pg talked about this last year before Startup School. The gist is that they are always modifying their methods for acceptance and that sometimes, they miss foun

pg talked about this last year before Startup School. The gist is that they are always modifying their methods for acceptance and that sometimes, they miss founders who later go on to be successful elsewhere. Indeed, pg said that because they have a massive amount of historical data (i.e. previously funded companies) they use this to guide their selection process during each batch. I've applied 3-4 times over the years. We got the interview once a couple years ago but not accepted, and had a phone call with Harj early this year but not the interview. So the point is that while knowing people who know people is useful, it's not necessary. The team is really looking at who the founders are, what kind of stuff they've built, how they get along and more. This fellow pulled the strings he could and was impressive enough that it worked. Final thing to note is that he's a solo founder. They almost never accept solos, because it most often takes a team to be successful. This guy was exceptional himself, and he proved it, which is why they accepted him. (Note: I don't know the founder at all. These are just my suppositions based on previous experience and encounters with the team.)