| First off, being a "monopoly" (dominant market share) does not make one a "despot blinded by hubris" as the OP suggests. Anti-trust laws target "abuse" of monopoly. Secondly, YC may very well be a "new age monopoly" much like Google or Amazon or Facebook i.e. the customers of those companies (in YC's case - founders) gravitate to them not because there is no choice but the value that they offer is so far above and beyond any competition that exists today. The point to note is - traditional definitions of monopoly abuse don't apply, unlike for example: Apple extorting 30% from app devs, which is a blindingly obvious case of abuse. YC just put out a superior product for their customers who'd otherwise have to pitch to 20 other angels. If you consider YC like the Amazon marketplace, this new deal can be considered a new private label (like AmazonBasics). It is quite likely that this hurts the economics of some angels. But YC is still makings it primary customers happy. And talking about superior products, by virtue of its early stage and program design, YC does in fact add substantial value when your company is most vulnerable and needs the most help. A16Z/Sequoia/etc founders, are happy with the money and the short lived legitimacy the branded money confers. But most YC founders seem to owe their existence to YC i.e. they love YC like an alma mater, which is exactly how YC positions itself. No angel/fund can compete with that emotional connect with checkbooks. Soon YCG will be giving later stage VCs a run for their money. Disclaimer: I am a yc alum. YC is far from a guarantee of success as my dying company can testify. And they are quick to remind that the Harvard analogy doesn't go very far because the median YC company is still a dead one. |
This phrasing could imply that YC offer something that any entrepreneur can access - in other words, an unbiased funding source that is equally accessible to people regardless of background and experience.
Is that what you intended or could you find a better analogy?