That's unfair: YC doesn't bias against "outsiders". The point of YC is to find smart people with good ideas from anywhere. For example: you hear stories about

That's unfair: YC doesn't bias against "outsiders". The point of YC is to find smart people with good ideas from anywhere. For example: you hear stories about people flying around the world to interview. One of their main benefits is the connections they give you: connections they've cultivated with their "insider" clout. I would consider them a bridge between the insiders and outsiders: they take outsiders, find the best ones, and bring them in. However, even that's overstating the amount of insiderness that exists. It's amazing how easy it is to network your way into the valley fold. Sure, that requires you to actually be out here, but that's a byproduct of the benefits of in-person networking, not some kind of elite mentality. People have said it here several times already: TechCrunch caters to an audience. This audience likes to follow YCombinator, and Ron Conway, and a bunch of other well-known programs and people. It's business plain and simple, fairness doesn't come into play.