It likely has nothing to do with YC. Since the dawn of time builders have partnered with popularizers in search of building wealth or power; that's not new. F

It likely has nothing to do with YC. Since the dawn of time builders have partnered with popularizers in search of building wealth or power; that's not new. For MBA's, the easy money is in consulting, financial engineering, or monopolizing enterprises - mergers, crypto, pharma, etc. Tech startup's are typically a romantic sideline for those who want some added meaning. But now that deals, consulting, and crypto are dead for the moment, tech startup's look like a good way to go long or at least keep busy until the river runs fast again. Against this influx, YC still has technical achievement as a barrier to entry and natural moat. The real question is not hackers vs MBA's, but how honest investors are with each other. Some might latch on to exciting but opaque technologies, knowing they could sell them in later rounds to other investors. Conversely, later-round investors might only work with early-round investors who provide excellent accurate insight into the viability of technologies. New, hungry investors might give up more insight, while established ones jealously defend opportunities in their space. Investor cohorts might flow in and out with political or currency tides unrelated to opportunity. The investor signal is much stronger than the market signal. Profitable companies now are cutting employees AND doing stock buy-back's and dividends, to satisfy investors. The same is likely true at YC. YC deals reflect investor interest and shape the next generation of companies. Let's hope they stop veering from disruption to destruction (and from self-interest to divisiveness), and start figuring out how to reduce coordination costs of all our new prosthetic powers without reducing everything to a bureaucratic corporation.