Michael Seibel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michael Seibel
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Seibel in 2019
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| Born | October 7, 1982 New York City, U.S.
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| Education | Yale University (BA) |
Michael Seibel, born on October 7, 1982, is a successful entrepreneur and investor. He is known for helping to start popular companies like Twitch and Socialcam. He also works as a partner at Y Combinator, a famous company that helps new businesses grow. Michael has helped many startups and works to make sure more people from different backgrounds can become founders.
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Early Life and Education
Michael Seibel was born in Brooklyn, a part of New York City. He moved to East Brunswick, New Jersey when he was a pre-teen. He finished high school there in 2000.
After high school, Michael went to Yale University. He studied political science and became good friends with Justin Kan.
Starting New Companies
After college, Michael moved to Silicon Valley, a place famous for technology companies. There, he helped start a company called Justin.tv in 2007. He was the CEO, which means the main boss, until 2011.
In 2011, he became the CEO of another company called Socialcam. This was an app for sharing videos. Socialcam was sold in 2012. Later, in 2014, Justin.tv changed its name to Twitch Interactive. Twitch became very popular for live video streaming, especially for people playing video games. Amazon bought Twitch later that same year.
Helping Other Startups Grow
Michael Seibel is also known for helping other new companies. In 2008, he was an important mentor for the people who started Airbnb. He even suggested they join Y Combinator.
Working at Y Combinator
In 2013, Michael started working part-time at Y Combinator. This company helps new businesses get started and grow. In October 2014, he became the first African-American partner at Y Combinator. He later became the CEO of the Y Combinator Startup Accelerator in 2016.
On March 15, 2024, Michael announced that he was stepping down from his main leadership role at Y Combinator. After eight years, he returned to his original job as a partner, continuing to help new companies.
Investing in Companies
Michael Seibel has also personally invested his money in many successful startups. Some of these include Cruise, Brex, Figma, Rippling, Reddit, Clipboard Health, and Promise.
Joining Company Boards
Michael also serves on the boards of directors for big companies. A board of directors helps guide a company.
- On June 10, 2020, Michael was named a board member for Reddit. He was the first Black board member in the company's history.
- On December 15, 2020, he was also named to the board of directors for Dropbox.
See also
- Emmett Shear
- Kyle Vogt
- Justin Kan
