I just published On the 5 archetypes of top YC founders medium.com/p/on-the-5-archet…
On the 5 archetypes of top YC founders

On the 5 archetypes of top YC founders

On the 5 archetypes of top YC founders Rebel Fund has proudly invested in 500+ talented YC founders over the past several years across hundreds of startups. Along the way, we’ve built the world’s …

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I just published On 9 data-driven tips for YC startup founders medium.com/p/on-9-data-drive…
On 9 data-driven tips for YC startup founders

On 9 data-driven tips for YC startup founders

Since Rebel Fund invests exclusively in seed-stage Y Combinator startups, the dozens of blog posts I’ve published over the years are…

jaredheyman.medium.com
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I just published On founder-product fit medium.com/p/on-founder-prod…
On founder-product fit

On founder-product fit

I’ve written dozens of blog posts over the years on how Rebel Fund uses data and algorithms to predict tomorrow’s most successful Y…

jaredheyman.medium.com
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I just published On Rebel Theorem 4.0 medium.com/p/on-rebel-theore…
On Rebel Theorem 4.0

On Rebel Theorem 4.0

On Rebel Theorem 4.0 Last year I shared a post On Rebel Theorem 3.0, which was the world’s most advanced machine-learning (ML) algorithm at the time for predicting Y Combinator startup success. Now …

jaredheyman.medium.com
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I just published On YC startup exits (2025 update) medium.com/p/on-yc-startup-e…
On YC startup exits (2025 update)

On YC startup exits (2025 update)

One of the questions I’m asked most often by Rebel Fund LPs is “How long will it take to get my money back?”

jaredheyman.medium.com
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I just published On investing in ‘hot’ Y Combinator startups medium.com/p/on-investing-in…
On investing in “hot” Y Combinator startups

On investing in “hot” Y Combinator startups

On investing in “hot” Y Combinator startups I was having a debate recently with a fellow Y Combinator startup investor on whether or not companies that get “hot” at Demo Day make for good …

jaredheyman.medium.com
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I just published On why AI is coming for my job next medium.com/p/on-why-ai-is-co…
On why AI is coming for my job next

On why AI is coming for my job next

On why AI is coming for my job next I’ve written dozens of posts over the years on Y Combinator startup trends and how we use data and algorithms at Rebel Fund to invest in the top 10% of new YC …

jaredheyman.medium.com
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I just published On the last decade of Y Combinator link.medium.com/q9bK3xre6Qb
On the last decade of Y Combinator

On the last decade of Y Combinator

Since taking my last startup through Y Combinator as a founder over a decade ago, I’ve had the privilege of attending every YC Demo Day…

link.medium.com
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I just published On seed-stage startup traction (and why to ignore it) link.medium.com/rofjjm0yNQb
On seed-stage startup traction (and why to ignore it)

On seed-stage startup traction (and why to ignore it)

I’ve had the privilege of investing in 300+ Y Combinator startups over my career and looked at many thousands more. Over the years, I’ve…

link.medium.com
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I just published On YC unicorn founders link.medium.com/J4teEPjWgMb
On YC unicorn founders

On YC unicorn founders

I’ve published dozens of data-driven blog posts over the years about Y Combinator startups and founders from an investor perspective, but…

link.medium.com
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I just published On Rebel Theorem and YC batch quality link.medium.com/DhBHv4xXTLb
On Rebel Theorem and YC batch quality

On Rebel Theorem and YC batch quality

A couple of years ago, I published a post On YC batch quality at scale that showed the upward trend in Y Combinator startup outcomes…

link.medium.com
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I just published On Rebel Theorem 3.0 link.medium.com/iq7LLbb2VKb
On Rebel Theorem 3.0

On Rebel Theorem 3.0

Rebel Fund has now invested in nearly 200 top Y Combinator startups, collectively valued in the tens of billions of dollars and growing. As…

link.medium.com
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As my long-time readers of my blog posts know, Rebel Fund maintains the largest and most comprehensive database of Y Combinator startups and founders that exists outside of YC itself. We use the millions of data points we’ve collected primarily to train our Rebel Theorem machine learning algorithm to predict which YC startups are most likely to drive investment returns for our fund, but they also allow us to understand and share unique insights on YC startups overall with the wider world. Our database includes latest valuation estimates¹ for every YC startup in history, which we analyze to identify trends and patterns related to YC startup performance. In this post, I’ll share some surprising statistics on the steep power law that drives YC startup returns for venture funds like us, and argue for why a large portfolio strategy is optimal when it comes to investing in YC startups. This will be a very data-driven post so buckle up! link.medium.com/D6Ootw8LdJb
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