Sam Stein

Yo, so I gotta tell you about Sam Stein. The dude’s kinda a beast. He’s part of YC’s W23 batch, which is already a big deal, but what really sticks out is his whole process. It’s like he’s been jumping from one big thing to another, always pushing to build stuff that actually matters.

Started out, he’s been deep in the game of finance and real estate – worked at Citi, got some serious chops in banking. Then he jumped into real estate investing with his family biz, Stein Brothers LLC. Not just messing around, he’s out here putting his money where his mouth is, learning the ropes and understanding the market from the ground up.

But he’s not just about making a quick buck. Nah, he’s got that entrepreneurial fire. He started and ran a couple of companies – So Great Foods and Great American Plant Co. – going all-in on building brands from scratch. That shows he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty, test shit out, and learn by doing.

Then, around 2022, he co-founded Trigo Data, which is his current big thing. It’s a YC-backed startup, and it’s all about rent verification APIs – basically, making it way easier for landlords and lenders to verify people’s rent history. That’s some real-deal fintech/proptech stuff, and it’s super needed. The fact that he’s the CEO means he’s got that vision and hustle to turn ideas into real products that solve real problems.

What’s crazy is, his process shows a clear pattern: dude’s all about understanding the core of how money, real estate, and data work, then building tools to make life easier for everyone involved. He’s been in finance, real estate, food, and now tech – all connected by the common theme of creating solutions that are practical and expandable.

He’s clearly driven by that entrepreneurial itch – not just to start companies, but to make an impact. The way he’s jumped from finance to investing to running companies, now to building a fintech API – it’s like he’s always chasing the next big problem to solve.

Long story short, Sam Stein is one of those guys who’s been in the trenches, understands the nuts and bolts of finance and real estate, but also has the vision and guts to go after high-impact tech ideas. That’s why he’s important. He’s not just another founder; he’s someone who’s been grinding in the background, learning, failing, winning, and now he’s crushing it with Trigo. No cap, he’s someone to watch.