I am an outsider who observed YC companies and their founders for a while. YC is an institution in the VC world and YC is extremely specific about what people

I am an outsider who observed YC companies and their founders for a while. YC is an institution in the VC world and YC is extremely specific about what people they want in their program. But you have to understand the people running YC has probably told many many founders "I am not going to spoonfeed you everything, figure that sh*t on your own". YC will give you the initial boost and you make up what you want to make up for it. Making it to YC doesn't mean you are going to be a unicorn and they know it. Considering the amount of people they take in, it is not possible to make everyone special. I think the picking criteria explcitely mentions that there are companies that are actually too good for YC meaning that they can certainly generate a sustainable income but they just don't fit the bill. The bill is about, a VC who is a startup founder. When the dust settles you either get a founder of a successful company or a VC who came from a failed or acquired startup. That is what I see standing from outside. YC want people who fit the VC personality and posses the youth and the desparation of scaling up a startup. Someone who can work incredibly hard and shake hands with the sweater vest people. I honestly don't think the startup aspect has much to do with. It doesn't have to be one person, they want this very particular personality trait shared among the co-founders. This is not a criticism at all. But I think YC doesn't want companies they want people. Some people are just not that.