About
James Zhang previously worked at Stripe and Notion. He co-founded Polly, a social platform used by millions of teenagers, and Whale, a short-form video Q&A service, following participation in Y Combinator's S17 batch.
Founder at PollyYC S17
Intro paths
YC
James went through Y Combinator (Summer 2017) β any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.
β
In turn, James can intro founders to Polly's investors below.
Polly's investors Β· 2
Co-founders at Polly
RL
Ranidu LankageFounder/CEO
VA
Vicc AlexanderFounder, Head of Mobile & Design
Experience
- OpenAIMember of Technical Staffcurrent2025 β presentNew York, NY
- NotionEngineering Manager2023 β 2025New York, New York, United States
- StripeEngineering Manager2020 β 2023New York, New York, United States
- StripeSoftware Engineer2018 β 2020San Francisco, California, United States
- The Beat Drop Inc.Cofounder & CTO2015 β 2018San Francisco, California, United States
- WistiaSoftware Engineer2013 β 2015Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Frequently asked questions
- Who is James Zhang?
- James Zhang previously worked at Stripe and Notion. He co-founded Polly, a social platform used by millions of teenagers, and Whale, a short-form video Q&A service, following participation in Y Combinator's S17 batch.
- Where does James Zhang work?
- James Zhang is Founder of Polly.
- What companies did James Zhang found?
- James Zhang founded Polly.
- Where did James Zhang go to school?
- James Zhang studied at Cornell University; Y Combinator.
Founder mafias
Y Combinator mafia8,773
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3Jessica LivingstonCo-founderFounded Y CombinatorAlexis OhanianYC Summer 2005Founded RedditFred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded Nudge +1Matt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded HotspotsTrae StephensYC Winter 2022Founded Pursuit +1
+ 8,766 more
Y Combinator mafia4,716
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Ryan SheaEntrepreneurshipFounded StacksTarek MansourFounded KalshiSuhail DoshiEating beans & riceFounded Playground +1Subomi OluwalanaW22Founded ConvoyDarius "Bubs" MonsefS19Founded Sightbox +3Matthew ScholzFounded Oisin Biotechnologies +3
+ 4,709 more
Cornell University mafia218
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
John ZimmerBSFounded Lyft +1Ian JanickiBachelors of ArchitectureFounded Outfit +2Ryan XueBachelor of Science (B.Sc.)Founded Andco +2Don MuirDyson School of BusinessFounded Arc +2Uri LopatinBAFounded Pardes Biosciences +1David SteinbergBAFounded Restorbio +1
+ 211 more
Stripe mafia91
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Matt HuangBoard MemberFounded HotspotsPatrick CollisonCo-founder & CEOFounded AuctomaticGreg BrockmanFounding Engineer, then first CTOFounded OpenAIDaniela AmodeiEarly employee β Risk ManagerFounded AnthropicArvid LunnemarkSoftware EngineeringFounded CursorParker ConradMember Board of DirectorsFounded Zenefits +1
+ 84 more
OpenAI mafia68
Also came through, then founded or led a company.
Reid HoffmanBoard MemberFounded LinkedIn +2Sam AltmanCo-founder & CEOFounded Tools for Humanity +2Elon MuskCo-founder & former Co-chair / board memberFounded PayPal +5Ilya SutskeverCo-founder & Chief ScientistFounded Safe SuperintelligenceAravind SrinivasResearch ScientistFounded PerplexityDario AmodeiVP of ResearchFounded Anthropic
+ 61 more
Same school
Also attended Cornell University748
Doug LeonePartner at Sequoia Capital; former Global Managing PartnerJenny LeeSenior Managing Partner at Granite AsiaNeeraj AgrawalGeneral Partner at Battery VenturesJohn ZimmerCo-founder of LyftMichelle FernandesInvestor at Index VenturesMicah RosenbloomGeneral Partner at Founder Collective
+ 742 more
Also attended Y Combinator2,000
Tarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of KalshiSuhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of ParticleSubomi OluwalanaCo-founder & CEO of ConvoyMaroof AhmedFounder at Octopus VenturesJustin SwartPartner at Bitkraft Esports VenturesCollin WallaceGeneral Partner at Lobby Capital
+ 1,994 more
Shared employers
Also worked at OpenAI133
Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockPat GradyPartner at Sequoia CapitalGreg BrockmanCo-founder & President of OpenAIIlya SutskeverCo-founder of OpenAI; co-founder & CEO of Safe SuperintelligenceAravind SrinivasCo-founder & CEO of Perplexity AIDario AmodeiCo-founder & CEO of Anthropic
+ 127 more
Also worked at Notion33
Danny RimerPartner at Index VenturesJosh KopelmanFounder and Partner at First Round CapitalPat GradyPartner at Sequoia CapitalAydin SenkutFounder & Managing Partner at FelicisAustin HayInvestor at Khosla VenturesEmily MeltonInvestor at Threshold Ventures
+ 27 more
Also worked at Stripe186
Hemant TanejaCEO & Managing Director of General CatalystMatt HuangCo-founder and Managing Partner at ParadigmLuciana LixandruPartner at Sequoia CapitalPatrick CollisonCo-founder & CEO of StripeJohn CollisonCo-founder & President of StripeGreg BrockmanCo-founder & President of OpenAI
+ 180 more
