[dsr_]

Consider that the overwhelming majority of startups don't make a positive exit/acquisition/IPO... but in a group as large as YCW19, some of them will. (That being the entire purpose of YC.)

Assume your prospective employees are economically rational. They have a couple of offers on the table, identical as to salary, benefits, and track record of existing founders. The only difference is that one is offering a tiny percentage of a lottery ticket that will pay out if they exit successfully, and the other is offering a tinier percentage of a lottery ticket that will pay out if any of their sister companies exits successfully. And there's little chance that you picked a unicorn, but a pretty good chance that somewhere in the cohort is a unicorn.

Being in that cohort becomes a hiring advantage if you get to share in their success.