Key takeaways
- Founders get more from operators, investors and product thinkers on X than from framework authors.
- A short feed of sharp accounts is easier to keep up with than a long one.
- TechTwitter IO lists real accounts by field for free and runs a satirical daily paper for a quick catch-up.
If you run a company, the tech people to follow on X are the operators, investors and builders who explain how decisions get made, plus a few reporters who tell you what changed this week. The quickest way to find them is TechTwitter IO's free list of real accounts, grouped by field; this version pulls the picks that matter most to founders and operators.
Why an operator's feed looks different
An engineer follows people for code. A founder follows people for judgment: pricing, hiring, fundraising, product calls and which markets are moving. That means fewer framework authors and more people who have run something. Keep the list short. A feed of a few dozen sharp accounts beats one of hundreds you scroll past.
Founders and CEOs who still post
- Paul Graham (@paulg) co-founded Y Combinator. His essays are a common starting point for new founders.
- Garry Tan (@garrytan) leads Y Combinator as president and CEO.
- Patrick Collison (@patrickc) runs Stripe and co-founded the Arc Institute. He posts on science and his reading list.
- Tobi Lütke (@tobi) is Shopify's CEO and still writes code.
- Jason Fried (@jasonfried) co-founded 37signals and writes about calm companies and small teams.
- Amjad Masad (@amasad) runs Replit and shares what people build with its agent.
Investors who explain their thinking
Elad Gil (@eladgil) wrote High Growth Handbook and writes about AI markets. Naval Ravikant (@naval) co-founded AngelList and posts short notes on building wealth and startups. Nat Friedman (@natfriedman) used to run GitHub and now invests in AI. Read them for the reasoning, not the deal flow.
Product and growth thinkers
| Account | What you get |
|---|---|
| @shreyas | Threads on product judgment from a leader at Stripe, Twitter and Google |
| @lennysan | Researched advice on product, growth and careers |
| @nikitabier | Consumer product lessons from the former head of product at X |
| @gregisenberg | Startup ideas and The Startup Ideas Podcast |
Bootstrappers who share numbers
If you are not raising, follow people who build without venture money. Pieter Levels (@levelsio) runs several products alone. Arvid Kahl (@arvidkahl) builds Podscan in public. Jon Yongfook (@yongfook) runs Bannerbear solo, and Courtland Allen (@csallen) founded Indie Hackers. Several of them post their revenue, which makes their lessons easy to check against your own.
Reporters and analysts
Ben Thompson (@benthompson) writes Stratechery on strategy and business models. Mark Gurman (@markgurman) covers Apple for Bloomberg. Kylie Robison (@kyliebytes) writes about AI companies and their leaders. For the raw headline stream, @Techmeme posts editor-picked stories.
A lighter way to stay current
The hardest part of following tech people on X is the time it takes. TechTwitter IO's daily paper is the easy fix for founders: a free, satirical front page of the week's launches, layoffs and feuds, plus puzzles. It is parody, so treat it as the funny read and keep a real source like Techmeme for facts. Its who-to-follow page is where to build the list above, and readers can suggest accounts it is missing.
If your company lives on LinkedIn more than X, that is where your buyers are, and you should build your list there first.
Frequently asked questions
Which tech people should a founder follow on X?
Paul Graham, Patrick Collison, Tobi Lütke and Jason Fried are good starts, with Elad Gil and Shreyas Doshi for markets and product.
Who should bootstrapped founders follow?
Pieter Levels, Arvid Kahl, Jon Yongfook and Courtland Allen build without venture money and share what they learn.
Can I use TechTwitter IO for news?
Use it for laughs. It is satire, so get facts from Techmeme or the reporters on the list.
Sources
- How to get into tech Twitter: who to followTechTwitter IO
- TechTwitter IO, today's paperTechTwitter IO
