[tptacek]

They didn't cancel the discussion; users did. I didn't flag this thread, but thought about it. It's got nothing to do with the validity of your argument. I'm in my 40s, am alert to ageism, and tend to think it's a real thing. But threads like this, where there's barely even circumstantial evidence in the story as presented (the whole story might be much clearer!) tend to be total shitshows as threads.

I think the bias towards founder teams is especially problematic. If I was trying to marshal a case that YC pattern-matches on 25-year-old top-school grads, I'd leave the solo-founder thing out. They're right about solo founders, and they're right along multiple dimensions. We can have a healthy debate about that, but all it'll do is muddy the waters about the ageism thing.

It sounds to me, given all the circumstances you've rattled off, the YC just isn't a fit for what you want to do. It wasn't at all a fit for my last couple businesses, either, and they did (/are doing) great.

[smithmayowa]

Unrelated and I expect to be downvoted but you were right https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1428764

The U.S did leave Afghanistan and now the Taliban's are about taking over, I'm always stunned when I see decade old predictions that were accurate.