Thanks for the additions. Don't know much about RethinkDB, but as for the others: Reddit is a great example of founders without pedigree. Although it hasn't be

Thanks for the additions. Don't know much about RethinkDB, but as for the others: Reddit is a great example of founders without pedigree. Although it hasn't been too successful as a company, it's created phenomenal value for its users. I definitely spend more time on Reddit than Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat/Twitter combined. I'd say Waterloo is elite in the tech sense, and Apoorva worked at Amazon in fulfillment, so it made a lot of sense in the specific case of Instacart. Mixpanel was being advised by Max Levchin from before they applied to YC. He became their first big customer and helped them with every funding round, and probably put in a good word with YC when they applied[0]. Another YC alum, Amplitude, which is founded by MIT grads, is now giving Mixpanel a run for their money[1,2]. I don't know Suhail or Tim, but I can't imagine the average ASU dropout's experience would be anything like theirs. 0: http://www.businessinsider.com/mixpanel-ceo-suhail-doshi-and-max-levchin-2015-3 http://www.businessinsider.com/mixpanel-ceo-suhail-doshi-and... 1: https://amplitude.com/blog/2016/01/07/mixpanel-power-user-amplitude/ https://amplitude.com/blog/2016/01/07/mixpanel-power-user-am... 2: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10869419 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10869419