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On the flipside, it could be that Y Combinator has made a lot of money by creating an environment that helps startups succeed. Apart from money, they provide fo
by tikhonj 9y ago
On the flipside, it could be that Y Combinator has made a lot of money by creating an environment that helps startups succeed. Apart from money, they provide founders advice, structure and a set of motivated peers. More cynically, they also provide prestige, validation and connections.
I have no doubt Y Combinator would still be successful even if their selection method was not very good. (I tend to think about top universities the same way—the quality of Harvard's admissions process is not the core reason they graduate so many successful students.)
- raverbashing 9y agoYeah, it's probable that a couple of teams are less stellar than others, they can probably work it out though It would be interesting to know about some companies that don't get to Demo day or that doesn't put out a great presentation
- tylerhou 9y agoPersonally, I feel like the success of Harvard students is mostly selection bias with respect to their admissions department - i.e., everyone who gets into Harvard would be successful anywhere else. But then again, I was just rejected from Harvard, so you might want to take my opinion with a grain of salt.
- thaumasiotes 9y agoStudies of people accepted to Harvard but who chose to attend other schools support your theory.
- tylerhou 9y agoI also thought that, but I couldn’t find any references to any of those studies when I was writing my comment. Do you happen to know where I could find them?