I think the point of the essays and this community is to give startups an idea of the sort of advice they'll be getting [1]. Any "specific" advice would either

I think the point of the essays and this community is to give startups an idea of the sort of advice they'll be getting [1]. Any "specific" advice would either be too close to the issues to have any meaning outside the company. As far as I can tell, PG has no qualms about "trade secrets"--if he thinks the advice would benefit everyone starting up a company, he will probably write an essay about it. If those ideas and themes resonate with you, you have an idea of what benefits you'll reap from the support of the YC staff. [1] Work hard to create wealth. ( http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html http://www.paulgraham.com/start.html )