Founders

How often olympiad medalists, Thiel Fellows and YC founders build a company that reaches $100M revenue

By Yoram Wijngaarde and Dealroom API October 27, 2026

Among companies founded from 2005 to 2019, 4.6% of Thiel Fellows built one with $100M+ annual revenue, against 3.8% of YC founders, 3.1% of informatics olympiad medalists, 2.8% of maths medalists and 1.3% of all VC-backed founders. YC companies from those years reached a $1B valuation 2.8 times as often as VC-backed companies overall: 4.8% against 1.7%.