The point is not to get into YC, but to work for a YC-funded company, or more generally, in any exciting development environment. Being a good employee requires

The point is not to get into YC, but to work for a YC-funded company, or more generally, in any exciting development environment. Being a good employee requires certain skills, skills which don't always heavily overlap with the skills required to be a founder. A founder has to have drive and vision, the ability to motivate others, and the wherewithal to see things through to completion, among other things. A good employee's main traits include working efficiently and communicating effectively (in my experience, in any job). Some people are capable of producing great work when given a little direction and prodding. Those same people may iterate endlessly and have trouble finishing things when working independently. Thus, there is an entire class of good workers who will almost by definition not have the types of independent projects that many hiring startups are so keen to see.