The author of the article didn't seem to come from a privileged background, and yet they achieved alignment (defined by the author as "started their own startup

The author of the article didn't seem to come from a privileged background, and yet they achieved alignment (defined by the author as "started their own startup"). The same is true for the vast majority of YC founders - all the ones I met come from less privileged background than the average Bay Area resident. This trend has accelerated recently with YC's increased effort to recruit from countries like India, Nigeria, etc (36% of the S20 companies were based outside the U.S.). You would think that by now, YC knows where to look for good startup founders. So if they are increasingly going to Africa to recruit founders, it tells you that at least in their experience, privilege is not a good metric to optimize for. Perhaps it's easier to succeed in finance or some other industry if you come from a privileged background, but in startups grit matters, and the privileged kids don't have it in the same amount as immigrants and anyone else who had to fight for survival.