The Grahamanack

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Chronological index. Each link opens the original on paulgraham.com. Themed table of contents.

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The Grahamanack

The Grahamanack is an unofficial, fan-made reading guide. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Paul Graham.

All essays are © Paul Graham. The ebook is an unofficial compilation for personal reading. The canonical versions live at paulgraham.com.

Inspired by Eric Jorgenson's Navalmanack as a way to navigate a body of writing, without republishing it.

Paul Graham

Guide

Themed index
All essays by date
About

2026

Making Startups PowerfulSeptember 2026Part I
How Universities Should Prepare FoundersAugust 2026Part I
How to Earn a Billion DollarsJune 2026Part II
How to Convert Between Wealth and Income TaxMay 2026Part II
The Brand AgeMarch 2026Part V

2025

The Shape of the Essay FieldJune 2025Part IV
Good WritingMay 2025Part V
What to DoMarch 2025Part V
The Origins of WokenessJanuary 2025Part V

2024

Writes and Write-NotsOctober 2024Part IV
When To Do What You LoveSeptember 2024Part V
Founder ModeSeptember 2024Part I
The Right Kind of StubbornJuly 2024Part V
The RedditsMarch 2024Part V
The Best EssayMarch 2024Part IV
How to Start GoogleMarch 2024Part V

2023

Superlinear ReturnsOctober 2023Part II
How to Do Great WorkJuly 2023Part II
How to Get New IdeasJanuary 2023Part IV

2022

What You (Want to)* WantNovember 2022Part V
The Need to ReadNovember 2022Part IV
Alien TruthOctober 2022Part V
What I've Learned from UsersSeptember 2022Part II
HeresyApril 2022Part V
Putting Ideas into WordsFebruary 2022Part IV

2021

Is There Such a Thing as Good Taste?November 2021Part IV
Beyond SmartOctober 2021Part IV
Weird LanguagesAugust 2021Part III
How to Work HardJune 2021Part II
A Project of One's OwnJune 2021Part V
Fierce NerdsMay 2021Part III
Crazy New IdeasMay 2021Part IV
An NFT That Saves LivesMay 2021Part V
The Real Reason to End the Death PenaltyApril 2021Part V
How People Get Rich NowApril 2021Part II
Write SimplyMarch 2021Part IV
Donate UnrestrictedMarch 2021Part V
What I Worked OnFebruary 2021Part II

2020

The AirbnbsDecember 2020Part I
EarnestnessDecember 2020Part II
Billionaires BuildDecember 2020Part II
How to Think for YourselfNovember 2020Part IV
Early WorkOctober 2020Part II
Modeling a Wealth TaxAugust 2020Part II
The Four Quadrants of ConformismJuly 2020Part V
Orthodox PrivilegeJuly 2020Part V
Coronavirus and CredibilityApril 2020Part V
How to Write UsefullyFebruary 2020Part IV
HatersJanuary 2020Part V
Being a NoobJanuary 2020Part V

2019

The Two Kinds of ModerateDecember 2019Part V
The Lesson to UnlearnDecember 2019Part II
Having KidsDecember 2019Part V
Fashionable ProblemsDecember 2019Part V
The Bus Ticket Theory of GeniusNovember 2019Part V
Novelty and HeresyNovember 2019Part V

2017

General and SurprisingSeptember 2017Part V
The Risk of DiscoveryJanuary 2017Part V
Charisma / PowerJanuary 2017Part V

2016

This Year We Can End the Death Penalty in CaliforniaNovember 2016Part V
How to Make Pittsburgh a Startup HubApril 2016Part I
The RefragmentationJanuary 2016Part V
Life is ShortJanuary 2016Part V
Economic InequalityJanuary 2016Part II

2015

Jessica LivingstonNovember 2015Part V
Write Like You TalkOctober 2015Part IV
Default Alive or Default Dead?October 2015Part V
A Way to Detect BiasOctober 2015Part V
Why It's Safe for Founders to Be NiceAugust 2015Part I
Change Your NameAugust 2015Part V
What Microsoft Is this the Altair Basic of?February 2015Part V
What Doesn't Seem Like Work?January 2015Part II
The Ronco PrincipleJanuary 2015Part V
Don't Talk to Corp DevJanuary 2015Part IV

