You can be hugely successful without YC investment (or any investor). No one seriously thinks YC is necessary - nor do I understand why you'd think Martin think

You can be hugely successful without YC investment (or any investor). No one seriously thinks YC is necessary - nor do I understand why you'd think Martin thinks that. However, the question is whether YC can help or not. Could the Google founders have benefited from YC? Could Zuckerberg? In retrospect it was unnecessary, but that couldn't have been known at the time. And I think the answer to that question is certainly yes. All the benefits Martin enumerates in his essay apply equally to people who become very successful.