Founder Directory
Built by Keitoto
Founders523
Known for these resultsRole43%Role is parsed from founder titles in yc.db. Known for 43% of these rows — the rest have no title at all, mostly 2019–2023. Those rows stay in the result and are counted as Unknown, never as No.Bio80%Bio coverage: 80% of these founders have a bio on their YC profile. Every bio-derived facet (ex-company, school, credentials, discipline) is Unknown for the rest.Ex-company22%Ex-company is matched from bios with employment context (ex-, formerly, worked at). 22% of these rows have at least one match.School22%School is matched from bios, case-sensitive for acronyms. 22% of these rows have at least one match.
- Ahnaf Shahriar@enough_ahnafFounder/CTO · SimanticF26B2B · Waterloo
- Seungmin Hong@shong0504Founder/CEO · SimanticF26B2B · Waterloo
- Shaan Yadav@TheShaanShaanFounder · AtliaS26Real Estate and Construction · San Francisco
- Jack GrodnickFounder/CTO · Control SeatS26Industrials · San Francisco
- Warren Shepard@warrren_shepardFounder/CEO · Control SeatS26Industrials · San Francisco
- Benjamin MartindaleFounder/CEO · DonkeyS26B2B · San Francisco
- Minghao TanFounder/CTO · DonkeyS26B2B · San Francisco
- Dan KomornyFounder/CTO · Earendil RoboticsS26Industrials · San Francisco
- James WaltonFounder/CEO · Earendil RoboticsS26Industrials · San Francisco
- David LiFounder · Induction LabsS26B2B · San Francisco
- Jonathan LiFounder/CEO · Induction LabsS26B2B · San Francisco
- Ahmet DemirbasFounder/CTO · MentlioS26B2B · San Francisco
- Ashank Shah@ashankshah_xFounder/CEO · MentlioS26B2B · San Francisco
- Erik PetersonFounder/CTO · RealPactS26Real Estate and Construction · San Francisco
- Ranvir Deshmukh@ranvirdeshmukh_Founder/CEO · RealPactS26Real Estate and Construction · San Francisco
- Bryce JudyFounder/CEO · Tarifflo Inc.S26B2B · Salt Lake City
- Dekai Li@li_dekaiiFounder/CTO · TridentS26B2B · San Francisco
- Junaid Mahmood@whosjunaiddFounder/CEO · TridentS26B2B · San Francisco
- Aidan NgFounder · VerdantS26Government · Washington
- Jason YiFounder · VerdantS26Government · Washington
FOUNDERROLEBATCHINDUSTRYLOCATIONTEAMX_url
Ahnaf ShahriarSimanticFounder/CTOFall 2026B2BWaterloo, Canada4https://x.com/enough_ahnafSeungmin HongSimanticFounder/CEOFall 2026B2BWaterloo, Canada4https://x.com/shong0504Shaan YadavAtliaFounderSummer 2026Real Estate and ConstructionSan Francisco, United States2https://x.com/TheShaanShaanJack GrodnickControl SeatFounder/CTOSummer 2026IndustrialsSan Francisco, United States2—Warren ShepardControl SeatFounder/CEOSummer 2026IndustrialsSan Francisco, United States2https://x.com/warrren_shepardBenjamin MartindaleDonkeyFounder/CEOSummer 2026B2BSan Francisco, United States7—Minghao TanDonkeyFounder/CTOSummer 2026B2BSan Francisco, United States7—Dan KomornyEarendil RoboticsFounder/CTOSummer 2026IndustrialsSan Francisco, United States7—James WaltonEarendil RoboticsFounder/CEOSummer 2026IndustrialsSan Francisco, United States7—David LiInduction LabsFounderSummer 2026B2BSan Francisco, United States2—Jonathan LiInduction LabsFounder/CEOSummer 2026B2BSan Francisco, United States2—Ahmet DemirbasMentlioFounder/CTOSummer 2026B2BSan Francisco, United States0—Ashank ShahMentlioFounder/CEOSummer 2026B2BSan Francisco, United States0https://x.com/ashankshah_xErik PetersonRealPactFounder/CTOSummer 2026Real Estate and ConstructionSan Francisco, United States2—Ranvir DeshmukhRealPactFounder/CEOSummer 2026Real Estate and ConstructionSan Francisco, United States2https://x.com/ranvirdeshmukh_Bryce JudyTarifflo Inc.Founder/CEOSummer 2026B2BSalt Lake City, United States5—Dekai LiTridentFounder/CTOSummer 2026B2BSan Francisco, United States4https://x.com/li_dekaiiJunaid MahmoodTridentFounder/CEOSummer 2026B2BSan Francisco, United States4https://x.com/whosjunaiddAidan NgVerdantFounderSummer 2026GovernmentWashington, United States2—Jason YiVerdantFounderSummer 2026GovernmentWashington, United States2—
Showing 1–20 of 523 founders
Benjamin Martindale
Founder/CEO·Donkey
PRIMARY INFO
RoleFounder/CEO
Team size7
BatchSummer 2026
LocationSan Francisco, United States
Company statusActive
StageEarly
BIO
Prev founded Prelude OS: 31 paying Chinese factory customers cold-acquired in 39 days on the ground in Guangzhou; cash-flow positive. Advised heavy-equipment giants Sany and Sinoboom on overseas expansion. Featured on Mango TV, China's largest media station: factory-floor interview segments and a named 13-minute personal profile. Ran a Toronto marketing company: $4M closed for construction clients in 6 months. Fluent Mandarin. Finance at Rotman Commerce, UofT; dropped a credit short.
Ex-company, school and discipline below are derived from this bio. Nothing is inferred when the bio is missing.
BACKGROUND
Credentialsnone mentioned
DisciplineBusinessKeyword match from the bio text, not a classifier.
TRACK RECORD
First YC company on record
COMPANY CONTEXT
DonkeyThe AI-native trading company: China factory-direct for US importers
Co-foundersMinghao Tan