2014

The Fatal PinchDecember 2014Part V
Let the Other 95% of Great Programmers InDecember 2014Part III
How You KnowDecember 2014Part V
How to Be an Expert in a Changing WorldDecember 2014Part V
Mean People FailNovember 2014Part V
Before the StartupOctober 2014Part I

2013

How to Raise MoneySeptember 2013Part II
Investor Herd DynamicsAugust 2013Part I
How to Convince InvestorsAugust 2013Part I
Do Things that Don't ScaleJuly 2013Part I
Startup Investing TrendsJune 2013Part I

2012

How to Get Startup IdeasNovember 2012Part I
The Hardware RenaissanceOctober 2012Part V
Startup = GrowthSeptember 2012Part I
Black Swan FarmingSeptember 2012Part V
The Top of My Todo ListApril 2012Part V
Writing and SpeakingMarch 2012Part V
How Y Combinator StartedMarch 2012Part V
Frighteningly Ambitious Startup IdeasMarch 2012Part I
Defining PropertyMarch 2012Part V
Snapshot: Viaweb, June 1998January 2012Part I
Schlep BlindnessJanuary 2012Part I
A Word to the ResourcefulJanuary 2012Part IV

2011

Why Startup Hubs WorkOctober 2011Part I
The Patent PledgeAugust 2011Part V
Subject: AirbnbMarch 2011Part I

2010

TabletsDecember 2010Part V
Founder ControlDecember 2010Part I
Where to See Silicon ValleyOctober 2010Part V
What We Look for in FoundersOctober 2010Part I
The New Funding LandscapeOctober 2010Part I
High Resolution FundraisingSeptember 2010Part I
What Happened to YahooAugust 2010Part V
The Future of Startup FundingAugust 2010Part I
The Top Idea in Your MindJuly 2010Part IV
The Acceleration of AddictivenessJuly 2010Part V
How to Lose Time and MoneyJuly 2010Part II
Organic Startup IdeasApril 2010Part I

2009

Apple's MistakeNovember 2009Part V
What Startups Are Really LikeOctober 2009Part I
The List of N ThingsSeptember 2009Part V
The Anatomy of DeterminationSeptember 2009Part V
Post-Medium PublishingSeptember 2009Part V
Persuade xor DiscoverSeptember 2009Part V
What Kate Saw in Silicon ValleyAugust 2009Part V
The Trouble with the SegwayJuly 2009Part V
Ramen ProfitableJuly 2009Part I
Maker's Schedule, Manager's ScheduleJuly 2009Part II
Why Twitter is a Big DealApril 2009Part V
The Founder VisaApril 2009Part I
Five FoundersApril 2009Part I
A Local Revolution?April 2009Part V
Why TV LostMarch 2009Part V
Relentlessly ResourcefulMarch 2009Part V
How to Be an Angel InvestorMarch 2009Part I
What I've Learned from Hacker NewsFebruary 2009Part II
Startups in 13 SentencesFebruary 2009Part I
Keep Your Identity SmallFebruary 2009Part V
Can You Buy a Silicon Valley? Maybe.February 2009Part V

2008

The High-Res SocietyDecember 2008Part V
Could VC be a Casualty of the Recession?December 2008Part I
After CredentialsDecember 2008Part V
The Other Half of "Artists Ship"November 2008Part V
Why to Start a Startup in a Bad EconomyOctober 2008Part I
A Fundraising Survival GuideAugust 2008Part I
The Pooled-Risk Company Management CompanyJuly 2008Part V
Lies We Tell KidsMay 2008Part V
Disconnecting DistractionMay 2008Part V
Cities and AmbitionMay 2008Part V
Why There Aren't More GooglesApril 2008Part V
Some HeroesApril 2008Part V
Be GoodApril 2008Part V
You Weren't Meant to Have a BossMarch 2008Part V
How to DisagreeMarch 2008Part V
A New Venture AnimalMarch 2008Part I
TrollsFebruary 2008Part V
Six Principles for Making New ThingsFebruary 2008Part V

