Yes an no. I don't know that pg is any better than average at picking winners and losers, but he's found an efficient way to put a little skin in the game with

Yes an no. I don't know that pg is any better than average at picking winners and losers, but he's found an efficient way to put a little skin in the game with a lot of players and set himself up as an arbiter of quality. "If Paul's invested, we [insert A-list VC] should at least give them a meeting." Also, there's YC, then there's pg's personal portfolio. I would guess that he personally invests in companies that get big A and B rounds, but that's only a guess. The seed-funded companies are like the minor leaguers. The institutional rounds allow him to bet on the major leaguers. Dropbox and AirBnB are the All Stars, and it wouldn't surprise me if he doubled down again on those guys. I certainly would.