# Yin Wu

> Yin Wu is the co-founder and CEO of Pulley, a San Francisco-based equity management platform that has raised $50M and serves over 5,000 startups. A four-time founder and three-time Y Combinator alumnus (S11, S13, W20), she previously built Echo, an Android lock screen app that hit 5 million downloads before being acquired by Microsoft in 2015 (becoming Microsoft Launcher). She founded Pulley in 2019 after a short stint building a blockchain project, driven by a mission to give founders the same informational edge on equity that investors have always had.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Pulley
- **Organizations:** Pulley, Y Combinator, Microsoft, DIRT Protocol, Echo (Double Labs), Prim, AdRaid
- **From:** Louisville, Kentucky, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Computer Science (did not complete degree), Stanford University, Finalist, Intel Science Talent Search
- **Known for:** Three-time Y Combinator alumnus (S11, S13, W20) - rare distinction, Sold Echo (Double Labs) to Microsoft in 2015; became Microsoft Launcher with 5M+ downloads, Built Pulley to serve 5,000+ startups and raise $50.2M in total funding

## Career timeline

- **pre-2007** — Grew up in Louisville, Kentucky; learned to code in high school to support science fair projects; became a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search
- **2007** — Enrolled at Stanford University, studying computer science; served as co-president of the Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurs and helped organize Y Combinator's Startup School
- **2009** — Took time off from Stanford to work at an NGO in Kenya focused on environmental sustainability and farmer income diversification
- **2011** — Founded AdRaid (video ad tech), accepted into Y Combinator S11; raised $1M post-demo day but shut down within a year
- **2013** — Founded Prim, a same-day laundry delivery service, through Y Combinator S13; closed in January 2014
- **2014** — Founded Echo (Double Labs), an Android smart lock screen app utilizing machine learning for notification prioritization
- **2015** — Sold Echo to Microsoft in September 2015; the product became Microsoft Launcher with over 5 million downloads
- **2015-2018** — Worked at Microsoft as software engineer and PM on LOOP (background contextual services, location intelligence, Android system apps)
- **2017-2018** — Founded DIRT Protocol, a blockchain project for decentralized information curation; raised $3M from General Catalyst, Greylock, Pantera, and Fred Ehrsam
- **2019** — Co-founded Pulley with Mark Erdmann in October 2019 after the crypto bear market ended the DIRT Protocol venture
- **2020** — Pulley accepted into Y Combinator W20; raised $125K seed from YC; launched publicly in October 2020 with $10M Series A led by Stripe
- **2022** — Pulley raised $40M Series B led by Founders Fund (Keith Rabois) at $250M valuation; launched Pulley Seed free tier
- **2024** — Pulley accelerated dramatically after competitor Carta's controversy; added ~400 new customers in February alone; 70% of recent YC graduates on Pulley; company expected to triple 2023 revenue

## Achievements

- Three-time Y Combinator alumnus (S11, S13, W20) - rare distinction
- Sold Echo (Double Labs) to Microsoft in 2015; became Microsoft Launcher with 5M+ downloads
- Built Pulley to serve 5,000+ startups and raise $50.2M in total funding
- Intel Science Talent Search finalist in high school
- Co-president of Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurs
- Helped organize early Y Combinator Startup School events
- Led Pulley to a $250M valuation at Series B with Founders Fund backing
- 70% of recent YC graduates use Pulley as their cap table platform

## Latest updates

- **2024-10** — Pulley serves over 5,000 companies, with 70% of recent YC graduates on the platform; company on track to triple 2023 revenue
- **2024-02** — Pulley added ~400 new customers in February following Carta's controversy over secondary trading practices; demo requests increased 8x month-over-month
- **2022-07** — Pulley raised $40M Series B led by Founders Fund at $250M valuation; launched Pulley Seed free tier for early-stage startups

## Links

- Website: https://pulley.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ywu01
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/yinyinwu

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/yin-wu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-07