"We realized early on that the founders matter more than the idea, " Graham says.

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Four months later he flew to San Francisco to pitch his idea to Paul Graham of incubator Y Combinator.

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If its dreams are serious, the Administration should get behind a crackling good idea proposed by entrepreneur Paul Graham.

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Obama raised the idea of a dinner during a phone conversation with Graham earlier this week and asked the South Carolina senator to put together the guest list, a White House official said.

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On flexibility, Graham says he asks entrepreneurs if they would consider a different related idea.

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That prompted Mr. Graham to launch a program targeting groups that don't have an idea yet.

WSJ: 'Pivoting' Pays Off for Tech Entrepreneurs

The start-ups in the tech incubator Y Combinator, whose acceptance rate is less than 3%, change products and markets so frequently that the idea they applied with is often irrelevant to the final product, says founder Paul Graham.

WSJ: 'Pivoting' Pays Off for Tech Entrepreneurs