I agree with @ajju. The article claims to be unbiased but "isolationist" and "cookie cutter" are neither objective, nor appropriate ways to describe the YC pro

I agree with @ajju. The article claims to be unbiased but "isolationist" and "cookie cutter" are neither objective, nor appropriate ways to describe the YC process. Not only have I formed amazing friendships through a very adequate amount of time with the other YC founders in w2011, but I've slept on their couches, gone out drinking, and leaned on them for plenty of support, as have they with our team. What I got by being "isolated" was an even stronger bond with my own team, which I wouldn't trade for anything. As for cookie cutter presentations, when you're presenting 40+ companies, investors simply cannot sit through 8 minute presos. More importantly, PG doesn't cram you into a room with 800 people. He breaks Demo Day into several events. It lets you mingle with nearly every single person you want to after your pitch. It also means that, if you have one bad presentation, you didn't mess up for the whole group. It sounds like TechStars gets through that by having you practice a lot more, but I have to agree with PG that it's not a good use of your time and I don't recall any of our companies having a hard time presenting very well. At the end of the day, TechStars sounds like an incredible opportunity. While a comparison might be helpful in choosing which one is right for your company, I think anybody should consider themselves lucky for getting into either program.