Depends on the person. If you're talking about a 60 year old CEO of a public company, you're probably right. They'd never tell you anything. But the 30 year o

Depends on the person. If you're talking about a 60 year old CEO of a public company, you're probably right. They'd never tell you anything. But the 30 year old founder of a still-private tech startup is a different matter. I've learned all sorts of things I never knew from the YC speakers. In fact I'd say these talks have been my biggest single source of info about what actually happened in the early days of famous startups.