2007

Why to Move to a Startup HubOctober 2007Part I
The Future of Web StartupsOctober 2007Part I
News from the FrontSeptember 2007Part V
How to Do PhilosophySeptember 2007Part IV
How Not to DieAugust 2007Part V
Holding a Program in One's HeadAugust 2007Part III
The Equity EquationJuly 2007Part V
StuffJuly 2007Part V
An Alternative Theory of UnionsMay 2007Part V
Two Kinds of JudgementApril 2007Part V
The Hacker's Guide to InvestorsApril 2007Part I
Microsoft is DeadApril 2007Part V
Why to Not Not Start a StartupMarch 2007Part I
Is It Worth Being Wise?February 2007Part V
Learning from FoundersJanuary 2007Part I

2006

How Art Can Be GoodDecember 2006Part V
The 18 Mistakes That Kill StartupsOctober 2006Part I
A Student's Guide to StartupsOctober 2006Part I
How to Present to InvestorsAugust 2006Part I
The Island TestJuly 2006Part V
Copy What You LikeJuly 2006Part V
The Power of the MarginalJune 2006Part V
Why Startups Condense in AmericaMay 2006Part I
How to Be Silicon ValleyMay 2006Part V
The Hardest Lessons for Startups to LearnApril 2006Part I
See RandomnessApril 2006Part V
Why YCMarch 2006Part V
Are Software Patents Evil?March 2006Part III
6,631,372March 2006Part V
How to Do What You LoveJanuary 2006Part V

2005

Good and Bad ProcrastinationDecember 2005Part II
Web 2.0November 2005Part V
The Venture Capital SqueezeNovember 2005Part I
How to Fund a StartupNovember 2005Part I
What I Did this SummerOctober 2005Part V
Ideas for StartupsOctober 2005Part I
What Business Can Learn from Open SourceAugust 2005Part II
Inequality and RiskAugust 2005Part II
After the LadderAugust 2005Part V
Hiring is ObsoleteMay 2005Part V
Why Smart People Have Bad IdeasApril 2005Part IV
The SubmarineApril 2005Part V
Writing, BrieflyMarch 2005Part V
UndergraduationMarch 2005Part V
Return of the MacMarch 2005Part V
How to Start a StartupMarch 2005Part I
A Unified Theory of VC SuckageMarch 2005Part I
What You'll Wish You'd KnownJanuary 2005Part V

2004

Made in USANovember 2004Part V
It's Charisma, StupidNovember 2004Part V
Bradley's GhostNovember 2004Part V
A Version 1.0October 2004Part V
What the Bubble Got RightSeptember 2004Part V
The Age of the EssaySeptember 2004Part IV
The Python ParadoxAugust 2004Part III
Great HackersJuly 2004Part III
Mind the GapMay 2004Part V
How to Make WealthMay 2004Part II
The Word "Hacker"April 2004Part III
What You Can't SayJanuary 2004Part V

2003

Filters that Fight BackAugust 2003Part III
If Lisp is So GreatMay 2003Part III
Hackers and PaintersMay 2003Part III
The Hundred-Year LanguageApril 2003Part III
Why Nerds are UnpopularFebruary 2003Part III
Design and ResearchJanuary 2003Part III
Better Bayesian FilteringJanuary 2003Part III

2002

A Plan for SpamAugust 2002Part III
Succinctness is PowerMay 2002Part V
Revenge of the NerdsMay 2002Part III
Taste for MakersFebruary 2002Part II

2001

What Made Lisp DifferentDecember 2001Part III
The Other Road AheadSeptember 2001Part V
The Roots of LispMay 2001Part III
Five Questions about Language DesignMay 2001Part III
Being PopularMay 2001Part V
Lisp for Web-Based ApplicationsApril 2001Part III
Java's CoverApril 2001Part III
Beating the AveragesApril 2001Part V

Undated

Why Arc Isn't Especially Object-OrientedUndatedPart III
What Languages FixUndatedPart III
Programming Bottom-UpUndatedPart III