My thoughts went to SaaS startups in particular when reading the essay - most are highly conventional and seem largely a result of VC-like market analysis and a

My thoughts went to SaaS startups in particular when reading the essay - most are highly conventional and seem largely a result of VC-like market analysis and application of a well-honed SaaS playbook, not some place where unconventional and novel thinking is deployed and benign ignorance of a market is desirable. The only surprise as an outsider is really the size some markets turn out to be, not the decision to go into the market nor the solution settled upon. This suggests to me many/most are started by people looking for a relatively conventional experience, just with a bit more appetite for risk. None of the attributes for these positions are required in much greater degree than elsewhere in tech - curiosity, resistance to being told what to think, or fastidiousness to truth. Perhaps it's a testament to YC's success that the choice to found a startup is more accessible to 'conventional thinkers' these days. No value judgment - we should let a thousand flowers bloom! - but the conflation of startups to the above attributes of 'independent thinkers' is perhaps overblown.