Jump to content

Michael Seibel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Seibel
Seibel at Moscone Center in San Francisco during TechCrunch Disrupt in 2019
Seibel in 2019
Born (1982-10-07) October 7, 1982 (age 43)
New York City, U.S.
EducationYale University (BA)

Michael Seibel (born October 7, 1982) is a partner at Y Combinator and the co-founder of two startups, Justin.tv/Twitch and Socialcam.[1][2] He first joined Y Combinator in 2013, advising hundreds of startups, and has been active in promoting diversity efforts among startup founders.[3][4] Seibel is widely recognized as one of the most influential Black investors and startup mentors in Silicon Valley, noted for his advocacy of underrepresented founders and leadership in expanding access to the startup ecosystem.[5]

Education and startups

[edit]

Seibel was born in Brooklyn and calls New York City his favorite city.[6] He moved to East Brunswick, New Jersey as a pre-teen and graduated from East Brunswick High School in 2000.[7] At Yale University, he majored in political science and became friends with Justin Kan. Seibel was active in Yale’s Black Student Alliance, and has spoken about being one of few Black students pursuing tech entrepreneurship at the university. After his graduation in 2005, he worked as the finance director for Kweisi Mfume's unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 2006. He then moved to Silicon Valley to co-found Justin.tv, and became CEO at the company (from 2007 to 2011). He then became CEO of Socialcam,[8] a social video-sharing app that launched in March 2011 and sold to Autodesk for $60 million in 2012 (after 18 months). Socialcam rapidly became one of the top apps in the iOS App Store and was widely referred to as "Instagram for video" in the tech press at the time.[9] In 2014 Justin.tv was renamed Twitch Interactive[10] and later that year sold to Amazon for $970 million.[11]

Startup mentoring, Y Combinator, investments, and board seats

[edit]

In 2008, Michael Seibel was a key mentor to the co-founders of Airbnb and recommended them to Y Combinator.[12][13]

In 2013, he became a part-time partner at Y Combinator and, in October 2014, became the organization’s first African-American partner.[14][15] He became CEO of the Y Combinator Startup Accelerator in 2016.[16] On March 15, 2024, Seibel announced in a post on X that he was stepping down from his leadership role at Y Combinator after eight years and would return to his original role as partner.[17][18]

During his tenure, Seibel played a significant role in expanding Y Combinator's reach, launching global programs and online initiatives such as Startup School, which opened YC mentorship and resources to founders worldwide.[19] He has been widely credited with increasing the number of Black and underrepresented founders in YC's accelerator, making diversity and access a central priority of the organization during his leadership.[20]

Some of Seibel's personal startup investments include Cruise, Brex, Figma, Rippling, Reddit, Clipboard Health, and Promise.[21][22][23][24]

He is also a frequent speaker at major startup and technology conferences, including TechCrunch Disrupt, AfroTech, and Startup Grind, where he advocates for diversity, access to capital, and mentorship in tech entrepreneurship.

On June 10, 2020, it was announced that Seibel had been named to the Reddit board of directors[25], replacing Alexis Ohanian. Ohanian had announced his resignation on June 5, 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd and urged Reddit's board of directors to fill his vacant seat with a black candidate.[26][27] Reddit later named Seibel as the "first black board member in the company's history".[28]

On December 15, 2020, it was announced that Seibel was named to the Dropbox board of directors.[29]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Emily Price (March 9, 2016). "Y Combinator's Michael Seibel Says This Area Is Ripe for Disruption". Fortune.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  2. ↑ Kolodny, Lora (September 13, 2016). "With a new CEO, Y Combinator will wind down fellowships and start a MOOC". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Michael Seibel LIVE Chat on Product Hunt". Product Hunt. March 8, 2016. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Michael Seibel". Black Entrepreneurs & Executives Profiles. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Michael Seibel, former Y Combinator CEO, Announces Departure". Startup Kitchen. March 14, 2025. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  6. ↑ "15 questions with Michael Seibel". CNNMoney. Archived from the original on June 14, 2025. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  7. ↑ Michael Seibel Biography, All American Speakers. Accessed February 2, 2022. "Michael Seibel was born in Brooklyn, NY, and lived there for his first nine years. His family then moved to East Brunswick, NJ, where he graduated from East Brunswick High School in 2000."
  8. ↑ Jessica E. Vascellaro (May 8, 2012). "New Race: Building the Instagram of Video". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  9. ↑ Kincaid, Jason (May 4, 2011). "Socialcam's 'Instagram for Video' Is Now On The Web, Too". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  10. ↑ Kumparak, Greg (August 5, 2014). "Justin.tv Shuts Down To Let The Company Focus On Twitch". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  11. ↑ Wilhelm, Alex (August 25, 2014). "Amazon Will Buy Twitch For Over $1 Billion". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Airbnb's Surprising Path to Y Combinator". Backchannel. February 21, 2017. Archived from the original on May 31, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  13. ↑ Stone, Brad (January 26, 2017). "The $99 Billion Idea: How Uber and Airbnb Won". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  14. ↑ Jessica Guynn (December 3, 2014). "Y Combinator hires first black partner to recruit more minorities". Usatoday.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Michael Seibel". LinkedIn. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  16. ↑ Lora Kolodny (September 13, 2016). "With a new CEO, Y Combinator will wind down fellowships and start a MOOC". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  17. ↑ Levy, Steven (March 15, 2024). "Y Combinator's Chief Startup Whisperer Is Demoting Himself". [[Wired (magazine)|]]. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  18. ↑ Loizos, Connie (March 20, 2025). "Michael Seibel is leaving Y Combinator". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 26, 2025.
  19. ↑ "Michael Seibel on his next ten years at YC". Y Combinator. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  20. ↑ Scott, How venture capital worksby Amy; Hughes, Stephanie. "The role of accelerators in upping diversity in tech". www.marketplace.org. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
  21. ↑ Spangler, Todd (June 10, 2020). "Reddit Names Y Combinator's Michael Seibel to Board, Replacing Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian". Variety. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  22. ↑ "GM Buying Self-Driving Tech Startup for More Than $1 Billion". Fortune. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Clipboard Health Secures Total of $80M in Funding, Reaching $1.3B Valuation". www.businesswire.com. April 19, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  24. ↑ "Promise Co-Founder and CEO Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins on Being a Force for Good". Y Combinator. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  25. ↑ Ivan Mehta (June 10, 2020). "Reddit names its first black board member, Y Combinator CEO Michael Seibel". TNW. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  26. ↑ Kaya Yurieff (June 10, 2020). "Alexis Ohanian asked to be replaced by a black candidate on Reddit's board. Reddit listened". CNN. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  27. ↑ Alexis Ohanian (June 5, 2020). "Alexis Ohanian Sr. on Instagram". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2020. I have resigned as a member of the reddit board, I have urged them to fill my seat with a black candidate.
  28. ↑ Yurieff, Kaya; O'Brien, Sara Ashley (June 10, 2020). "Alexis Ohanian asked to be replaced by a black candidate on Reddit's board. Reddit listened". CNN. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Dropbox Adds Twitch Co-Founder to Board to Advise Growth". THE ORG. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Seibel&oldid=1374162073"