[adam]

Having been through YC in the second batch in 2006 - their first one in California, and again in 2011, the differences were indeed pretty stark. In 2006, there were 8 startups. We knew each other well and we met with PG at his house a few times which obviously was pretty cool. He was also the one actually doing the cooking at the dinners! There was also lots of interaction with Trevor and Jessica and (less so) Robert. In 2011 there was no such type of interaction as they were just trying to figure out how to scale with 64 startups in the batch, outside money being involved, etc.

The other big difference no one has mentioned is the speakers that came to the dinners. They get the highest profile speakers now, but in 2006, the speakers would meet with each startup after their talk. You could demo to them and they'd give you feedback and personal advice. I distinctly remember a talk by Ev Williams about his failures at Blogger for example. Very raw and emotional. Some of the lessons I carry with me today, 12 years later, were from a few of those talks and after dinner conversations. In 2011 (and on) you're not getting close to one of those speakers unless you just so happen to get to sit by them at dinner.