Nate Smith

CTO and Founder of Former founder of @lever and Visiting Group Partner @ycombinator.

[Nate Smith @nateps]

Why I chose Surbhi as my co-founder and joined her to build Collate: https://t.co/7EaCBL2oIE

[Brad Flora @bradflora]

.@SurbhiSarnaSF and @nateps are ferocious startup animals. Congrats guys!

[Nate Smith @nateps]

It was quite the funny moment!

[Alex Konrad @alexrkonrad]

Collate CEO @SurbhiSarnaSF found her cofounder with a major assist from her nosy 8-year-old 👀

https://t.co/FVdE8OxpHs

[Nate Smith @nateps]

Thank you, @t_blom! It was inspiring to see you in action. The founders who get to work with you at YC are privileged to have you behind them.

[Tom Blomfield @t_blom]

Huge congratulations to @SurbhiSarnaSF and @nateps - I had so much fun working with you both at YC. I’m so excited to see what you build.

[Nate Smith @nateps]

I couldn't agree with you more: @SurbhiSarnaSF cannot be stopped!

Thank you @saranormous for your support! I am incredibly excited to partner with you and build https://t.co/YOE2oXICuu

[sarah guo @saranormous]

.@SurbhiSarnaSF is an unstoppable force. I asked if we could invest one sentence into our convo about her starting another company.

Incredibly excited to see Collate (and the mission-driven applied AI team led by her + @nateps) accelerate the pace of innovation in biotech.

[sarah guo @saranormous]

.@SurbhiSarnaSF is an unstoppable force. I asked if we could invest one sentence into our convo about her starting another company.

Incredibly excited to see Collate (and the mission-driven applied AI team led by her + @nateps) accelerate the pace of innovation in biotech.

[Nate Smith @nateps]

Thank you, @garrytan! We are incredibly excited for life sciences companies to use https://t.co/YOE2oXICuu and accelerate development of life-saving products.

Thank you and YC for building a community that inspires and supports us as founders!

[Garry Tan @garrytan]

Congrats to @SurbhiSarnaSF and @nateps on starting Collate.

Both did amazing work at YC and I am excited to see them build the next great vertical AI startup in an area of deep need.

[Nate Smith @nateps]

@lizwessel @firstround @SurbhiSarnaSF Thank you, @lizwessel, @joshk, and @firstround for supporting us in starting https://t.co/YOE2oXICuu! Your team stands out as one of the absolute best I've had the pleasure of getting to know. We are blessed to partner with you!

[Nate Smith @nateps]

@terronk @OlinCollege Thank you, @terronk! Lee and I graduated from @OlinCollege's second ever class in 2007, and I am convinced it was the best education possible for a startup founder.

[Nate Smith @nateps]

@SurbhiSarnaSF Thank you @SurbhiSarnaSF for being our fearless leader!

https://t.co/YOE2oXICuu is solving a huge problem for every function at every life sciences company, and I am so proud to be doing it with you.

[Surbhi Sarna @SurbhiSarnaSF]

I’m excited to introduce Collate and announce our $30M seed round.

We’re using AI to help solve one of the biggest problems for life sciences companies — the never-ending cycle of document creation and maintenance you need to do to stay compliant.

While running my first company, I experienced the burden of documentation that life science companies face – from R&D to commercial readiness. Then at YC, I was lucky enough to witness the transformative, inevitable nature of software and AI. There's a unique opportunity here to bridge my two worlds.

I'm thrilled to be building this alongside @nateps and @jigishjpatel. Thank you to our investors who have backed us with a $30M seed round: Satish Dharmaraj at Redpoint, @joshk at First Round and @saranormous at Conviction. And of course, YC.

To YC and @garrytan - thank you for the invaluable gifts: a family of GPs I'll always count on, a deeper appreciation for software's potential, and most preciously, the privilege of supporting so many remarkable founders on their journeys.

https://t.co/su1uxlVITn

[Nate Smith @nateps]

@aaron_epstein @SurbhiSarnaSF Thank you, @aaron_epstein! I am so thankful that YC brought all of us together. It is so much fun to be building right now!

[Nate Smith @nateps]

So excited to be founding https://t.co/YOE2oXICuu together with @SurbhiSarnaSF!

https://t.co/nMqEINJYh8

[Jared Friedman @snowmaker]

Yesterday we hosted 400 top university students at the YC Summer Conference - a fun day of talks about startups.  Talking to the students afterwards, I found myself giving a lot of the same advice. So in case it's useful to others, here is my startup advice for students.

[Jared Friedman @snowmaker]

2 years ago, only 10% of the YC batch was college students or new grads. The last batch was 30%.

Because of AI, it's the best time in a decade for college students to start startups.

That's why all 14 YC partners came to Boston today to talk to undergrads.

[Aayush Shah @aayush_shah15]

Just like that YC W24 is over! We went from being a mere idea in our heads to a product that runs thousands of workflows for our customers every day

Always grateful to @snowmaker and @nateps for keeping us honest, and preparing us for what is yet to come ⚒

[Nate Smith @nateps]

@lina_colucci @TheDailyShow @sama @bchesky I hope that Lina's AI comeback video makes you guys proud of what YC companies are doing to build, and push progress forward!

[Lina Colucci @lina_colucci]

The latest @TheDailyShow episode on AI scared me.

It scares me that the US is developing antibodies around progress.

What happened to the days where JFK asked a janitor at NASA's headquarters what he was doing and the janitor said, “I’m helping to put a man on the moon.” 🚀

Progress is a fragile thing. It’s not inevitable. It only happens because people make it happen.

I made this video. It's the conversation I wish @jonstewart had had instead.

A culture that celebrates progress is important. That's why I love @ycombinator and the work @garrytan, @snowmaker, @SurbhiSarnaSF, @nateps and many others are doing.

#CelebrateBuilders

🎉 Go Sam Altman and Brian Chesky! 🎉

[Nate Smith @nateps]

@cblakerouse @ycombinator Thank you @cblakerouse and @dalbentley for bringing your commitment and energy every day. It's easy to believe in founders that apply themselves with such determination. I am lucky to have had the opportunity to work with you!

[Blake Rouse @cblakerouse]

Genuinely confused when I see people post about @ycombinator “not being a fit for certain startups”.

Maybe you can go out and raise large amounts of capital on better terms… but even still… YCs value is so much more than capital.

For us, YCs value has had everything to do with their conviction in us. They chose to back us because they believe in us. They go to bat for us. They have our back and they always will.

They’re highly ethical. They always tell us the truth (whether it’s a taboo investor topic, harsh feedback, or something we don’t want to hear but need to). Everything is shared in mutual confidentiality. They demand honesty from us and we share a mutual trust.

Other value adds… They give us tailored advice, but only once they have all the context. They know what they’re talking about (perhaps better than any other pre-PMF investor in the world). They also know what they don’t know (which is probably more important). If they don’t have the answers, they help us find them.

They don’t waste a minute of our time. Every single minute is high impact. They are no BS and no fluff. They’re always available. Anytime we slack them, they respond in minutes. Whenever we need to chat, they hop on the phone. They push us, expand our vision, and surround us with the brightest people in tech.

As we near the end of our batch, it's difficult for me to think of a scenario in which I wouldn’t do YC again.

Shoutout to @snowmaker and @nateps for an amazing batch.