How I get to meet Sam Altman

I shouldn't have

This year, YC hosted an event called AI Startup School, featuring speakers like Sam Altman, Elon Musk—basically a lineup of legends. It was designed for recent grads and students, and naturally, I really wanted to go.

But I was stuck on the waitlist for an entire month. No luck.

Just as I was about to give up, I told a founder friend how much I still wanted to attend. I previously saw someone post sth on Twitter about getting in.

She looked at me and said, “Why don’t we tweet too? Let’s ship it in 10 minutes.”

I almost said no. It felt so embarrassing—asking for help online, in front of founders, engineers, and researchers who all seemed way more accomplished than me?

I’d rather disappear.

But I’d been trying to practice the mindset of How to open a closed door?. So I took a deep breath and said, “Okay. Let’s do it.”

She stared at my Twitter profile and the first thing she said was, “You need a photo. Right now, you look like an NPC.”

Whaaaat?! Beg my way into this program and sell my soul online? No way. The discomfort hit hard. I winced, then muttered, “Sure. Whatever we need.” Honestly, I felt like a scared little kitten just thinking about putting myself out there.

But deep down, I knew: the worst that could happen was a bit of public embarrassment. The best? A chance to learn from some of the greatest minds and connect with people who share the same drive.

What happened next is kind of a blur. All I remember is battling constant self-doubt while my friend and I brainstormed tweet strategies, trying to push through the cringe.

And then, I posted.

What I didn’t expect was for the tweet to blow up.

People started tagging YC’s CEO, Garry Tan, saying things like, “Let this incredible woman in!” Friends were vouching for me, sharing the tweet, spreading the word.

For the first time, I felt a wave of relief—like no matter what happened next, at least I had really tried.

And then, the next day… Garry Tan replied