I think the better take is to not treat YC as the gatekeeper to your success, 1. Its hard to get into 2. tons of great companies have been started that didn't

I think the better take is to not treat YC as the gatekeeper to your success, 1. Its hard to get into 2. tons of great companies have been started that didn't go through YC (in fact with a few exceptions almost all of them) 3. its a great opportunity, but most of the companies that get into YC, don't amount to jack just getting in doesn't mean you've made it, and there is no reason you can't make if you don't calculus is similar to what I'd tell a high school kid about going to Harvard, if you happen to get to go cool, its a great opportunity, but you shouldn't treat that as the gatekeeper to your success