[danfang]

> In other words, YC got lucky on Airbnb. Because YC's first impression of hundreds (or thousands) of other founders has been wrong.

IIRC, YC has rarely rejected a company that would be valued at $1B+. Perhaps SendGrid is the only one.

> It's just kind of pitiable that YC can't do better than this.

I don't believe any seed investor has a better rate of return than YC. I don't think it's even close. Whatever you imagine as "better" doesn't exist.

> A huge improvement for a YC-like investment firm would be to do something more objective. Competent people do not hire employees on the basis of a first impression, they spend many hours assessing their skills, abilities, personality, etc.

Perhaps it's not wise to fund founders based on how companies hire employees. Companies hire for risk minimization, not return maximization - just look at your average tech interview.

I think you underestimate the value of culture fit when it comes to building successful businesses. I'm sorry it doesn't fit into your framework of objective assessment.