This profile has not been claimed and data may not be accurate.
Founder290
75th percentile
Investor0
Serial FounderUnicorn FounderIPOAcquired2 ExitsRaised $200M+1,000+ Employees
Founder Matrix
Most Complimentary
Credibility
this founder typical founder (50th pct)
GTM / Distribution · 93th percentile
- Majestic Million bonus: businesswire.com (rank 332) is in the Majestic Million, associated with the Sendwave acquisition announcement.
- Hacker News karma of 2,362 places @lincolnq in the 2,000–9,999 tier.
- Posted 20 or more stories on Hacker News as @lincolnq (20 posts recorded).
- Active on Hacker News as @lincolnq with 2,362 karma and an account dating to 2008.
- Top Hacker News post 'Facebook deleted their Python SDK repository without warning' received 150 points.
- Majestic Million bonus: effectivealtruism.org (rank 27,873) is in the Majestic Million, featuring Lincoln Quirk's co-founder story.
Founder score
- 99%Probability of being accurate (99%)Raised $247.6M per Wave Mobile Money Holdings Inc.'s SEC Form D filing.
- 97%Probability of being accurate (97%)Exit: Sendwave was acquired by WorldRemit for approximately $500M in cash and stock.
- 97%Probability of being accurate (97%)Co-founded both Sendwave and Wave with Drew Durbin, confirming co-founder relationships.
- 95%Probability of being accurate (95%)Exit: Wave Mobile Money went public (IPO), confirmed by SEC filings and grounded facts.
- 90%Probability of being accurate (90%)Current founder of a political pro-democracy startup as of January 2026.
- 90%Probability of being accurate (90%)Hacker News karma of 2,362 places @lincolnq in the 2,000–9,999 tier.
- 90%Probability of being accurate (90%)Active on Hacker News as @lincolnq with 2,362 karma and an account dating to 2008.
- 85%Probability of being accurate (85%)Past founder of Newsbrane.
- 85%Probability of being accurate (85%)Posted 20 or more stories on Hacker News as @lincolnq.
- 85%Probability of being accurate (85%)Top Hacker News post 'Facebook deleted their Python SDK repository without warning' received 150 points.
- 80%Probability of being accurate (80%)Majestic Million bonus: businesswire.com (rank 332) is in the Majestic Million, associated with the Sendwave acquisition announcement.
- 70%Probability of being accurate (70%)Majestic Million bonus: effectivealtruism.org (rank 27,873) is in the Majestic Million, featuring Lincoln Quirk's co-founder story.
Investor score
No signal on this dimension.
What you likely need
Lincoln is a high-signal serial founder with two major exits (Sendwave acquired for ~$500M, Wave IPO) and is now building a new pro-democracy startup. His technical depth, effective-altruism network, and Africa fintech credibility are powerful assets, but his new venture is in its earliest days and will need to establish credibility in a very different domain. The priority right now is translating his fintech reputation into political-tech traction.
Are these your current priorities?
We will tune and customize your Founder Festival experience to make sure you get invited to the events that would be most valuable to you.
- introsTap your effective altruism and Founders Pledge networks early — they are unusually aligned with pro-democracy missions and can provide both capital and introductions to policy stakeholders.
- positioningPublish a clear public narrative (blog post or essay) explaining why you moved from African fintech to pro-democracy work — your credibility transfer depends on voters and funders understanding the through-line.
- fundraisingRaise a seed round quickly from mission-aligned investors (e.g., Open Philanthropy, Democracy Fund Ventures, or your existing Wave-era backers like Founders Fund and Stripe) before the 2026 election cycle accelerates.
- hiringRecruit a co-founder or senior hire with deep political/policy domain expertise to complement your technical and product background — the pro-democracy space rewards insider credibility.
- tacticalLaunch a 'Show HN' post for your new startup — your existing @lincolnq account has 2,362 karma and a history of traction there, giving you a warm technical audience for early feedback.
- positioningProactively brief political-tech journalists on your background — the Wave IPO and Sendwave acquisition are strong proof-of-execution that most pro-democracy founders cannot match.
- wellbeingGive yourself explicit runway to explore the new domain before committing to a specific product — your past exits mean you have financial flexibility, and the political space rewards patience over speed-to-launch.