Aren't they two entirely different formats? In one, you're asking probing questions but it's a small group setting and with your longtime partners. In the other

Aren't they two entirely different formats? In one, you're asking probing questions but it's a small group setting and with your longtime partners. In the other you're in front of an audience and judging with folks you may or may not know. You've also screened the applicants for YC for ideas you'll want to probe deeply whereas the contest seems more about general business models and fit to markets. You'll invest your money just based on one meeting whereas the contests seem more like a chance to simply get a second meeting. It's the difference between rational dissections in YC versus blink assessments in the competitions. I don't see very many parallels, actually. In general, prizes awarded by judges in contests are not a very good predictor. Do you know of specific data here or is this your general impression? Some contest winners and close losers have seemed very impressive to me. And that's not just at TC50 but also from the DFJ and MIT competitions too.