Gabriel Jarrosson has taken an unusual approach to venture investing: he only backs startups that come out of Y Combinator.
The French engineer, former founder, and YouTuber is the managing partner of Lobster Capital, which recently closed its debut fund at $12 million, beating its $8 million target. According to SEC filings, a larger second fund is already in the works.
Jarrosson began his journey in 2017 with a YouTube channel documenting his investing experiences in French, which grew into one of Europe’s largest angel syndicates. Since 2020, that syndicate has deployed $36 million, mostly into YC-backed startups.
His thesis is simple: YC companies statistically outperform their peers. Roughly 4.5% of YC startups become unicorns, compared to 2.5% for other venture-backed seed-stage companies. Around 45% advance to Series A, higher than the 33% average. YC has funded more than 90 unicorns, including a quarter that became decacorns.
“VC math is about outcomes. If the company can become the next unicorn, it’s often worth investing even at a slightly higher valuation,” Jarrosson Said.
Like many early-stage investors, Lobster Capital is riding the AI startup wave, with recent YC batches posting record-breaking ARR growth. While some critics note that the traction may be inflated by pilots or churn-heavy contracts, Jarrosson insists that early revenue remains the hardest milestone.
Jarrosson credits his visibility on social media, podcasts, and reputation within YC’s founder network for securing allocations in competitive Demo Days. Founders rate investors on YC’s internal platform, Bookface, and Jarrosson says his track record as a founder gives him credibility.
Related: Y Combinator Summer 2025 Demo Day Highlights AI Agents, Infrastructure, and Breakout Startups
He is part of a growing group of VCs building firms on personal brands, citing Harry Stebbings (20VC) and Garry Tan (Initialized Capital, now YC CEO) as inspirations. His content strategy not only attracts deal flow but also helps bring in limited partners.
So far, Jarrosson has backed more than 100 startups through his syndicate and Lobster Capital, including Jeeves, Baubap, FlutterFlow, Metriport, Alinea, and Jiga. The portfolio already counts two unicorns and several “soonicorns.”
“YC has the track record. Even if results stay the same, it’s a very good bet,” Jarrosson said.
Lobster Capital joins a small but growing group of firms, including Initialized, Pioneer Fund, Phosphor Capital, and Rebel Fund, that center their strategy entirely on YC-backed founders.
