This was a frequently asked question, answered by Adora Cheung in a Q&A with all partners of YC. According to her, domain expertise is not something that should

This was a frequently asked question, answered by Adora Cheung in a Q&A with all partners of YC. According to her, domain expertise is not something that should hold you back. You should, however, become an expert within 1-2 years. But I have to wonder, if she had proper domain knowledge of the cleaning industry, maybe she would've known that her idea will not work at all. Same would be applicable to all the founders jumping into the food industry. If they were aware of the terrifying economics, maybe they'd be able to avoid burning VC dollars on poor ideas.