I'm not sure which mental model is correct, but if you think the value of the YC ecosystem scales at Θ(N²)... The correct scaling for social networks is almost

I'm not sure which mental model is correct, but if you think the value of the YC ecosystem scales at Θ(N²)... The correct scaling for social networks is almost always n log(n). See http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/metcalfe.pdf http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/metcalfe.pdf for a collection of arguments using various measures that all conclude that that is the right scaling laws.