I think nostrademons got it spot-on: Avoid public statements about how great YC is It is true, YC offers a great value. In my opinion, YC increases the expec

I think nostrademons got it spot-on: Avoid public statements about how great YC is It is true, YC offers a great value. In my opinion, YC increases the expected return of a startup by 2-10x. But let others sing YC's praises - it will sound a lot better than if it's coming from the principals. For example, this: "Angels and VCs who don't go to this are missing some of the best innovations," says Ron Conway, the Valley's most celebrated angel investor. Sounds a lot better than this: When Graham calls the winners, the founders have only five minutes to accept. "If people turn us down," he says, "as far as we're concerned they've failed an IQ test." Here's some other suggestions: 1: Like nostrademons already said, data that seems objective is good. Here's a test to find out if YC really does increase the expected return of startups by 2-10x: compare the stats (values if they're available, or maybe just alexa web traffic) of top 2n applicants from previous funding rounds (where n is the number funded in that round). I bet 90% of the most successful ones were YC funded. If readers object to your sample selection, then use the entire population of applicants. My guess is that the majority of successful ones will still be those that were YC funded. 2: As an introvert (which I expect many of us are), I have had to come up with rules for social interaction. One is to ALWAYS credit others for my success. Nobody likes to hear "I'm so successful because of ME, and If you don't think so, you have a low IQ" In YC's situation, you might consider spending more time stressing that YC's success is a function of the teams YC invests in, and even the support of the community that surrounds YC. Focus on how those around YC have played a part and its success. 2. News.YC, the Startup School, and Founders at Work were great steps forwards in that regard These projects are very inclusive, and YC is being very generous by running them. Spend more time stressing these projects, instead of events that might appear more "clubby." For example, instead of talking about the attendees of founder dinners, talk about the fantastic speakers you got at the last startup school, and then mention that it's an event hosted for free by YC. Maybe the founder's program was the focus of the article - and the writer wasn't interested in Startup School. In that case, when you talk about the founder dinners - stress that you cook them yourself. That's the kind of stuff people like to hear about.