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So is this a sabbatical or is he actually stepping away from YC?
I am actually stepping away. You can think most clearly when unattached.
Garry, what about Quora? Will you still be active there? I am a bit of your fan on there..
Haha, I love Quora too. Yes, will do my best to help there.
>It's been a great time and I wanted to thank everyone for being awesome. PG, Jessica, Trevor, and RTM have built an enduring organization and I can't wait to see where my friends and partners take it.

Based on that line, I'd say he is stepping away from YC. The " I can't wait to see where my friends and partners take it"- He excluded himself.

Congratulations Gary!
Congrats Garry! Spending time with family. Thats what it's all about.
No thanks for, kudos to, or mention of sama... curious.
Thank you, Garry Tan.

Garry is one of the nicest, most helpful people I know. 5 years ago, he took a meeting with us, even though we had a barely functioning prototype, and helped us prep for our YC interview. After our first meeting, he even offered to meet up again. I was blown away by how generous he was with his time. We got into YC and he’s been an incredible advisor ever since.

He’s one of the few people I like to think of when I think of Silicon Valley at its best. He genuinely loves product and the creation process. He’s hugely helpful and he’s a great person, through and through.

Look forward to seeing what he does next!

> He’s one of the few people I like to think of when I think of Silicon Valley at its best.

Seriously, because the way SC people describe each other constantly would make one think the place is filled to the brim, exclusively, bursting with the nicest most generous people in existence!

Wow, that's a pair of shoes that will be very hard to fill. Enjoy your rest and I'm really curious what you'll be doing next.
I don't know Garry super well but in our few conversations I found him to be one of the smartest and most generous founders I've come across.

Enjoy the time away, Garry!

End of an era! While a lot of ex-founder partner/VC people seem to think mostly about nation-building, vision, and the marketing buzzwords you'd find on an analytics dashboard, Garry's advice is always extremely concrete and close the the metal. When success came, he never rolled down his sleeves and stopped building and that's something most of us around here can really respect.

Enjoy your time away Garry, excited to see what you build next!

Never got a chance to meet Garry but always enjoyed following his blog and the insights/advice he shared. He always seemed incredibly genuine and vested in the success of others. Best of luck in this next chapter, Garry!
Thanks Garry. I met you once in Waterloo, Canada in 2011, and you convinced me that I should start my own startup. I didn't start one yet, but I will be doing that some day following your advice.
Garry's advice and support throughout YC (and afterwards) was unparalleled, but more importantly, he's just a really good person. I'll never forget when he broke out Photoshop during office hours and redesigned our app on the spot!

Congrats and enjoy some much deserved time away!

You're one of a kind, my friend. Our industry needs more Garry Tans. So... I guess what I'm saying is make more babies!
Garry, you provided feedback on a YC application in 2008. Thanks again for the help then, and all the best moving forward.
Garry is an incredible person and like most remarkable people he is also deeply humble. This kindness and approachable spirit, I think, allow him to be a great student of founders, startups, and cultures. I've learned quite a bit from Garry about how systems evolve and operate. He is a very rare person and a gift to the startup world.

Thanks Garry for all that you've done for the YC community. I wish you the very best in this next leg of your journey.

One of the greatest (and nicest) guys around. Best of luck Garry!
Take care! One thing that I want to point out (and it's something I hate to point out) but would it be a good idea to edit out the upcoming trip and how long it'll be? Normally it's the best idea to not post, publicly, where you're going and how long you'll be gone for and Gary is semi-well known.

Just throwing that out there.

I'm curious why I was downvoted so much. This is a real safety issue that has been used to break into many homes. Why would my suggestion be bad / downvoted? I was hoping for at least ONE comment to tell me why they downvoted me =/
Don't you see?

If you're not licking the boot then it's a disservice. Blasphemy my friend, blasphemy.

Garry was the partner we leaned on most at Ridejoy. He believed in what we were doing, helped us cut through to the highest priority work, and gave us tough love when we needed it.

Thank you Garry for being an amazing YC partner. I'm sure we'll be hearing about what you work on next soon, and in the meantime, enjoy the well-deserved R&R!

Congratulations on a great tenure at YC and best wishes for whatever's next! Your advice and friendship at YC are one of my fondest memories of our time there.
Garry Tan provided some great feedback on my teams YC application, thanks man. I wish you the best moving forward!
Gary, our conversations were insightful and sharp. I always enjoyed the cut of your jib -- you'll be missed. Enjoy your adventure!
Thank you, Garry! Your perspective, advice and support was invaluable through YC.
Thank you Garry for everything you've helped me with. Good luck with your new adventure!