The 35-year old cut-off could be considered gender-specific. The problem with this is that there is no 35 year old cutoff. Why does YCombinator have a high per

The 35-year old cut-off could be considered gender-specific. The problem with this is that there is no 35 year old cutoff. Why does YCombinator have a high percentage of people in their 20s? People in their 20s are just more likely to be willing to try to do something like Y-Combinator. It's a difficult program to do if you're 40, have a well paying job, a family, and a mortgage, regardless of your gender. If you're a 40 year old person I'm sure you are more than welcome to apply to Y Combinator and that your age will not play a part in the selection process. I don't have the numbers, but I'm sure the vast majority of people that apply are in their 20s. I'm in a startup incubator in Utah called BoomStartup, and while we also have very few women (1 out of ~25 or 30 founders) the average age is probably closer to 40 than to 20.