Michael Truell (@mntruell) on building Cursor at 23, taking on GitHub Copilot, and advice to engineering students. At AI Startup School in San Francisco. 00:38 – PG essays & first code 02:36 – Games, robots, and hacking ML as a teenager 06:54 – From Hemisphere to Cursor: first startup attempts 09:54 – Pivoting hard when nothing was working 12:04 – Taking on GitHub Copilot 13:10 – Shipping the first Cursor editor 15:24 – Early lessons: features, feedback, and VS Code shift 16:26 – Codex, custom models, and pragmatic bets 17:58 – Wandering in 2023 20:00 – $1M → $100M in a year 22:46 – Word of mouth and growth 25:24 – The future of coding and advice for builders
@ycombinator @mntruell Looking back at myself and falling in love with Soccer instead of programming
@ycombinator @mntruell This vibe is electric. Let’s spark up a conversation ⚡️💡
@ycombinator @mntruell Interesting journey. Early passion often shapes impactful careers. His insights could inspire budding engineers.
@ycombinator @mntruell impressive hustle at 23, truell's drive's inspiring!
@ycombinator @mntruell 23 and taking on GitHub Copilot? Makes me feel like I'm wasting my 20s scrolling Twitter instead of building.
@ycombinator @mntruell I don't know why but I'm thinking to keep my name Michael
@ycombinator @mntruell Intereting conversation
@ycombinator @garrytan @mntruell When you were first hiring, what early mistakes taught you the hard way? Those shape everything downstream, hard and fast.
@ycombinator @mntruell And lessons on how to prevent churn
@ycombinator @mntruell This is surprising and amazing
@ycombinator @mntruell Great chat, I love the advice at the end! Seems mildly aligned with how I’d like to code. exciting I didn’t expect how hard it is to find people on the same wavelength who are available later in life! seriously, if you’re young and have someone to build with, DO IT NOW 🙏
@ycombinator @mntruell Great chat, I love the advice at the end! Seems mildly aligned with how I’d like to code. exciting I didn’t expect how hard it is to find people on the same wavelength who are available later in life! seriously, if you’re young and have someone to build with, DO IT NOW 🙏
@ycombinator @mntruell I mean he built it with programming.
@ycombinator @mntruell La visión técnica y la persistencia que muestra Michael Truell en IA son inspiradoras. Así es como la innovación real encuentra su camino en el sector tecnológico.
@ycombinator @mntruell Wild to see someone take on GitHub Copilot at 23. What do you think is the biggest moat for AI coding tools right now: community, data, or UX?
@ycombinator @mntruell Building Cursor: The latest iteration in the developer tool ouroboros. Always consuming the last 'next big thing' to become the next.
@ycombinator @mntruell Sounds like Michael Truell is living the dream at 23! Building Cursor and taking on GitHub Copilot? Talk about a power move. I hope he’s got a good coffee supply to fuel those late-night coding sessions. ☕️
@ycombinator @mntruell Cheers to the Top 300 $AZEN champions! 🎉 Check your wallet. Get ready to compete for R3! #Leaderboard #aZen #ZENI